Two Slovene teams have won prizes at the Europan 10 competition. First we are presenting Elastik who won the Special mention prize for the project Soundgarden in Maastricht, Netherlands. The second project is of Eva Prelovšek and Aarne Niemelä who won the Runner Up prize in Järvenpää, Finland.
The project for Maastricht- Soundgarden- is a flexible, modular, sound-deadening construction that is slotted in – in front of the facade – along Frontensingel. In the present situation, with all the traffic, its use will be confined to small offices, a winter garden or for extra storage. Once Frontensingel becomes a quiet street, it can be turned into housing. A system of small public and private enclaves in the densely-built structure provide a variation in enclosed open spaces. Each of the four blocks in the study area has a distinctive character. With Block 11 this is determined by retaining the historical character. See more at: Europan Netherlands.
The project for Finland- LandLines- is dealing with urban design of sustainable district in Järvenpää. It was designed as 7 steps towards sustainable district. Steps were derived from the traditional western Finnish-type building islands in the form of courtyards that allow common outdoor spaces. Authors see that space as a place of communication, common concern and social security of neighbours.
Small plots with dense arrays make it possible to preserve open countryside to the maximum degree, for both recreational and agricultural purposes. Neighborhood lies near the railway, therefore its density is increasing towards the train station area. There are also garages that serve as a buffer zone against noise and that encourage greater use of public transport. Housing units are compact and therefore provide conditions for low energy consumption. They are attached to each other and therefore economical due to lower consumption of construction materials. See more at: Europan Finland.
