Franziska Schenk, a student of the Faculty of Architecture of the Brno University of Technology, won the international competition Urban Design Award 2021 with her Green Clusters project. In their evaluation, the jurors took into account not only the final project, its quality and the way of presentation, but also the imaginativeness of the author and the degree of response of the project to current world problems. An important parameter for determining the winner was the overall grasp of the topic and the comprehensibility of the design.

The Green Clusters project offers a solution in the form of community housing with maximum privacy. | Author: Franziska Schenk

Franziska Schenk from FA VUT Brno succeeded with the Green Clusters project led by Nicol Gale from the Institute of Experimental Design, FA BUT. 

The goal of this urban design is socially mixed neighborhood living in a sustainable neighbourhood close to nature. The project responds to the current change in housing structures and shows the possibilities of community living without denying privacy. It is based on the idea of living in harmony with nature and draws attention to an ecologically sustainable way of life. The "Nová Valcha" development area is currently being built on the outskirts of Pilsen. Green clusters mark the final shape of the new area and distance themselves from the typical suburban settlement structure. There are no typical family houses that are not sustainable as a form of settlement. The project will get residents to get closer to each other, which will also support the creation of more free space for everyone. – Franziska Schenk

The author has also addressed the topic of sustainable and ecological living. | Author: Franziska Schenk

The jury of international experts gave a positive assessment of the emphasis on living and detail of the environment (from private porches to common public spaces), social interaction (composition of individual "families"), energy issues and its decentralization, structure life cycle and "blue-green" solutions ( combination of development solutions and public spaces).

A record 60 projects entered the 25th year of the competition for the best urban project for architecture students from eight university cities in Europe. Of the 15 projects that advanced to the second round, the jury finally selected six, to whom it virtually presented the awards at the online announcement of winners on March 24.