Eight projects selected from among 90 entries have been chosen to receive 2010 Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) Charter Awards. Winners were selected in three professional categories—(1) The Region: Metropolis, City, and Town; (2) Neighborhood, District, and Corridor; (3) The Block, Street, and Building—and one Academic Award.
Projects spanned the continent, from Maryland to New Mexico, Florida to British Columbia. Three of the winners are located in the Atlanta area, where the accolades will be presented at a May 22 ceremony during the 18th annual Congress for the New Urbanism.
Two were designed by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. (DPZ), whose founders, Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, are the godparents of the New Urbanist movement. Their scheme for Tsawwassen, British Columbia, proposes an "Agricultural Urbanism" solution that simultaneously develops new housing and increases farm production on the site. For Atlanta, DPZ created a scheme for "Lifelong Communities" that addresses how existing, typically suburban, landscapes can be modified to provide for aging area populations without developing age-segregated solutions.
The lone international winner was for "A Plaça in the Pyrenees," by New York–based Fairfax and Sammons Architects, who are better known for their high-end home designs. The firm's infill project creates a new plaza in the Andorran town of Sant Julià de Lòria.
The small architecture school at Andrew University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, won the Academic Award for the fourth year in a row. The school's speculative scheme developed 120 underutilized acres south of Santa Fe, N.M.'s historic downtown as a diverse solution that responds to the area's sustainability and urban culture.
This year marks the 10th annual CNU Charter Awards. A complete list of winners with detailed documentation of each proposal can be found at the CNU Web site.
