ArXellence 2: Impressive participation in ALUMIL’s architecture competition about the New Business Center of Thessaloniki, Greece
The competition was endorsed by the International Union of Architects (UIA), implementing UNESCO’s standards for Architectural Competitions.
“ArXellence 2”, the international architecture ideas competition by ALUMIL, was successfully completed in November 2020 receiving high praise from the global architecture community.
The topic of the competition was about the redesign of the western waterfront of Thessaloniki, Greece, aiming to create the new Central Business District of the city with mixed use buildings. Below you can read the announcement of the Company regarding the competition and its results:
The participation in “ArXellence 2” exceeded our expectations: 1464 registrations, 90 countries and 173 final projects. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions the evaluation of the projects was conducted online. The international voting Jury examined in detail every submitted entry and awarded 6 prizes (they include prize money)and 4 equal, honorable mentions to the projects that -based on Jury’s decision – met the UIA requirements (if you want to see the awarded proposals, click here).
The online Awards Ceremony will take placeon February 23rd, 2021. During the event, the members of the teams that stood out will speak about the designing challenges they faced and the innovative solutions they developed. Moreover, the official Catalog of Proposals is scheduled to be published in June, offering various useful information about the submitted architectural projects. Lastly, in the summer of 2021 and if the conditions of the global health crisis allow it, we will proudly organize a Forum inviting all the members of the international committee to share their opinions about the competition and comment on the spirit and goals of “ArXellence 2”.
The Challenge
The existing urban plan provides the platform for the creation of the new Business District in the west city area and inside the zone that is in close proximity to the port facilities along “October 26th” street. ALUMIL made an open call to the international architecture world asking for ideas regarding the future of this particular area and its redevelopment based on the design of modern cities. It is the historic Behtsinar area, a place that in the past was full of important industrial and recreational facilities, but now is in a situation of total decay. ALUMIL, recognizing the significance of the location to the prospect of urban development, selected this topic so as to highlight that now is the best time to reopen the issue of revitalizing this area.
In the spirit of “ArXellence 2” worldwide character, an international voting Jury was set up, which not only guaranteed the smooth and impeccable evaluation process, but also brought a global perspective upon the future urban development of the city. Also, it is worth mentioning the educational character of “ArXellence 2”, as it showed to the citizens how professionals of the global architecture world envision the evolution of Thessaloniki.
The competition area
The western coastal side of Thessaloniki is an area of high interest. The research area for “ArXellence 2” begins from the shopping center “LIMANI” and continues along the shore to the western gate following the “October 26th” street. Inside this unified area is included a large number of important landmark and historic constructions. Some of them are: the old beer brewery “FIX”, the old Slaughterhouse that belongs to the Municipality, the “Thessaloniki Water Supply Museum”, and many other recognized preserved buildings such as “Vilka” and “Mylos”, which are located on the opposite side of the aforementioned street.
The proposed buildings are connected with important transport corridors (Ring Road, West Entrance, city & intercity buses, intercity & suburban railway, the Port) and in the near future the area will be connected with the subway terminal in the new Train Station. This essential location in combination with the Port facilities and the proximity to the Democracy Square in the city center (only 1500m distance), demonstrate the interconnection of the area with the whole city and underline the huge potential for development according to the contemporary architectural trends.
The vision
ALUMIL, as a leading company in aluminium architectural systems industry, has at the core of its philosophy the improvement of the living conditions to the local communities. In our company we are “building excellence every day” and we know that in order for our actions to be efficient, we should contribute to the urban development, maximizing the potential of every location in which we are active.
We shared our vision with all the authorities responsible for this area and we expressed our intention to organize a competition of high standards. Thus, we ensured the support of: “Ministry of Environment and Energy”, “Region of Central Macedonia”, “Thessaloniki Municipality”, “Association of Thessaloniki’s Architects” and “Technical Chamber of Central Macedonia” . Apart from the support of the local authorities, the competition was under the auspices of the “International Union of Architects” (UIA) and was carried out in constant and close cooperation with UIA’s “International Competitions Commission” (ICC Council), guaranteeing the implementation of UNESCO’s international standards.
The future
“ArXellence 2”, was an initiative by ALUMIL about the restart of discussions regarding the urban redevelopment of a significant area in Thessaloniki. The competition lays the foundation for the creation of a Business District with mixed-use buildings (residences and businesses) in line with the international standards in metropolitan areas abroad.
ALUMIL follows its vision to improve the quality of people’s lives and thus leads the way of searching the possibilities for future urban planning of Thessaloniki. In a period of a general crisis, our company completed a high-standards, international architecture ideas competition and attracted the interest of global architecture community in Thessaloniki.
The most important benefit that “ArXellence 2” brings to the city is the creation of a platform of architectural proposals about the redevelopment of the misused western waterfront. As a company we declare our will to support every effort that helps Thessaloniki coming to prominence as a modern and leading metropolis in the area of Southeastern Europe.
THE AWARDS
1st Award – The Lodge
2nd Award – The Green Hub
3rd Award – Thessaloniki Green Pier
4th Award – Bioclimatic Urban Lighthouse
5th Award – De–fragmenting the Productive City
6th Award – A view of the bay-A glance at the future
HONORS
The Gates of Thessalonica
City’s New Pulse
Ships Forest
T-WAVE
In order to participate in the online Awards Ceremony on February 23rd, 2021, in which the awarded teams will present their proposals, please complete your registration clicking here.
Also, you can watch the event in live streaming through Facebook.
Visit contest’s website.
