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
developpement@titan.archi

Basic information
Project title
Versus

Full Project Title
Versus

Please provide a short, catchy description of your project to be used in communication towards the public.
The installation Versus is a a skating rink in the center of Nantes, designed by TITAN for the annual festival Le Voyage à Nantes. The project is inspired by the relationship between form and balance established by architect Mathurin Crucy, who designed both the square and the theater in the late 18th century. The rink has been adapted to the irregularities of the ground and plays with its natural slope, giving the square a renewed sense of centrality, and opening it up to hours of free skating.

What was the geographical scope of your project?
Regional

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

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
The City of Nantes

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)
2021-06-01

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): TITAN
  Type of organisation: For-profit company
  First name of representative: Romain
  Last name of representative: Pradeau
  Gender: Male
  Nationality: France
  If relevant, please select your other nationality: France
  Function: Co-founder
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: 1 Rue Buffon
  Town: Nantes
  Postal code: 44000
  Country: France
  Direct Tel: +33 2 51 82 35 03
  E-mail: developpement@titan.archi
  Website: https://titan.archi/en/
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.instagram.com/titan.archi/?hl=en
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #titan
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.
In 1780, French architect Mathurin Crucy became the city architect for Nantes, responsible for the transformation of the Graslin Quarter. Crucy’s time in Italy in the 1770s influenced his subsequent neoclassical architecture, including the Théâtre Graslin – complete with eight Corinthian columns, each topped with a sculpture of a muse. Inaugurated in 1788, the theatre was destroyed by fire eight years later, but restored for a visit from Napoleon in 1811. Edged by the theatre and the faded stone walls of surrounding buildings, two hundred years later the paved centre of the Place Graslin is annually enlivened by arts and culture festival Le Voyage à Nantes. The installation Versus is a a skating rink in the center of Nantes, designed by TITAN for the annual festival Le Voyage à Nantes. The project is inspired by the relationship between form and balance established by architect Mathurin Crucy, who designed both the square and the theater in the late 18th century. The rink has been adapted to the irregularities of the ground and plays with its natural slope, giving the square a renewed sense of centrality, and opening it up to hours of fancy-free skating. Measuring 38m in diameter, the main structure is made of prefabricated white concrete, while the rink track is poured-in-place white concrete. 
Amblers and athletes alike can meet on the track inside the rink, which offers an opportunity to honour a lively and effervescent sport that has made a comeback in recent years: Roller derby. Spectators can sit on the steps of the theatre – conveniently turned into bleachers – for an openair match. The public can also sit at the edge of the installation, where benches invite everyone to contemplate and discover Place Graslin in this new light.

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

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
shared public space

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
catalysing positive change in the city

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

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

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 whole structure was made in prefabricated concrete blocks and demountable for rebuilding in another location. The classical moulding of the enclosure was at the same time a reusable multi-purpose seating area. Classical form showed its adaptability.

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.
In a sensitive classical urban context a modern function, a skating rink for roller derby, was introduced temporarily in a way that invited both activity and laid-back contemplation of city life. The white concrete mimics the classical buildings around the central square

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.
The concept explores the relationship between the balanced proportions of the historic fabric, the divergent views, and the city’s social dynamics, providing inhabitants and festival visitors with a new open public space.  Open to the public, the installation included a service loaning out roller skates and rollerblades for free. During the summer festival, 10,436 pairs of skates were lent and approximately 9,000 free skaters used the track with their own equipment, or 269 skaters per day on average (a total of 19,436 skaters). It is not possible for us to count the number of users of the benches/ring but more than 50,000 people.*
(According to the data assembled and provided by Le Voyage à Nantes on January 23, 2023)

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
After a year of isolation, though only temporary, the project opens up and elevates the existing public space. Usually a cross path for cars and pedestrians, the installation provided Nantes’ citizens with a new enlivened gathering 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.
The festival le Voyage à Nantes annually transforms the city by inviting artists and designers to reimagine public spaces.

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.
architecture, construction industries, builders

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
During the summer festival, 10,436 pairs of skates were lent and approximately 9,000 free skaters used the track with their own equipment, or 269 skaters per day on average (a total of 19,436 skaters). It is not possible for us to count the number of users of the benches/rink but we estimate that more than 50,000 people visited the installation.* (According to the data assembled and provided by Le Voyage à Nantes on January 23, 2023)

Please provide documents showing the results, outcomes and impacts of your project
PDF
PDF
- pdf-1-35923.pdf
Please highlight the innovative character of the project, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the project
A simple, architectural intervention that invites everyone to contemplate and discover Place Graslin in a new new light.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your project.
Through this project, we aim to showcase how architecture can catalyse a positive change in the city.

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.
Versus is built in such a way that it could be easily reassembled and adapted to different locations.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the project addresses by providing local solutions
Shared public spaces play an important part of the way we live in urban environments. Versus is designed as a shared space, that can be used freely by people across all races, genders, classes, and abilities.
Please attach at least 6 high resolution images (or other types of visual representations, if images are not possible) to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below
- TITAN_Versus_Additional images.pdf
By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed project has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the project and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary.
Yes

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.
Yes

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