Monika Konrad served on the international jury for the European Prize for Urban Public Space Award
Monika Konrad, associate professor at the
Faculty of Architecture, Brno University of Technology, served on the
international jury for the European Prize for Urban Public Space 2026. She
received a special commendation in Barcelona for her participation on the jury
of the thirteenth edition of this prestigious European award.
Photo: Monika Konrad/personal archive
The European Prize for Urban Public Space is a competition
focused on the creation, regeneration and enhancement of public spaces in
European cities. This year’s edition saw a record 381 projects submitted from
38 European countries. The international jury, led by architect Eva Prats,
selected 25 shortlisted projects and subsequently four finalists. The awards
ceremony took place on 15 October 2026 at the Centre de Cultura Contemporania
de Barcelona.
Monika Konrad sat on the jury alongside Eva Prats, Angelika
Fitz, Ines Lobo, Bas Smets and Philip Ursprung. In her view, the experience in
Barcelona reaffirmed the importance of public space for the shape of society,
as well as the need to critically re-evaluate established practices in architecture
and urban planning.
“Remaining radical means never ceasing to ask questions, not
even in relation to one’s own work,” she says, summarising one of the key ideas
she took away from the jury’s deliberations and the awards ceremony.
The winner was the Zuidpark project in Antwerp by the teams
Tractebel, Georges Descombes and Atelier adr. It transformed a former car park
in the old docks area into a large urban park that combines a commemoration of
the site’s history with the promotion of biodiversity, water management and the
everyday lives of residents.
The jury’s special prize went to the ‘Round About Baths’
project in Logrono by Leopold Banchini, created as part of the Concéntrico
festival. This temporary intervention transformed the space of an outdated roundabout
and its fountain into public baths and a climatic retreat.
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