Competition Results!

On December 19, 2011 at Perform Business Center, the results of the Contest for an Architectural Project for Metro Station 20 of Metro Line 1 of the Sofia Metro were announced. Sofia chief architect and the chairman of the international jury for the contest, architect Petar Dikov, announced the winners. The undeniable quality of the submitted projects made the jury’s selection difficult, hence it awarded two first-place and one second-place prize.

First prize in the amount of 8,000 leva – architect Aleksandar Shinolov, Plovdiv, Bulgaria;
First prize in the amount of 8,000 leva – the team led by architect Victor Jimenes, from the studio ATA Ltd., London, UK;
Second prize in the amount of 4,000 leva – the team led by Mr. Kichul Lee, from the studio Architect-K, Seoul, South Korea

Honorable Mentions (no cash prize) were awarded to the final selection of projects:

– Michaela Zaharieva, FBarch, France
– Yuko Fukuma, SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE, Japan
– Gary Freedman, THE LANTERN, Netherlands
– Jose Antonio Sosa, Sosa + Alonso, Spain
– Luigi Serboli, Boschi + Serboli Architetti Associati, Italy
– Jose Manuel Jimenez Cao, Spain
– Stefan Popov, ARCHABITS +, Bulgaria
– Ioannis Ventourakis, BETAPLAN S.A., Greece,
– Daekwon Park, ANG, USA

In order to determine the categorical winner, recommendations were given for the further development of the two first-prize projects, with a view to their optimization in terms of technical implementation and financial adequacy, while preserving the project’s original impression. The authors of the projects will have an opportunity to make their improvements and send the projects to the jury for a second evaluation, which will be based on a joint meeting between the jury and the leadership of Metropolitan EAD in order to determine the final project to be implemented. Today the envelopes were opened in front of journalists and the names of the participants became clear.

The contest was launched by the Sofia Municipality and the Directorate for Architecture and Urban Planning, and co-organized by Sofia Architecture Week. One-hundred and thirty contest applications took part in it, with participants from over 15 countries in Europe, Asia and America. They will be displayed in an exhibit specially organized for the purposes of the event – in the galleries on the first floor of Perform Business Center. The exhibition will be open to the public on December 20-28 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Decisions of the Jury

After a discussion, the jury made the following decisions:

1. To award 2 (two) first prizes to projects 016 (Victor Jimenes) and 088 (Aleksandar Shinolov) (sixteen and eighty-eight) in the amount of a reduced first prize of 8,000 (eight thousand) leva each.
2. To award a second prize to project 007 (seven) (Mr. Kichul Lee) in the amount of the original third prize – 4,000 (four thousand) leva.

To the assignor, the jury makes the following recommendations:

3. Projects 016 (Victor Jimenes) and 088 (Aleksandar Shinolov) should be re-assigned for further development at the level of draft projects, taking into account the jury’s comments on them.
4. After the reworking of the two first-place projects, they should be re-examined and the project for implementation should be selected.
5. For the purposes of making this selection, the assignor should ensure that the jury meets again and also holds at a joint meeting with the leadership of Metropolitan EAD in order to designate the final project for realization.

The jury makes the following recommendations to the first-place projects:

1. To project 016 (Victor Jimenes):
– Simplification of the concrete forms with the aim of easier technological implementation and the improved financial adequacy of the project.
– Optimization of the approaches from the street towards the foyer of the station (the existing ones should be more focused or new ones should be added).
– To preserve the original impression of the project – the greenery, visible concrete, view towards the platform and double height.
– To optimize the technical implementation, using the advantages and possibilities of concrete as a construction material.
– To get rid of the decorative concrete forms above the ground.

2. To project 088 (Aleksandar Shinolov):
– The glassing-in of the atriums to be functionally improved.
– Ensuring handicap access.
– To further develop the green environment and if possible to rethink the symmetrical positioning of the approaches to the metro station.

DOWNLOAD THE JURY PROTOCOL:

The Jury Protocol (PDF)