New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Project category

Identify the award category for which this project is being submitted
Regaining a sense of belonging

Email user
livia.gazova@trencin2026.eu

Basic information
Project title
Trenčín SiTy (Trenčín Is You)

Full Project Title
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Please provide a short, catchy description of your project to be used in communication towards the public.
After a long time of separation by the railway, heavy traffic and industrial structures, the Trenčín regains its riverbanks. Thanks to temporary structures, cultural events and placemaking, people of Trenčín are learning how to make relationship with the space that would become a new central district in the future. The long-term participatory decision making, which was behind the architectural competition and the change in the city’s land-use plan, thus continues at the site.

What was the geographical scope of your project?
Local

Where was your project implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Slovakia

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
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Does your project address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban

Does your project refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)

Has your project benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your project won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Is your project fully completed
Yes

Please indicate a date (mm/yy)
2021-04-01

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organisation
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project)
- Name of the organisation(s): The City of Trenčín
  Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local)
  First name of representative: Patrik
  Last name of representative: Žák
  Gender: Male
  Nationality: Slovakia
  Function: deputy mayor
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Mierové námestie 1/2
  Town: Trenčín
  Postal code: 911 64
  Country: Slovakia
  Direct Tel: +421 902911258
  E-mail: patrik.zak@trencin.sk
  Website: https://trencin.sk/en/homepage/
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
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In case my project is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my project in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
New European Bauhaus or European Commission websites

Description of the project
Please provide a summary of your project.
Thanks to its geomorphology, Trenčín has a specific horseshoe shape encircling the castle rock with river Váh flowing underneath. The historical city center is located between the river and the castle rock, in a bottleneck where both the railway and the main road used to be running. In order to align the track arcs, the railway route was transferred to its new location. The land released by this decision started to be an opportunity for the new development of the city center as well as for the connection with the river. Together with inhabitants, the city of Trenčín created a visionary project connecting the original urban fabric with the riverbank. The start of the project dates back to 2011. Since 2021 the proceedings of participation, public discussion and international competition are defined in the land-use plan. In order to make relationship with the place even before its finally realized, the empty space is going to host temporary structures, cultural events and placemaking events so that people of Trenčín would learn that the former inaccessible space is theirs once again.

Once inaccessible space near the river would become the main site for Trenčín - European Capital of Culture 2026 festival area. In order to try out how the place would work for crowds, all the big cultural events will take place here. Besides the temporary festival structures, the space would also host long term community activities as an established community organisation Korzo Zálesíčko moving its activities here. The former railway corridor would become a place for NGOs to host their community events. What is more, the temporary structures and art works will be constructed to provide facilities and activities. As a part of planned infrastructural projects, an old railway bridge will be recycled to a new cultural and free-time spot. The old railway bridge is a flagship project of ECoC 2026 and is designed as a synergic connector - as the promenade bridge with different facilities.

Please indicate the main themes of your project with 5 key words.
riverbank

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
placemaking

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
participation

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
culture

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
accessibility

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
The design of future central district near the river, developed in the participatory process with the people of Trenčín, follows the environmental premises of densification, alternative transport means, green and blue infrastructure and inclusive public spaces. The development plan takes into account the citizens’ opinion and their strong sentiment for the existing natural character of the territory. An important aspect of the design is the predicted demand for ecological solutions from the future users of the territory - sustainable land-use planning. The project is based on the connectivity between the city center and the riverbank by reduction of the heave transport which affects the air quality of the whole city center. The temporal structures that would allow people to inhabit the space before it is finished will be made of sustainable and recycled materials. Structures and landscapes of the former railway will be also preserved both for its ecological footprint and for the memory of the place. The project will also bring people closer to the natural habitats around the river, allowing them to experience the water or bird ecosystems unexpectedly close to the city center. Moreover, NGOs which will be settled on the site will provide informal environmental educational courses.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
The spatial solution of the territory is based on the symbiotic relationship of the historical centre with the new development, respecting the perspective views, horizontal and vertical segmentation of the façade line, diverse corridor width, urban microspaces, etc. This results in an adequately intense development adjacent to the centre, smoothly loosening up into the natural environment towards the river. It was developed from the ideas of international architectural competition with 59 participants. Due to the high historical and visual qualities of the Trenčín veduta, the height and structure of development in the individual parts of the solved territory has been intensely verified in the 3D model as well as consulted and approved with the Regional Monuments Board. The significant spatial solution includes also the accessibility of the site in relation to the existing structure. The aim of the temporal usage of the place is also to verify the connections, pedestrian paths and main axis of the final design.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
Despite its significance, the proposals for the new city center built after transferring the railway tracks was at first discussed behind the closed doors and the disclosed plans evoked a great wave of resentment both from the lay and professional public. The new city administration (currently still in power) started with a completely different approach. Trenčín is You project was a team work - involving a group of experts with massive promotion and active public input aiming to prepare an assignment for the urban design competition. In 2012-13 eight discussions with public, an urban walk took place, twelve focus groups were held, together with an exhibition of architecture student works with a public discussion. Also, the project website was launched with an option of sending contributions and suggestions and a series of discussions with experts took place. All these activities resulted in the publicly approved assignment for the urban design competition and a sociological output, which was enclosed as the competition appendix. After the competition, awarded designs were exhibited for two months, collecting comments on the works both directly at the exhibition and on the website. After the first big milestone of the project, the approval of the concept in the city’s land use plan, the participation continues physically at the site as people of Trenčín learn how to use this newly gained space by inclusive, accessible and environmentally responsible activities and cultural events.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the project and civil society have been involved in the project and what has been the impact of this involvement on the project
The project will create temporary spaces for different NGOs and civil society organizations, providing them rent free-of-charge. For the organizations, the riverbanks will become testing sites for their activites. Together with ECoC 2026 programm and its strategy for inclusion of citizens, community organizations and cultural ambassadors, people of Trenčín will become a sigificant part of programming the space.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the project. Please highlight what the added value of their engagement was.
In 2011 the new city administration established a working group consisting of city officials and external experts from different fields (architecture, urban planning, environment, river management, transportation etc.). The plan was constantly discussed also with represenatives of regional and national government. Before the architectural competition in 2014, many analyses, participatory meetings with experts and citizens took place. The proceedings of the competition with dozens of entries from different countries was presented to the public. The working group then processed the final urban planning study and the concept of mobility for the whole city and which served as a basis for the changes in the city’s land-use plan. Between 2015 and 2017 the urban planning study was processed, including opinions of experts from transport design, construction and with representatives of national as well as European institutions. Based on a suggestion of the Slovak Ministry of Transport, the Sustainable mobility plan for the whole city was being prepared between 2018 and 2021. The results were constantly discussed with public.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your project. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was.
Designing a new central district in the city of Trenčín meant to include every institution touched by its effects. Organizations dealing with transport, water building, energy transfer, urban planning, together with local, regional and national representatives, which are used to work separately were suddenly asked to cooperate. Planning the district included experts from different fields, not only architecture, but landscape, water management, heritage protection, culture, community services, public and individual transport, pedestrian and cycling transport, waste management and many more. The design was not only participatory in terms of general public, but also in the way how it addressed different experts.

Please give information on the results, outcomes and impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for. This includes also benefits from the project for direct and indirect beneficiaries
The participative urban planning project Trenčín is You (TrenčínsiTy) originated in 2011. The international urban design ideas competition took place in 2014, with 59 designs from 21 countries of the world submitted. In 2017 the Trenčín is You team prepared an urban design study and mobility concept, including the particular transport solutions, preceded by detailed traffic surveys and transport model with a number of development scenarios. The city acquired the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (preparation 2019 - 2020). The proceedings of Trenčín SiTy project, including the participation with public, the international architectural competition as well as Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan and all the studies and prognosis, had already been captured in the Land-use plan of the city. The plan was discussed also with the Slovak Ministry of Transport and other public institutions. The confirmation of the Land-use plan following the concepts from the process of Trenčín SiTy project was the most important milestone of the project.

Please provide documents showing the results, outcomes and impacts of your project
Web link
Web link
- https://trencin.sk/samosprava/uzemne-planovanie/trencin-si-ty/
Please highlight the innovative character of the project, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the project
In the post-socialist environment where the top-down planning was generally accepted style of development the project Trenčín SiTy (Trenčín Is You) quite unusually tried to bring the topic of urban development closer to the public. Engaging citizens into decision making might be hard especially in the great investment projects which take years to develop and require different kinds of expertise. Finally the development of the land-use plan took 10 years and the participation would normally end with the first milestone. But the city administration wanted to continue with the citizen’s participation even after the decision had been done. By simply making the site accessible, opening it to different community and cultural events and temporally usage, the place can serve some purpose for several years of decades until the plan is materialized. Using the methods of placemaking, people can experience the site in transformation even before it is finished, trying out how it works, how popular it is, what possibilities it allows. All the public knowledge gained in the very slow process of inhabiting (and getting used to) the new city space can even affect the resulting plan and the development.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your project.
The main approach to inhabiting the former railway track site near the river in Trenčín is placemaking – creating the sense of place, reinvent it and create relation to it by soft activities. By placemaking we enhance creative usage of the space, which might not be so apparent at the architects’ drafting boards. By paying attention to the physical, cultural, and social identities of a place we support its ongoing development on socially sensitive principles. By opening the space for access and different activities, the space is shaped collectively with the people and for the people.

Please describe which elements of your project could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and context. This may involve for example aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings etc.
All the municipal administrations deal with long term processes in planning in which achieving public approval for the change in the land use takes years. On the other hand, the attention span of the public is rather short. In terms of brownfield regeneration, we propose to allow people to experience sites already in-the-making, without waiting several years for the result. Such approach allows people to (re)gain the relationship and the sense of once inaccessible place. This might help the future city districts located on former brownfield to become a part of citizens’ mind map of the city.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the project addresses by providing local solutions
The project addresses contemporary urban challenges such as acceptance of the city center's densification, the accessibility of former industrial zones or inclusion. Especially in the case of postindustrial urban development, the citizens need to reestablish their relationships with the place, recreate the paths, reinvent the purpose of the site. They can do this by temporary usage of the space.
Please attach at least 6 high resolution images (or other types of visual representations, if images are not possible) to your application.
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Yes

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Yes

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By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their projects, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted project, is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
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By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes