Thessaloniki ConfEx Park (2021)
TIF-HELEXPO, a national exhibition and conference organizer based in Thessaloniki, Greece, organised an international multidisciplinary project competition with prequalification for the design of Thessaloniki ConfEx Park, located in the heart of Thessaloniki, currently home to 1.1 million people and Greece’s second largest city.
All applicants to the preselection were asked to submit a CV and a list of works as well as three reference projects online to the competition website.
The Technical Committee verified that the legal, regulatory, technical and professional capacities of the applicants corresponded to the requirements of the competition.
The international Jury shortlisted fifteen applicants based on the architectural quality, creativity and innovation of the projects figuring on the list of works submitted by the applicant as well as on the composition of the multicultural design team.
View the competition launch press release.
Announcement of the Selection Decision – Prequalification
The jury met via video conference on Thursday 3rd, Friday 4th and Saturday 5th of December 2020 for the Prequalification procedure. It reviewed all 116 Applications submitted on the basis of the qualification criteria and according to the Competition Regulations.
Following the above evaluation and as provided in Section 3.10 of the Competition Regulations the Jury selected the 15 Applications that qualify to proceed to the Design Competition and shall be recognized as Competitors, under the condition that they provide the Evidence and Documents of Section 3.11. of the Competition Regulations. The Jury also proceeded to the selection of three (3) additional Applications, ranked in order of preference, that may replace any of the qualified Applicants, if so required, according to Section 3.10. of the Competition Regulations.
Visit the competition website: www.thessaloniki-confexpark.gr
Theme and objectives
The project seeks to redevelop the entire area around the fairgrounds, and includes the construction of an energy efficient Convention Centre and a new urban park.
The site occupies 17,5 hectares (175.000 m2) of land surrounded by two important university campuses (Aristotle University and Macedonia University), the Archaeological Museum, the Byzantine Museum, the Town Hall and the Regional Military Base. The organisers hope that an architecturally distinctive combined exhibition & conference center and park will transform downtown Thessaloniki, putting the city on the map for international business as well as tourists.
TIF-HELEXPO S.A expected “innovative and unique architectural proposals for a visionary project that aspires to become an exceptional example of future cityscape developments.”
Eligibility
The multidisciplinary design team was required to include at least 1 architect with a minimum of 5 years of experience in the design of new buildings as well as 1 landscape architect.
Because of the complexity of the project, the organisers recommended also including a structural engineer and a sustainability specialist on the team.
Jury Members
- Joan Busquets, architect and urban planner, Jury chair (Spain)
- Farshid Moussavi, architect (Great Britain)
- Rena Sakellaridou, architect (Greece)
- Simone Ewings, architect (Norway)
- Samuli Miettinen, architect, UIA representative (Finland)
- Areti Markopoulou, architect (Greece)
- Irene Djao-Rakitine, landscape architect (France)
- Dimitrios Kerkentzes, International Bureau of Exhibitions General Secretary (Great Britain)
- Kyriakos Pozrikidis,TIF-HELEXPO CEO (Greece)
Alternate jurors:
- Fani Vavili, Prof., Architect (Greece)
- Simon Hartmann, Prof., Architect, UIA Representative (Switzerland)
- Daniel Fügenschuh, Architect, (Austria)
Results
The jury unanimously awarded the 1st prize to Sauerbruch Hutton (Germany), Gustafson Porter + Bowman (United Kingdom) and Elena Stavropoulou (Greece).
The second and third prizes were awarded to:
- 2nd prize: Lina Ghotmeh Architecture (France), Vogt Paysage + Urbanisme (France), LAN (France), LOT (Greece), Tractebel Engineering (France), Systematica (Italy)
- 3rd prize: UNStudio (Netherlands), Schema4 (Greece), OKRA Landschapsarchitecten (Netherlands)
View the results press release
Key dates
Prizes
All competitors selected to participate in the competition and who submitted entries to the competition received an honorarium of 15.000,00 Euros each.
The jury awarded the winners the following prize-money:
- 1st Prize: 50 000 Euros
- 2nd Prize: 30 000 Euros
- 3rd Prize: 20 000 Euros
Gallery
1st prize
Sauerbruch Hutton (Germany), Gustafson Porter + Bowman (United Kingdom) and Elena Stavropoulou (Greece)
2nd prize
Lina Ghotmeh Architecture (France), Vogt Paysage + Urbanisme (France), LAN (France), LOT (Greece), Tractebel Engineering (France), Systematica (Italy)
3rd prize
UNStudio (Netherlands), Schema4 (Greece), OKRA Landschapsarchitecten (Netherlands)
Aerial view of TIF-Helexpo
Existing buildings
Thessaloniki zone
