The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is pleased to announce the awarding of the 11th Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design to two projects, The Metro do Porto in Porto, Portugal, and the Northeastern Urban Integration Project in Medellín, Colombia, in a ceremony to be held on Tuesday, September 3, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. in Piper Auditorium at the GSD. Rahul Mehrotra, Professor and Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design, and Prize Jury Chair, will host a panel discussion including presentations by representatives (designers and administrators) of the two winning teams. The event will be followed by a reception and viewing of the exhibition Transformative Mobilities: Porto & Medellín, installed in the GSD’s Gund Hall gallery.
“If there are lessons to be drawn for urban design from Medellín and Porto, I think the broader lesson has to do with the disruption of the segregation of the disciplines in the design field. Historically we have understood that Landscape Architecture sits in one place, Architecture in another, and Urban Design and Planning [in another, with all three disciplines] in constant conflict about their territorial rights. One of the things that is revolutionary about the Medellín project is that distinguishing among the disciplines is no longer possible.” Michael Sorkin – Jury Member
The Metro do Porto | Porto, Portugal
Designed by Architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, who conceptualized the architecture of the metro and facilitated the delivery of the project. The prize also acknowledges the central role of the transport authority Metro do Porto.
Metro do Porto is a heavy-infrastructure project of significant scale and complexity. Comprising approximately 70 kilometers of new surface and subsurface track and sixty new stations, it was designed and constructed in
about ten years. The scope of such an undertaking within a UNESCO World Heritage City is noteworthy. The incredibly high standard of design achieved by Souto de Moura and his team sets this project apart and makes it
worthy of emulation.
The Northeastern Urban Integration Project | Medellín, Colombia
Sponsored by the City of Medellín, which receives the award for its vision and ongoing support of this project. The prize also acknowledges the role of the agency Empresa de Desarrollo Urbano (EDU) in the design, management, and execution of the project and the design leadership of Architect Alejandro Echeverri.
The Northeastern Urban Integration Project in Medellín (Proyecto Urbano Integral, or PUI) was initiated by the City of Medellín in 2004 to harness opportunities presented by the MetroCable, a new cable-car project connecting three informal settlements to the metropolitan transit system. In concert with the MetroCable, the PUI has made a significant contribution toward improving the quality of life for approximately 170,000 residents experiencing severe social inequality, poverty, and violence.
IMAGES | Courtesy of Harvard GSD
Comments are closed.