Citizens have a say in the Girona Region Architecture Awards

GironaFor the ninth year, the College of Architects of Catalonia in Girona (COAC) wants the public to participate in the Architecture Awards, which will be held for the 27th time this year. Seventy-seven projects have been submitted in the categories of Architecture, Interiors, Landscapes, and Ephemeral Works, and voting is available on the website. www.premisarquitecturagirona.cat until April 23. Specifically, there are forty-six works in Architecture, twelve in Interiors, seven in Landscapes, and twelve in Ephemeral Works. The winning project by popular vote will receive the Opinion Prize.

All the submitted works can be seen on the aforementioned website and until May 4th in the Pia Almoina exhibition hall at the headquarters of the College of Architects of Catalonia in Girona.

"We encourage you to discover works that share a strong sensitivity toward sustainability and the preservation of both landscape and built heritage in the Girona region, and to participate with your vote in the selection of the Opinion Prize, which will be revealed alongside the Prizes awarded by the Jury," says Sílvia Musquera, head of culture and also three. The participating works were completed between January 1 and December 31 of last year.

By category

Forty-six projects were submitted in the Architecture category, of which twenty-two correspond to restorations or renovations and twenty-four to new construction. Regarding typology, the majority of the projects (thirty-eight) are residential. The remainder include three hotels, a sports center, a school, a primary care center, a civic space, and a ruin intervention. By region, seventeen projects are located in Baix Empordà, eight in Gironès, eight in La Garrotxa, six in Alt Empordà, four in La Selva, one in Ripollès, one in Pla de l'Estany, and one in Cerdanya.

In the Interiors category, half of the twelve projects are residential projects, and the rest are commercial premises. Four of the projects are located in La Garrotxa, four in Alt Empordà, three in La Selva, and one in Gironès.

In the Landscapes category, seven projects have been registered, including urban interventions, public spaces, and environments of natural and archaeological interest. They are spread across the regions of La Garrotxa, Alt and Baix Empordà, with two projects in each region, and one in Cerdanya.

Finally, among the twelve presented in the Ephemeral category, we find nine installations participating in different cultural events in the Girona regions, such as Lluèrnia - Festival of Light and Fire, the Olot Nativity Scene Exhibition, and the Girona Temps de Flors. The three remaining projects are art installations and exhibitions.

Good health for Girona architecture

Marc Riera, president of the COAC in Girona, gives a "very positive" assessment of the number of projects submitted. "It reaffirms the healthy state of architecture in our region," says Riera. "The diversity of projects, both in typology and location, demonstrates the work of architects in responding to a multitude of needs, from housing to public facilities. Their architectural quality remains very high, which makes us proud and consolidates the history of the awards."

Naturally, in addition to the Opinion Prize, the submitted works are also eligible for various awards given by the jury, composed of María José Aranguren as president, and Joan M. Viader and Juana Sánchez as members, all of them architects linked to teaching and professional practice.

The works selected by the jury will be announced on April 24th, and the awards ceremony will take place on Friday, June 13th, at a public event held in the Rafael Masó Hall of the Girona headquarters of the College of Architects of Catalonia.

Architecture as a cultural value

The Girona Regions Architecture Awards have established themselves, year after year, as a benchmark among architecture and construction professionals, and have an impact beyond the Girona region thanks to the participation of prestigious juries.

First held in 1997 to showcase the quality and rigor of the professional work and architecture carried out in the Girona region, the awards are a living memory of a segment of the architecture produced for almost three decades in the Girona region. During this time, 700 projects were selected from all the projects submitted, 165 of which were awarded prizes.

On the awards website www.premisarquitecturagirona.cat It contains all the recognized works from 1997 to the present, highlighting both the recent architectural heritage of the district and the work of architects. These projects are classified according to various criteria—author, type, location, and year—and can be consulted via an interactive map, a tool that allows users to access a range of information such as plans, photographs, drawings, and a brief report on the project.