Belgorod City Center: International competition for the design of an urban block

Sponsor: City of Belgorod, Russia

Type: open, international

Languages: English, Russian

Eligibility: Architects, engineers, interdisciplinary groups

Fee: $65 (50 Euros)

Timetable:

15 April 2013 – End Q & A period
Registration deadline – 10 May 2013
Project submission deadline – 3 June 2013

Awards:

First prize 25.000 USD
Second prize 10.000 USD
Third prize 5.000 USD
Four honorable mentions: 4 x 2.500 USD
 

Jury:

– Representatives of the city of Belgorod
– Two Moscow architects
– One foreign architect
– Curator Bart Goldhoorn

Design Challenge:

The City of Belgorod is located in the southwest of Russia near the border with the Ukraine. With 350.000 inhabitants it is not very large. However, its population is growing, partly because of 70,000 university students it attracts from all over the country. In the last 15 year the urban development strategy was directed at suburbanization. Although this policy has been quite successful, now the city is looking at the center to see if there are development opportunities there.
The site of this competition offers such an opportunity. It is quite a large urban block (around 300 x 200 m), located in the very heart of the historic city. The task is to replace the low-rise buildings that now occupy the site with a more dense development. Though the construction of high towers is very popular in Russia with developers, the city would like to limit the maximum building height to 15-20 meters. At the same time it is obvious that a certain density is required to make the project viable. The task of the competitors is to find the optimum between density and quality and offer the city a recipe for redeveloping the city center as a whole, making it at an attractive place to live and work.

To register, go to:

http://www.beladm.ru/konkzastr/send/en/

For more information, go to:

http://www.beladm.ru/konkzastr/en/?PAGEN_1=2#block05