'Human City Design Award' Grand Prize Awarded to Italy's 'Countless Cities'

Pursuing Values such as Sustainability, Creativity and Innovation, Public and Sharing
99 Projects from 31 Countries Worldwide Submitted, Showcasing Diverse Approaches to Human-Centered Design

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The prestigious Grand Prize of the 2nd Human City Design Award, hosted by the Seoul Design Foundation, was awarded to Italy's 'Countless Cities.'

The Human City Design Award is an international award given to designers or organizations for design projects that propose the direction of future urban design through sustainable cities and cities where daily life is happy.

The Grand Prize-winning Italian project, Countless Cities, is a project that reinvented an old and half-abandoned house located in the center of the rural village of Favara on the island of Sicily, Italy, at a time when the global trend of avoiding rural areas is increasing, into a contemporary art exhibition and community space. Through this, it revitalized a city that had no tourists 10 years ago into a city visited by 100,000 people through design and art regeneration projects.

Despite the chaotic year worldwide due to COVID-19, the 2nd Human City Design Award received 99 projects from 31 countries around the world. This is a 32% increase compared to 2019.

Seoul has been recognized as a creative design city and became the World Design Capital (WDC) in 2010. Furthermore, Seoul, selected as a UNESCO Creative City and having swept prestigious global city awards, has become a city that hosts and awards the Human City Design Award.

Charles Landry, chair of the Human City Design Award jury, said, “Many projects presented various approaches to what a people-centered city is, which was interesting,” and added, “The belief and guideline of the Human City Design Award is to promote various projects that strive to make cities better places for everyone.”

Choi Kyung-ran, CEO of the Seoul Design Foundation, explained, “Although it is difficult to face each other due to COVID-19, now is the time when discussions on a sustainable future are urgently needed to restore people-centered urbanity through design based on participation and cooperation,” and added, “The Human City Design Award will grow into a city design festival that all urban design experts, community experts, architects, administrators, educational institutions, and residents of global cities look forward to and dream of.”

Meanwhile, the prize money for the Human City Design Award Grand Prize is reused for design activities for human-centered cities. At the 1st award ceremony in 2019, 75 works from 25 countries were submitted, and the 'Dunoon Learning Innovation Project,' which achieved beautiful innovation in a South African slum, was selected as the Grand Prize winner. The Dunoon project team, whose residents' participation shone to create a space shielded from drugs and crime, built a library, a future education innovation center, and a community hall for children, and is developing various programs with the prize money.