February 28, 2025

Habitat

Using public spaces to celebrate social unity and improve the quality of life

Park at the Warsaw Uprising Mound, Warsaw (Poland), 2023

Park at the Warsaw Uprising Mound, Warsaw (Poland), 2023

"A new park in central Warsaw integrates the area's history by recycling World War II ruins to create an accessible, enjoyable public space that combines memory, leisure and ecological sensibility."

The European Prize for Urban Public Space is a biennial award that honors exceptional projects that create, transform, or restore public spaces in European cities. This honorary prize highlights the vital role of public space as a catalyst for urban life.

A jury of architects, planners, designers, critics, historians, and curators evaluates projects based on several criteria, including the significance of the intervention, public ownership or a strong public-spirited mission, citizen participation and engagement, environmental improvements and innovations, and the project's ability to reduce social divides and enhance quality of life.

Their website is an inspiring survey of why public spaces matter.

WEBSITE: PublicSpace.org

Habitat

Harvesting rain Is now both smart design and smart building

ARTICLE: Rainwater Harvesting 101: Integrating Aesthetics & Sustainability In Architecture

Habitat

How Indigenous-informed architecture reframes design as reciprocity.

ARTICLE: Architecture by, for, and with America’s First Communities

Habitat

How upcycling plentiful, underutilized biomass into building materials can help solve America’s housing crisis, create jobs, and boost domestic manufacturing

REPORT: Building with Biomass: A New American Harvest

Habitat

War is not healthy for children, living things and centralized fossil fuel energy systems.

‍ARTICLE: Co-operatives and the Global Energy Crisis