For the first time, a team of Peruvian architects has won first prize in the prestigious EUROPAN competition. The theme of this 14th edition was "Productive Cities" (Villes Productives), which explored the connection between habitat and production within a framework of sustainability. YDEA, the national team comprising Sebastián Morales, Johana Salazar, Elaine Sanchez, and Diego Morales, presented an urban regeneration project for the Terres Saint-Lazare sector in the communes of Grigny and Ris-Orangis, located south of Paris, France.
"It is a remarkable proposal due to its genuine understanding of the site and its challenges. The proposal fully aligns with the competition's theme (productive cities) by exploring how people can become active participants in their environment and producers of their own services," noted the jury.
This also marks the first time that a team composed entirely of non-European professionals has won the competition. EUROPAN is a biennial urban design competition and one of the most prestigious architectural awards for emerging talent in Europe, open to architects and urban planners under 40 years old. Since 1971, mayors from various European cities and communes have put forward their territories for the development of innovative urban and architectural proposals. Below are the details of the project.
Official description:
The Site – Grigny & Ris-Orangis
The project's starting point is the housing management crisis in Grigny 2, a 5,000-unit residential complex home to 17,000 residents. Over recent decades, the area has undergone impoverishment, turning into a neighborhood facing safety concerns and a substantial unemployment rate, one of the highest in the region.
The Project – COOPWORK
Within the framework of regional urban rehabilitation policies and Grigny's Operation of National Interest (O.I.N.), COOPWORK is an urban project that integrates a participatory co-management system designed for large private and public housing developments facing urban and social decline. This proposal fosters new dynamics between residents, technology, and urban amenities. In this scenario, residents become the main actors in revitalizing their environment, producing services for their own benefit.
The System
The COOPWORK system reaches residents through a mobile application that allows users to provide services related to the maintenance and renovation of the condominium's common spaces in exchange for reducing their high maintenance fees.
This dynamic fosters a growing interest among residents to take on tasks requiring higher technical skills, encouraging them to seek specialized training. In response, associations, state institutions, and private companies participate by offering new training programs, while local authorities provide new amenities to meet these emerging needs.
The Results
This establishes a virtuous cycle of productive activities that increase residents' purchasing power, fostering professional training, boosting job placement, strengthening the social fabric, and improving the urban environment.
At a territorial scale, the project includes an ambitious program comprising urban agriculture, sports, and traveling events, as well as the construction of new housing, commercial spaces, and amenities.
"La Folie" Neighborhood: Construction of 225 housing units
Training Center: Creation of a plaza of trades on former industrial sites
Paul Langevin Avenue: Urban revitalization
Project: COOPWORK - VIRTUAL LAYER FOR PRODUCTIVE INTERACTIONS
Location: Grigny & Ris-Orangis (FR)
Competition: EUROPAN 14 - Productive Cities
Team: YDEA
Sebastián MORALES Architect DE - HMONP, Urban Planner
Johana SALAZAR Architect DE - HMONP, Major Risk Management
Elaine SANCHEZ Architect DE, Specialization in Urban Planning
Diego MORALES Architect DE, Specialization in Urban Planning
You can find everything related to the EUROPAN 14 France competition at this link. To review the Villes Productives dossier containing all the results, click here.
This article was written by Delia Bayona. The translation is powered by AI.
