# C_2007187EN.01001001.xml

| 10.8.2007 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 187/10 |
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CALL FOR PROPOSALS — DG EAC/03/07

Organisation and implementation of a biennial European Union Prize scheme for Contemporary Architecture

(2007/C 187/05)

1.   Introduction

The Culture Programme( 1 ) is a single multi-annual programme for Community measures in the field of culture open to all cultural sectors (non-audiovisual) and all categories of cultural operators.

This programme is based on Article 151 of the EC Treaty, which states that the Community shall contribute to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity and at the same time bringing the common cultural heritage to the fore.

With reference to the strand 1.3 of the programme, the purpose of this call for proposals is to select a body which will be in charge of the organization and the implementation of a biennial European Union Prize scheme for Contemporary Architecture.

2.   Objectives and description

Architecture is about environmental quality, human scale, the appropriate use of building materials and structure. It is about social appropriateness: spaces which support people's living and working environment. It is about ecological and functional appropriateness: long building life, sustainable materials, low energy consumption, flexibility of use. It is about economic appropriateness: value for money in a cost-conscious age. It is mainly about cultural expression: respect for a city or landscape context, a vision of the future as an expression of respect for the past.

Building is often treated as an exclusively economic process, whereas it is primarily a social and cultural phenomenon, responding to people's needs and aspirations. Citizens as well as public institutions are not always fully aware of this aspect of architecture.

The purpose of the present call is to select a body which will be in entitled to organize, implement and award a biennial European Union Prize scheme for Contemporary Architecture. The selected entity will assume the organisation and implementation of the first year's EU prize (2009). Only with the explicit approval of the Commission, it may do so for the next editions in 2011 and 2013.

This prize aims at the recognition, promotion and development of artistic talent as well as excellent practice in the field of European contemporary architecture. Among the various International awards for architectural excellence, there is need for a specific prize that demonstrates the progress and outstanding role that European creation plays; when this is seen globally, it can easily be established that it acts as a leader in the development of architectural ideas and realisations. Such a prize would fulfil this aim.

The body which will be selected by the European Commission for the organization and the implementation of this EU-Prize shall take care of the following points:

| (a) | The purpose of the prize is to discover and highlight artistic talent in the field of contemporary architecture as well as projects acting as an example or even as a manifesto. The prize should reflect both a symbolic and pedagogical value. To determine this, the selected body should work in closely with competent architectural bodies in the Member States (paying special attention to new Member States). |
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| (b) | Considering the importance of the European dimension, the prize should reflect this aspect by focusing attention on the trans-nationality of architectural works by endeavouring to promote works of architecture created in countries other then the country of origin of the architect(s). |
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| (c) | Considering also the importance of encouraging new and emerging talented architects, a special mention (award) could be envisaged for first works of such professionals, whether built in or outside the country of their origin. |
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| (d) | In this context:
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a prize will be awarded to one or more European authors of architectural works which meet the spirit of the objectives outlined in paragraph (a) above and which have been created in Europe( 2 ) in the two years preceding the award of the prize. The financial award accompanying the prize could be EUR 60 000 maximum, —
a special mention/award will be given to one or more young European architects who have created a project in Europe( 2 ) either in or outside their country of origin. The financial award accompanying the special mention/award could be EUR 20 000 maximum, —
the decision as to who should be awarded the prize and the special mention/award will be based on the recommendations of a panel of European independent experts, representing as many schools of architecture and trends in contemporary architecture as possible. Applicants should explain in their bid how they intend to manage this process, specifying how the panel will be selected and on what basis it will operate (definition of the award criteria, the award procedure, etc.), —
the prize and any other special mentions/awards should provide the greatest visibility and impact possible in terms of their European dimension; hence, the presence of the European Union Institutions and in particular of the European Commission at the prize-giving and special awards ceremony is essential. The selected body will remain in close contact with the European Commission with regard to the selection and communication process, —
the winning projects as well as all submitted projects (or the best submissions) should be publicised as effectively as possible, for example through publications, press, radio and TV coverage, travelling exhibitions, etc). | — | a prize will be awarded to one or more European authors of architectural works which meet the spirit of the objectives outlined in paragraph (a) above and which have been created in Europe( 2 ) in the two years preceding the award of the prize. The financial award accompanying the prize could be EUR 60 000 maximum, | — | a special mention/award will be given to one or more young European architects who have created a project in Europe( 2 ) either in or outside their country of origin. The financial award accompanying the special mention/award could be EUR 20 000 maximum, | — | the decision as to who should be awarded the prize and the special mention/award will be based on the recommendations of a panel of European independent experts, representing as many schools of architecture and trends in contemporary architecture as possible. Applicants should explain in their bid how they intend to manage this process, specifying how the panel will be selected and on what basis it will operate (definition of the award criteria, the award procedure, etc.), | — | the prize and any other special mentions/awards should provide the greatest visibility and impact possible in terms of their European dimension; hence, the presence of the European Union Institutions and in particular of the European Commission at the prize-giving and special awards ceremony is essential. The selected body will remain in close contact with the European Commission with regard to the selection and communication process, | — | the winning projects as well as all submitted projects (or the best submissions) should be publicised as effectively as possible, for example through publications, press, radio and TV coverage, travelling exhibitions, etc). |
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| — | a prize will be awarded to one or more European authors of architectural works which meet the spirit of the objectives outlined in paragraph (a) above and which have been created in Europe( 2 ) in the two years preceding the award of the prize. The financial award accompanying the prize could be EUR 60 000 maximum, | | | | | | | | | | |
| — | a special mention/award will be given to one or more young European architects who have created a project in Europe( 2 ) either in or outside their country of origin. The financial award accompanying the special mention/award could be EUR 20 000 maximum, | | | | | | | | | | |
| — | the decision as to who should be awarded the prize and the special mention/award will be based on the recommendations of a panel of European independent experts, representing as many schools of architecture and trends in contemporary architecture as possible. Applicants should explain in their bid how they intend to manage this process, specifying how the panel will be selected and on what basis it will operate (definition of the award criteria, the award procedure, etc.), | | | | | | | | | | |
| — | the prize and any other special mentions/awards should provide the greatest visibility and impact possible in terms of their European dimension; hence, the presence of the European Union Institutions and in particular of the European Commission at the prize-giving and special awards ceremony is essential. The selected body will remain in close contact with the European Commission with regard to the selection and communication process, | | | | | | | | | | |
| — | the winning projects as well as all submitted projects (or the best submissions) should be publicised as effectively as possible, for example through publications, press, radio and TV coverage, travelling exhibitions, etc). | | | | | | | | | | |

The applicant organisations could also propose additional categories of distinction that they may deem essential.

3.   Eligible applicants

Applicant organisations must be public or private organisations with a legal status whose activity lies in the field of contemporary architecture and with long and proven experience of organising activities in the sector (e.g. exhibitions, prizes, publications, etc).

Applications from legal entities established in one of the following countries are eligible:

| — | the 27 Member States of the European Union as from 1st January 2007 (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom), |
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| — | the three EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway)( 3 ), |
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| — | the EU-candidate countries: Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey( 4 ), |
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| — | the Western Balkans countries (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia including Kosovo (under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244))( 5 ). |
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4.   Budget and project duration

The budget earmarked for this action is a maximum of EUR 200 000 towards the total organisation and implementation costs of each biennial Prize (including the prize money for the main prize and for any special mentions/awards). This contribution must not exceed 60 % of the total eligible organisation and implementation costs proposed by the successful applicant for each biennial Prize( 6 ).

The duration of the eligibility period of each EU-Grant agreement will be maximum 15 months. For the organization of the EU-Prize in 2009, the action to be financed must start no later than 30 June 2008 and finish by 29 September 2009. The starting date for the eligibility of expenditure may under no circumstances be before 1st March 2008.

Community support will be granted on condition that the administrative and financial procedures are properly completed.

The European Commission reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

5.   Timetable/Deadline

In the context of the framework programme Culture, and in continuation of the already established scheme in the previous Programme, this call for proposals aims at establishing three biennial European prizes for contemporary architecture as from 2009.

The successful applicant will assume the organisation of the 2009 EU Prize edition. It may do so for the two consecutive editions (2011 and 2013) with the explicit approval of the Commission which will be based on the assessment of the organization and the implementation of the previous edition.

Applications must be sent to the Commission no later than 9th November 2007.

6.   Award criteria

Eligible proposals will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

| — | experience in the organisation of similar initiatives in the field of contemporary architecture at European level, |
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| — | the capacity to organise, coordinate and implement the Prize in accordance with the objectives of the present call for proposals, |
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| — | the level of dissemination and exploitation of the planned activities, to be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
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the level of visibility of the planned activities (including the obligation to give prominence to the name and logo of the European Commission and the Culture Programme, and the different sorts of advertisement tools used (website, magazines, brochures, radio, TV, etc.) in order to make the activities visible to European citizens), —
the relevance and the quality of the ‘media plan’ with regard to the planned activities and the targeted audience, —
the number of people who could benefit (directly and indirectly) from the results of the planned activities (targeted audience/beneficiaries, attendance, number of participants, readership, etc.). | — | the level of visibility of the planned activities (including the obligation to give prominence to the name and logo of the European Commission and the Culture Programme, and the different sorts of advertisement tools used (website, magazines, brochures, radio, TV, etc.) in order to make the activities visible to European citizens), | — | the relevance and the quality of the ‘media plan’ with regard to the planned activities and the targeted audience, | — | the number of people who could benefit (directly and indirectly) from the results of the planned activities (targeted audience/beneficiaries, attendance, number of participants, readership, etc.). |
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| — | the level of visibility of the planned activities (including the obligation to give prominence to the name and logo of the European Commission and the Culture Programme, and the different sorts of advertisement tools used (website, magazines, brochures, radio, TV, etc.) in order to make the activities visible to European citizens), | | | | | | |
| — | the relevance and the quality of the ‘media plan’ with regard to the planned activities and the targeted audience, | | | | | | |
| — | the number of people who could benefit (directly and indirectly) from the results of the planned activities (targeted audience/beneficiaries, attendance, number of participants, readership, etc.). | | | | | | |

7.   Further information

The full text of this call for proposals and the application forms are available on the following website:

http://ec.europa.eu/culture/eac/index_en.html

Applications must comply with the requirements set out in the full text and be submitted using the form provided.

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( 1 )  Decision No 1855/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 372, 27.12.2006, p. 1).

( 2 )  The prize-winning projects, as well as the prize winners, must come from one of the countries participating in the Programme (see section 3).

( 3 )  Subject to the relevant EEA Joint Committee decision concerning the participation of each of those countries in the new Culture Programme in 2007 being in force.

( 4 )  Subject to the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the participation of each of those countries in the new Culture Programme in 2007.

( 5 )  Idem.

( 6 )  Article 113 of the Financial Regulation; Articles 167 and 172 of the Implementing Rules.

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