The second stage of this year’s Richard H. Driehaus Architecture Competition is now accepting entries.

In the first stage, city councils submitted their projects for the rehabilitation or renovation of specific areas, and the final sites were selected by an international jury composed of representatives from the Ministerio de Fomento, the Ministerio de Cultura, the Consejo Superior de Arquitectos de España, INTBAU and the Rafael Manzano Prize.

The final sites are: Alzira (Valencia), Santa Cruz de la Palma (Tenerife), Santiago de Compostela (La Coruña) and Guadix (Granada). Applicants must have submitted their proposals by 17 March 2020 and can find out more information on the selected sites here and details about the applications and the assessment process are available here. Below is a summary of the selected sites accepting proposals:

Alzira, Valencia
This project focuses on the historic centre. It proposes to recover the urban fabric of the western part of “la Vila” and to restore the almohade wall. It also aims to preserve the remains of the temple of Santa María and recover the Bridge of Sant Gregori. This project would represent a major step towards restoring and reviving the historic significance of the built environment in this area.

Santa Cruz de La Palma, in Tenerife
The project focuses on the restoration of the Plaza de San Fernando, the old northern gate of the city. It was also selected because the Castle of Santa Cruz del Barrio del Cabo is connected to the Alameda, the main thoroughfare of the city, which is hugely symbolic for the local community. Overall, the project seeks to recover the historic character of this old gateway to the city, rearrange the public spaces associated with it and create a new museum to celebrate the local history.

Santiago de Compostela
The initiative proposed by City Council of Santiago, in La Coruña, seeks to rehabilitate a specific area that is currently underused, difficult to access and has poor connections to the rest of the town. The project aims to sensitively redevelop existing domestic buildings for students and artists, and connect these to the nearby park of Santo Domingo de Bonaval. These spaces next to the park thus could be used as workshops for artists and thereby help to revive the traditional building crafts.

Guadix, Granada.
This proposal was resubmitted after being chosen last year but no successful proposals having been put forward. It hopes to recover and improve the area around the old citadel, the Alcazaba, which is currently derelict. The project sets out to alter the surrounding public spaces, reconstruct ruined domestic buildings, and to renovate the old Palacio de los Saavedra.