Schindler Award 2008: "To Reclaim the Public Ground"

The Schindler Award sets participants the task of designing an inclusive urban landscape, accessible to all inhabitants. The emphasis is on intelligent and sustainable architectural solutions that make it possible for people of all ages and capabilities to enjoy barrier-free mobility in their urban environments.

The response has been very encouraging. The Schindler Award 2008 attracted nearly 1000 applicants, with 125 projects qualifying for the final judging round - a third more than the previous competition. The Schindler Award is having a significant impact on schools of architecture, too: a growing number are incorporating the topic of accessibility into their curricula, and many more supported their students' participation. Thirty-nine of the projects entered in the final judging round were chosen by schools themselves from a total of 244. A total of 86 projects were submitted by individual student teams.