Open House Madrid has announced the winners of the 2019 City Awards, a new accolade highlighting the most innovative, socially engaged, and committed proposals shaping the future of cities. According to its founders, "these awards recognize both innovation and design as essential factors in improving citizens' quality of life, aiming to foster a culture of design and innovation in Spain."
For this inaugural edition of the 2019 City Awards, the jury comprised Gregory Wessener, Executive Director of Open House New York; Lluís Comerón, President of the High Council of Spanish Architects' Associations; Stefano Sannino, Ambassador of Italy to Spain and Andorra; Consuelo Villanueva, Director of Institutions and Key Accounts at Sociedad de Tasación; Fernando Encinar, co-founder and Director of Communications at Idealista; and Manuel Blanco Lage, Director of the Technical School of Architecture of Madrid at UPM, alongside the co-directors of the Open House Madrid festival, Pati Núñez and Paloma Gómez Marín.
The winners of this inaugural edition of the 2019 City Awards are:
Best Urban Design: Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design
Moscow, Russia
The Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design was founded in 2009 to foster change in the physical and cultural landscape of Russian cities. Since its inception, the institute has been committed to addressing urban environments through multiple perspectives and disciplines, as its name suggests. The institute promotes positive change by generating new ideas and values around the city, which serves as the core of its educational model. It champions an integrative urban design framework, incorporating fields such as urban anthropology, economics, media, and design.
Best Innovative Solution: Jeffrey Montes
New York, United States
Jeffrey Montes is a space architect, Chief Space Technology Officer, and co-founder of AI SpaceFactory. An innovative solution applies existing or newly generated knowledge to create something new that drives progress. The prospect of living on another planet has undoubtedly generated significant anticipation. Montes won NASA's challenge after two years of research with “MARSHA,” a habitat designed for Mars. His firm developed space technologies that they realized also have the potential to transform how we build on Earth.
Best Mobility Proposal: Joseba Lasa + Iñaki Iglesias (Tecnalia)
Spain
It comes as no surprise that mobility is one of the greatest challenges of contemporary urban planning. However, the emerging proposals to address this issue are truly remarkable. Joseba Lasa and Iñaki Iglesias of TECNALIA have turned a challenge into an opportunity by launching Spain's first autonomous aerial taxi for urban travel.
This prototype represents a milestone in Urban Air Mobility, a field where legislation is advancing alongside technological innovations like this one, which will inevitably contribute to the transformation of the mobility, image, and operation of cities.
Best Citizen Engagement: Paisaje Transversal
Spain
Improving people's quality of life is the ultimate goal of Paisaje Transversal's projects, but not at any cost. The firm approaches all its projects with cost optimization in mind, ensuring that every proposal is developed from an ecological perspective.
To guide their work, Paisaje Transversal developed the DCP methodological model—Difusión, Ciudadanía, Proyecto Participativo (Dissemination, Citizenship, Participatory Project)—which structures processes through three channels that always place citizens at the center of the urban debate.
Best Use of Social Media: Miquel del Pozo
Spain
Tweet by tweet, one can contribute significantly to the dissemination of art, as demonstrated by Miquel del Pozo's unique initiative #MA140: (M)irar al (A)rte [Looking at Art] on Twitter (140). In 140 characters, he has brought masterworks of art closer to the public. His educational sessions have gained a massive following online. Thanks to its originality and freshness, this personal use of social media has succeeded in bringing the art world closer to the general public.
Through his Twitter account, Miquel demonstrates that creativity on social media can also help shape a collective imagination—a shared space that cultivates sensitivity, generates collective knowledge, and ultimately alters how we perceive the city and our surroundings.
The 2019 City Awards were presented as part of the Open House Madrid Congress which this year was themed “Designing the New City."
This article was written by ArchDaily Team. The translation is powered by AI.
