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BEST COLLABORATION AWARD 2012 issued for the third time
 Fife international co-operations granted awards for successful collaboration.
Groningen/Netherlands, September, 20th of September 2012. On the 20th of September, the big moment had finally come. Sine Soerensen and Carsten Westerhold from Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme Secretariat in Viborg, Denmark, honoured five examples of successful collaboration with the BEST COLLABORATION AWARD 2012 for the third time. This year’s award was designed to reward the best examples of collaboration between partners from the creative industries sector and society, represented by local government and politics. The focus was on innovative practices over and above traditional business relationships as well as alliances which have achieved exceptional results, e.g. in matters of urban development, city/regional marketing or ambient branding.
To this end, the winners from all over Europe came together: UIWE culture design agency, Christian Pagh, and the City of Copenhagen, Denmark, accepted their award, which is unique and was made according to their ideas and patterns by Rapid Prototyping Zentrum in Bremen, thus honouring the joint project “PeeBetter”. “PeeBetter” addresses the challenge of peeing in public spaces and is marking the collaboration as one of two first place winners: The second first price went to Rixt Mueller, presenting Heerenveen Community and her partnership with Spectrum Advies, Kijlstra, LED-factory and Imtech. The collaborators developed the project Light Challenge, a competition, which challenges students to create new public light concepts, which are sustainable, innovative and accepted by consumers and residents.
Frauke Wilhelm, Stadtkultur UG, together with the Chamber of Employees Bremen, Germany, who was awarded a third place by the international jury, presented “Golden City”, a project which started as an effort to capture the story of about 40 famous Bremen Harbour Bars and which now helps to mobilize the urban development in a nearly devasted area.
The City of Aarhus and schmidt hammer lassen architects at least virtually received the fourth prize for the development of the ”Urban Mediaspace of Aarhus”. The partners, who unfortunately were unable to come over to receive the award personally, are working together to develop the largest public library in Scandinavia.
CareX Groningen CV / CareX Fryslan CV, Lenze Hofstee and their partners, the municipalities of Groningen and Leeuwarden, accepted the award for the second place 4 for their project “Full In-Between Use”. CareX turns empty buildings into useful space for living and working.
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Award winner: UiWE culture design agency - Københavns Kommune (City of Copenhagen, Denmark) |
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Project: PeeBetter
“Pee Better” is a exceptional new solution for a very simple problem: to relieve oneself in public space. The designer UiWE Culture Design in Copenhagen propose a forward-looking solution which they have developed by the involvement of experts and user from all over the world and every stage of life.
Remarkable positive aspects of this project are:
- Identification (a) of groups who are important for understanding the problems; (b) of a continuous problem in public spaces, events and so on.
- Development of a target-aimed problem-solving approach by an uncommon design.
- Development of a project structure which is flexible enough to give an impulse for the open dialogue which makes room for sensible and output-driven process.
- Collaboration with all partners who need a solution of a general public problem: municipality (e.g. Centre of cleaning, Festival and end-users, experts from different professions.
- Successful open dialogue through the use of social media and digital technology.
- User-orientated design process and reconciliation with municipal authorities, festival director.
- Design with gender approach and solution.
- Innovative feed-back structure: discussions, online commenting.
- Best Practice for Process solution.
- A brainwave for a problem faced every day the city cleaning service, event directors, the people and so on.
- New approach with big success.
- Best practice for co-operation of all parties concerned.
- Jobs for designer, for builder, companies, manufacturers and for many others.
(Jury Member Ruth Bäßler, D)
Nice combination between a citychallenge (peeing) and an artistic-technical solution. Collaboration between a public partner (City of Copenhagen), a private partner (Roskilde festival) and a designer (Sara Nanna): try to cope with the challenge of peeing in public spaces for both men and women. This collaboration and the results (product) can be useful for a lot of cities (peeing in the public spaces). A positive feedback from users during the test phase at festivals.
- an artistic solution for an underestimated urban problem
- interaction and dialogue with the users during events in order to optimize the product
- can be useful to cope with the urinating problem in cities
(Jury Member Thierry Goossens, B)
The collaboration between different actors such as culture design agency UiWE and designer Sara Nanna, the city of Copenhagen and Roskilde Festival has led to a solution of a widespread problem at festivals, street parties and other big public events.
Remarkable positive aspects of this project are:
- User oriented product design
- Addressing a widespread and commonly known problem during public events
- Collaboration between different actors (design, culture, local government and end-user) leading to new products with widespread market potential
- Good market potential (international)
- International media coverage
- Mutual knowledge transfer of collaboration partners, showing a high degree of openness and sensitivity to each others challenges
(Jury Member Klaar Zeegers, NL)
This project approaches the delicate topic of toilet facilities at large festivals in a pragmatic, hands-on way. In a no-frills approach, it makes use of inexpensive materials, rough and ready construction techniques and even draws on existing street gutters. The result is both beautiful and practical and provides a solution to a problem which is still too often overlooked.
(Jury Member Eva Herr, D)
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Award winner: Gemeente Heerenveen - Spectrum Advies, Kijlstra, LED-factory and Imtech (City of Copenhagen, Denmark) |
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Project: Light Challenge
This project engages with street lighting in residential areas, turning a marginalised aspect of public space management into something which is interesting and relevant. The project draws out how street lighting impacts on topics such as carbon emission and public expenditure but also on design, technical innovation and the quality of public space. It brings together emerging designers, lighting companies, local government organisations and residents. The project enables an exchange between producers, consumers and beneficiaries, leading to design innovation through a collaborative process. The extra benefit is the project’s legacy: by fostering relationships between emerging designers and lighting companies, it creates long term relationships between existing businesses and new design talents.
(Jury Member Eva Herr, D).
Students are challenged by the city to think about new public lighting concepts for residential areas. Important are the following aspects: sustainable, innovative and acceptation by the residents. The element of participation of the residents is very important. This project is a competition organized by the city of Heerenveen. The first challenge was organized in 2011 (3 cities) and in the next edition (2013) cities as Nijmegen , Rotterdam and Groningen will join. The laureate of the first lighting challenge is now developing his product that can be applied in other cities/municipalities.
- interesting element: to challenge students in brainstorming and developing solutions (technical and environmental aspects). It gives youngsters the opportunity to get in contact with professionals
- nice and important solutions for energy savings
- bringing together technical knowledge of companies with ideas of students
(Jury Member Thierry Goossens, B)
The Lightchallenge project is an example of collaboration between public and private partners, students and the end-users. From different starting points: changing customer demands, need for saving energy, budget cuts and the challenge of developing new products, every actor is geared up to realize the same outcome: innovative and sustainable new lighting products.
Remarkable positive aspects of this project are:
- Bringing together all actors within the process off businessplanning, designing, developing, producing and to market new innovative products, to be used in every day life (businesses, students, local government, citizens)
- Focus on everyday applicability and simplicity
- Contributing to sustainability and saving energy
- Growing network of municipalities, businesses and companies not only inside the lighting industry but also with the sector of design/engineering/architects
- Expandable to other products
- Generates a wide range of entrepreneurial opportunities
- Process innovation with realistic implementation prospects
- International market potential
(Jury Member Klaar Zeegers)
Light challenge is a multidisciplinary design competition to find solutions of new concepts in the cities which are important in following issues: environment, quality of life, traffic safety, sense of safety, sustainable materials, economically.
Remarkable positive aspects of this project are:
Examplary collaboration structure with all important partners and customers.
- Planning a target-aimed project progression with continuous involvement of all partners not only inside the light business but also outside.
- Idea of competition fits to the purpose.
- Professional advice to the design teams by business and companies from the beginning time.
- Strong focus on multifaceted approval
- Good basis for new jobs by contact between designer and business and networking with important partners
- Successful financial return at various levels (municipalities – designer - companies)
- Another way of thinking: not only the offer to join the project, but looking at all needs of every partner.
- Special offers for the young talents for example with accommodations and organization.
- Support of - young talents – new sustainable solutions for the City Light – new ideas for the business – networking.
- Cross-sectorally solutions.
- Innovative model for urban development and planning.
- Impetus to a socially and ecologically fairer future
(Jury Member Ruth Bäßler, D)
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Award winner: Stadtkultur UG - Arbeitnehmerkammer Bremen, Referat Kultur und Stadtentwicklung, Germany |
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Project: Golden City
This project is an imaginative example of a critical yet sympathetic engagement with a large urban development project. Linking the spheres of art, entertainment, property development, marketing and local history, the project reinvigorates Bremen’s fading working class culture. It draws on staged pub crawls, boat trips and police raids to facilitate an entertaining yet meaningful exchange with diverse interest groups, supported by an unlikely alliance of property developers, local activists, cultural organisations, government departments, media, former port workers and a corner pub.
The project acknowledges that a meaningful discourse about urban transformation goes beyond shiny marketing brochures and thorough statutory planning processes. It results in a new format to promote an area of urban transformation in a way which is informative, inclusive, entertaining and relevant.
(Jury Member Eva Herr, D)
Golden City is a good example of using history to reposition a quarter of Bremen by ‘Story Telling’ and offering this story by a mixture of talk/film/theatre/education. Thus creating not only an event, but an experience and pulling together a mixture of different supporters. This experience gives a boost to the whole quarter, the creative and cultural sectors and city development.
Remarkable positive aspects of this project are:
- New cultural impulse for the Harbour area
- Self inducing new (private) events
- Self sustaining monthly tourism cruise
- Media attention
(Jury Member Klaar Zeger, NL)
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Award winner: Schmidt hammer lassen architects - Projektsekretariatet for Urban Mediaspace Aarhus, Denmark |
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Project: Urban Mediaspace Aarhus
A creation of a public library by the municipality of Aarhus and Schmidt Hammer Lassen Arcitects. The interesting aspect of this project is the public aspect of a library. The public involvement has been a long process that started in 2001. Their philosophy is: an active library will only come to life by actively involving the people who are going to use it. A library is a perfect tool to get contact with a broad range of citizens.
The first step was the involvement of the future users in the building process.: user groups, citizen meetings, website with information, films and pictures. A continuing dialogue (also online).
Result:” already before the inauguration the building has become a positive story in the conscience of many people”.
- a library as an open forum for dialogue and exchange, a tool by excellence for lifelong learning
- broad and intensive partnership between municipality, architects, citizens and future users
- the intensive implication of citizens will be positive for the further development of the library as a public space for information and exchange of ideas
- the combination of a library and the new media
(Jury Member Thierry Goosens)
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Award winner: CareX Groningen CV / CareX Fryslân CV - Municipalities of Groningen and Leeuwarden, The Netherlands |
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Project: Full In-between Use
The use of empty buildings for creative industry and culture is very useful in a society in which rents for houses are very high and density in cities is bigger than ever. CareX turns those buildings into useful spaces for living and working. The connection between temporary emptiness of buildings and the demand for decent and payable accommodation is very interesting. The use of an empty building gives a neighborhood a new dynamic and the combination with creative industry and culture gives it an extra dimension toward the neighborhood.
- the re-use of empty buildings
- connection between housing, culture and neighborhood
- the temporary aspect of the project: it pushes the house owners to reflect on the use of their empty buildings
(Jury Member Thierry Goossens, B)
CareX in Groningen and Friesland is an “open space”-project to support start ups for creative people with finding suitable and affordable accommodations for work and life. CareX helps the community to bind creative people to the region and to give them the possibility to become professional.
Remarkable positive aspects of this project are:
- Provides start-up people from the creative industry and (sub) culture in the difficult first years with basic aid.
- Innovative idea with a continuous development of sustainable solutions.
- Organic partnership.
- Financed independently: no funds from the government authorities or the real estate owners.
- Marked improvement of empty spaces in the cities.
- New direction: Marked improvement of temporary emptiness with festivals, ecological city agriculture and durable, free architecture.
(Jury Member Ruth Bässler, D)
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