Eurovision

Between 2012 and 2016 A10 visited 23 countries in Europe to report on the status of emerging architects within the political, cultural, financial and social context of their country. What chances do they have? How do networks work? What sort of projects do they work on? All editions have been made in collaboration with a guest editor, representing an independent institution with national recognition. Underneath you can find the results.

Czech Republic, 2016. Situated in the heart of Europe, with architecturally strong neighbors Germany, Austria and recently fast growing Poland, still surrounded and enclosed by the border hills. Czech architecture has always been part of Europe, even in some periods it has suffered considerable political isolation. That is now radically changing with a new generation of internationally well networked architects and institutions, becoming an integral and vital part of the European and global debate on contemporary architecture and notably urban planning. Osamu Okamura explains how.

Poland, 2016. Since Poland entered the European Union in 2004, the nation has seen continuous growth, both economically and culturally. In this instalment, Hubert Trammer and Maciej Czarnecki, together with Ewa Borysiewicz and Anna Szylar of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and photographer Jakub Certowicz, apprise the current circumstances of Polish architecture.

Lithuania, 2016. Situated between Scandinavia and Eastern and Western Europe, it is no surprise that economically (and historically) Lithuania deals mostly with Russia and Poland. Its architectural scope, however, is a lot broader. Its architects are attempting to implement new values in a nation that has become one of the fastest-growing economies in the EU. Needless to say, new Lithuanian architecture is on the rise, says Ruta Leitaneite.

Malta, 2015. It is a truth universally acknowledged that any city that will become a European Capital of Culture must be in need of new buildings. In Malta, it was decided that the activities leading up to Valletta’s turn in 2018 should include the entire country, and not just the capital city alone. For this reason, we took the opportunity to learn more about the architecture scene of this island nation. Guest editors Lisa Gwen Baldacchino (Ministry of Culture) and Simone Vella Lenicker (Malta Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers) explain more about its history and recent projects, opportunities and threats.

Eurovision Iceland, 2015

Romania, 2015. Romania is one of those European countries where new construction has fallen off the hardest because fo the economic crisis. Yet, during these years, the number of internationally recognized Romanian projects has only increased. In many ways, the equasion ‘fewer projects, more reflection’ seems to function here. But there is more than that: Romanian architects have combined this habit of making do with what they have with opening up to the world, and with a new sense of responsability. Zeppelin, guest editor of this edition of Eurovision, explores the reults so far.

Albania, 2015. After 30 years of transition, Albania still aspires to a new culture of spatial planning. Its main planning strategies thus far have resulted in notions like the ‘vaporized city’, ‘informal city’ and ‘archipealogo cvity’, offering a rather clear insight into how Albania’s main cities have developed until now. While politicians repeatedly invite international architects to participate in prestige projects that are hardly ever realized, Albanian architects have developed a rich palette of answers to deal with pop-up peripheries and leftover plots in the city center. In this edition of Eurovision, edited by Polis University, we focus on the projects and ambitions that have recast Albania into a fascinating laboratory of urban concepts.