“ArXellence 2”, ALUMIL’s international architectural competition, was successfully completed on Saturday, November 21^st, with the announcement of the 6 prizes and 4 honorable mentions. After the first successful “ArXellence” competition in 2018, the company decided to organize “ArXellence 2”. The competition was endorsed by the International Union of Architects (UIA) and was carried out in constant and close cooperation with UIA’s International Competitions Commission (ICC Council). ALUMIL, as the organizer, ensured full transparency and implementation of UNESCO’s international standards for Architectural Competitions. The members of the international voting jury guaranteed the results, as they evaluated the proposals and awarded 6 prizes and 4 honorable mentions, according to the competition’s brief. EK magazine is a media partner at the competition.

The Challenge

ALUMIL made an open call for proposals and ideas regarding the redevelopment of Thessaloniki’s western coastal side. “ArXellence’s 2” subject was aiming to receive innovative ideas from the global architectural community about the creation of a new Central Business District (CBD). According to the criteria set by UIA, the Business District should be characterized by high energy efficiency and sustainability, redefining the west gate of the city to welcome citizens and entrepreneurs (contribution to sustainable development, social impact, economic viability etc.). The evolution and redesign of Thessaloniki’s misused western waterfront will redefine its position on the international map and improve the quality of life for citizens. Furthermore, Thessaloniki will restore its prestige as a leading city in the Balkan area, attracting investors, businesses, and new visitors.

ArXellence 2… in numbers

The participation in “ArXellence 2” exceeded our expectations: 1.464 registrations from 90 countries and 173 submitted projects. Due to restrictions that coronavirus pandemic has caused, the evaluation of the proposals was conducted online following the international protocols. The Jury examined in detail every submission entry via teleconference and simultaneous projection of the proposals created by architects around the world. The overall evaluation by the international Jury resulted in 6 prizes and 4 equal honorable mentions, meeting the criteria of UIA.

The Jury

Voting jurors

Kasper Guldager Jensen, UIA representative (Architect, Denmark)

Nikolaos Salpingidis, Alumil representative (Innovation Director, Greece)

Gabriella Carillo (Architect, Mexico)

Lauren Haiden (Architect, South Africa)

Dimitrios P. Tsomocos (Finance & Management, UK/Greece)

Alternate jurors

Sara Martin Camara, UIA representative (Architect, France)

Oren Sussman (Law & Finance, Israel)

Professional Advisor of the Competition

Evangelos Lyroudias, Alumil Consultant (Architect, Greece)

The Prizes

The 6 prizes awarded by the Jury of “ArXellence 2” are the following:

1^st Prize

Title of proposal: The Lodge

Competitor ID: d15bd86f-2938

Name of participant: Alejandro Piqueras

Architectural office: ALE Studio

Country: Spain

2^nd Prize

Title of proposal: The Green Ηub

Competitor ID: 20d6099c-5616

Names of participants: Angeliki Tzifa, Sophia Nikolaidou

Country: U.S.A.

3^rd Prize

Title of proposal: Thessaloniki Green Pier

Competitor ID: c24d129b-ca90

Names of participants: Mircea Mogan, Alexandra Virlan

Architectural office: Mogan Architecture

Country: Netherlands

4^th Prize

Title of proposal: Bioclimatic Urban Lighthouse

Competitor ID: 7fcb61a5-e4bc

Names of participants: Alberto Mizrahi, Guillermo Lesch, Osvaldo Alvarez Rojas, Valeria Franck, Federico Menichetti, Leticia Alfaro, Philippa Jane Page

Country: France

5^th Prize

Title of proposal: De-fragmenting the Productive City

Competitor ID: 6a1e10a2-7174

Names of participants: Maria Chrysoula Akrivou, Antonis Athanasiou

Country: Netherlands

6^th Prize

Title of proposal: A view of the bay – A glance at the future

Competitor ID: 5fc57b05-4a53

Names of participants: Marco Broekman, Floris Van der Zee, Martha Seitanidou, Jordy Stamps, Yunshih Chen, Timothy Simons, Marina Lysenkova

Architectural office: Bura urbanism

Country: Netherlands

Honorable Mentions

(alphabetical order by country)

Honorable Mention

Title of proposal: The Gates of Thessalonica

Competitor ID: d7633b4d-e29c

Name of participant: Ivo Panteleev

Architectural office: ADA – Agency Design & Architecture

Country: Bulgaria

Honorable Mention

Title of proposal: Ships Forest

Competitor ID: a8ef5994-ee73

Names of participants: Perraguin Olivier, Spiegelstein Jacques, Letourmy Laurent

Architectural office: hOP/ar

Country: France

Honorable Mention

Title of proposal: Thessaloniki Wave (T-WAVE)

Competitor ID: cb17c371-dd7c

Names of participants: Andrea Michelini, Jacopo Berlendis, Alberto Gasparini, Tommaso Tassi, Alessandro Bonaventura, Mauro Baessato, Rade Batinica, Antonio Spena, Carlo Leonardi, Filippo Marsigli, Roberto Franchini, Giancarlo Franchini, Giacomo Gola, Davide Cappochin, Giuseppe Cappochin, Amarda Velcani, Thimi Rudi, Charis Christodoulou, Avra Bousda, Margarita Lekka, Vilma Chastaoglou, Matteo Taramelli, Roberto Zuccon

Architectural office: F&M Ingegneria Spa

Country: Italy

Honorable Mention

Title of proposal: City’s New Pulse

Competitor ID: c981fd16-5b56

Names of participants: Esteban Colmenares, Sanhita Chaturvedi, Shashank Jain, Anshul Bhargava, Ben Kikkawa, Joao Pedro Costa, Florentina Tsakiri

Architectural offices: Studio C+C / Studio 4215

Country: United Kingdom

The outcome and future steps

ALUMIL, being a leading international company specialized in architectural aluminium systems, organized this competition aiming to share the vision of a city that improves the quality of people’s lives. We made an open call for creative and innovative ideas and we are glad that this challenge inspired so many people all around the world. Despite the unprecedented difficulties due to the pandemic, we insisted on conducting the competition by maintaining its international character. We are proud not only for the large number of proposals we received from so many countries, but also because all these submissions were evaluated by an international Jury of highly qualified professionals. We believe that an ideas competition provides the necessary expertise that is crucial for every type of spatial planning. Architectural design has the power to invoke cultural evolution, and through architectural competitions we have the chance to offer new possibilities of improvement to our cities.

“ArXellence 2” was a competition that reopened the discussion about the redesign of Thessaloniki’s urban space and created a platform full of inspirational architectural ideas regarding the redevelopment of the city’s western waterfront. But most of all, “ArXellence 2” sent a positive and confident message of hope and optimism, based on advanced urban development and sustainability.