The Municipality of Budva in Montenegro has launched an international ideas contest to rethink its historic promenade [Deadline: 7 March 2023]
Open to everyone – the free-to-enter competition seeks proposals to rethink the main ‘Budva Bay’ part of the promenade which is recognised as the cultural, entertainment and civic heart of the coastal settlement and a popular tourist destination.
Proposals should feature a conceptual urban plan and architectural design for the promenade’s water, green and beach elements. Concepts will need to establish a ‘new identity for the city of Budva’ and encourage ‘collective awareness’ of environmental issues among local citizens.
According to the brief: ‘For the competition for the development of a conceptual urban and architectural design for the promenade in the “Budva Bay” part of the Budva-Bečići promenade, phase I, participants are being asked to design a site plan for the development of a new identity for the city of Budva.
‘It is of utmost importance to derive inspiration from vast cultural heritage of Old town of Budva and its 2,500 years old history and future urban development. Special attention should be paid to the dispersion of facilities covered with the proposal for competition, with an emphasis on the linear flow of user movement and intersection with lateral directions from the hinterland and contact zones.
‘It is necessary to radically change the mode of use of the coastal strip of land with an emphasis on the introduction of public areas for communication, recreation and outdoor events.’
Overlooking the Adriatic Sea, Budva is a coastal settlement of around 20,000 inhabitants featuring a medieval walled city and sandy beaches. The town has witnessed rapid urban growth in recent decades is one of the main tourist destinations of Montenegro. The Budva-Bečići Promenade contest comes just a month after the nearby Municipality of Kotor launched an international single-stage competition for a new football stadium. The latest competition aims to create a new ‘ecologically sustainable space’ that helps to boost the cultural and touristic development of Budva while also respecting the area’s unique heritage.
Key aims include encouraging a ‘radical’ shift in the way in the way people use the promenade; delivering new public spaces for communication, recreation and outdoor events; and increasing the visitor capacity of the waterfront.
Submissions must include an A3-format booklet featuring a written project description along with four A0-sized panels featuring drawings and diagrams. A 60-second 3D animation may also be submitted.
The overall winner – to be announced in April – will receive a €120,000 prize. A second prize of €60,000, third prize of €30,000 and two purchases worth €6,500 each will also be awarded.
Judges will include chief state architect Vladan Stevović; the president of the Municipality of Budva, Milo Božović; and the painter Savo Pavlović. The competition languages are Montenegrin and English.
Competition details
Project title Budva-Bečići Promenade
Client Municipality of Budva
Contract value Tbc
First round deadline 7 March
Restrictions Persons residing or domiciled in the territory of Montenegro, as well as persons domiciled in the territory of another country, can participate in the competition, where at least one of the authors of the proposal (individual or author team leader) is a responsible person in the architectural profession
More information http://budva.me/promenade
