The Cuban Square: Architecture Competition | Located in the Vedado district towards the west side of Old Havana, Plaza de la Revolución is not only one of the largest public squares in the world – 72.000 square meters – but also a place of great historical relevance. The square has been the stage of several of the main events of the Cuban Revolution and the place where up to a million people have congregated at once during civic gatherings.
This immense concrete surface that was once a lively place, has neither been able to evolve in time, nor been capable of reinventing itself to host possible new urban programs. Laying inert and unused most of the time, the square has become a sort of “public void” where tourists just step by to take the classic picture with Che Guevara’s mural on the background, to then go back to the beach.
The goal of this competition is to explore the potentialities of Plaza de la Revolución, in order to come up with a design proposal capable of giving it a new life. How could it be transformed into a place for community life and social interaction? What kind of intervention might turn the square into a livelier area, accessible and functional for both local dwellers and international tourists?
The Cuban Square aims at reinterpreting a space full of history and cultural value through innovative and original projects. Designers are therefore completely free to decide the programs and the type of interventions they want to experiment on the site. Be creative and do not hesitate to “revolutionise” the square!
The Cuban Square: Architecture Competition | Located in the Vedado district towards the west side of Old Havana, Plaza de la Revolución is not only one of the largest public squares in the world – 72.000 square meters – but also a place of great historical relevance. The square has been the stage of several of the main events of the Cuban Revolution and the place where up to a million people have congregated at once during civic gatherings.
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This immense concrete surface that was once a lively place, has neither been able to evolve in time, nor been capable of reinventing itself to host possible new urban programs. Laying inert and unused most of the time, the square has become a sort of “public void” where tourists just step by to take the classic picture with Che Guevara’s mural on the background, to then go back to the beach.
The goal of this competition is to explore the potentialities of Plaza de la Revolución, in order to come up with a design proposal capable of giving it a new life. How could it be transformed into a place for community life and social interaction? What kind of intervention might turn the square into a livelier area, accessible and functional for both local dwellers and international tourists?
The Cuban Square aims at reinterpreting a space full of history and cultural value through innovative and original projects. Designers are therefore completely free to decide the programs and the type of interventions they want to experiment on the site. Be creative and do not hesitate to “revolutionise” the square!
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COMPETITION CLOSED
Winners Announced
December 19th 2022
Don’t miss the special launch promo: 20% OFF on registration fees using the Promo Code: TCS20XTVC
To be applied during the registration procedure. Valid only for “Early” registration fees, from July 18th to August 1st.
Registrations : from July 18th to November 18th
Submission : 2 x A1 panels + a brief text describing the proposal
Results : on December 19th 2022
1st Prize : 2.500 €
2nd Prize : 1.500 €
3rd Prize : 1.000 €
Gold Mention #1 : 250 €
Gold Mention #2 : 250 €
Gold Mention #3 : 250 €
Gold Mention #4 : 250 €
10 Honorable Mentions
30 Finalists
Image © Susana Perez – 2022
JURY PANEL
Chosen from well known academic institutions and international firms, our jury members are highly qualified to evaluate the proposals thanks to their specialised knowledge and experience in design, architecture and urbanism.(*) [Download full brief for the complete jury panel]
ANDREA BRANZI
[Milan, Italy]
Andrea Branzi
Andrea Branzi, architect and designer, graduated in Florence in 1967, lives and works in Milan. From 1964 to 1974 he was a partner of Archizoom Associati and one of the most respected voices of the Radical Architecture movement. A prominent member of…
NO/EVER DESIGN STUDIO
[Vienna, Austria]
Peter Noever
Ausstellungsmacher, curator-at-large art + architecture and art director. Director emeritus MAK Vienna/Los Angeles. Principal no/ever design studio/new strategies, Vienna. “Design conjures up the notion of a radically different ‘Weltentwurf’ – from the spoon…
STEFANO BOERI Architetti
[Havana, Cuba]
Paloma Herrero E.
Paloma Herrero Ermakova graduated first at Instituto Superior Politecnico in Havana, Cuba in 2013 and then from Politecnico di Milano in 2016. After graduating in Milan she was the author of three articles and a number of photos in AREA’s 150 edition dedicated…
WUTOPIA LAB
[Shanghai, China]
Yu Ting
Born in 1972 in Shanghai, China, where he currently lives and works. YU is chief architect and co-founder of Wutopia Lab, co-founder of Let's Talk, Urban Humble Space Revival Plan and FA emerging architect award. He is a professor level senior engineer…
CITY OF AMSTERDAM
[Havana, Cuba]
Iruma Rodríguez Hernández
Iruma Rodríguez is an architect and urbanist based in The Netherlands. She graduated as an architect from the Technical University of Havana, and as an urbanist from the University of Arts of Amsterdam. In 2019, Iruma was awarded with a special mention from…
INSIDE OUTSIDE
[Amsterdam, Netherlands]
Francesca Porro
Francesca Porro is an Italian architect, deeply interested in multidisciplinary research, working at the intersection of architecture, landscape and design. She graduated cum laude in Architecture at Politecnico di Milano in 2019, and studied for…
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT
[Dresden, Germany]
Teresa Pontini
Teresa Pontini is a landscape architect and researcher focusing on public space design. During her career she managed international and multidisciplinary architecture and landscape design projects, and facilitated capacity building activities and…
ALABAUTH
[Havana, Cuba]
Adrian Labaut
Adrian Labaut (La Habana,1989) is a Doctoral candidate at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, in Spain. He holds a Bachelor and a Master's Degree in Architecture with honours from the Politecnico di Milano, in Italy. From small to urban…
Registration
The competition is open to students, architects, designers, urbanists, engineers, artists, makers, activists and anyone interested in the fields of design and architecture.
Participants can join the competition either individually or with a team.
Please click on “Register Now” and follow the instructions.
Schedule
“Early” registration from July 18th to September 9th – 11.59 AM CET
“Standard” registration from September 9th to October 21st – 11.59 AM CET
“Late” registration from October 21st to November 18th – 11.59 AM CET
Registration fees
“Early” registration – Expired
“Standard” registration – Expired
“Late” registration – Expired
*All prices are excluding vat (22%)
Submission
2 x A1 panels (landscape oriented) + a brief text describing the proposal (max. 250 words).
Projects must be submitted through the upload section within November 18th 11:59 AM CET (Central European Time).
Upload section open from October 29th.
Results
Results will be published on this website after December 19th 2022.
Prizes
1st Prize : 2.500 €
2nd Prize : 1.500 €
3rd Prize : 1.000 €
Gold Mention #1 : 250 €
Gold Mention #2 : 250 €
Gold Mention #3 : 250 €
Gold Mention #4 : 250 €
10 Honorable Mentions
30 Finalists
Questions
All the questions related to the competition can be mailed to us at:
info@terravivacompetitions.com indicating the following subject: “FAQ – The Cuban Square”.
Answers to all questions will be published on the FAQ online section, which will be regularly updated until October 22th.
Disclaimer
This competition encourages to propose innovative solutions across a broad range of social impact tracks. TerraViva has no development rights over the square.
TerraViva is an independent organization. (*) The members of the jury and their professional firms have no commercial connection with TerraViva, they represent a third-party and non-profit service.
