Wonderwoods wins prestigious MIPIM awards
Project wins awards for ‘Best Mixed-Use Project’ and ‘Future Project of the Year’
Cannes, 14 March 2019
During the annual award gala of the leading real estate fair MIPIM in Cannes, the architects of MVSA Architects and Stefano Boeri Architetti, jointly responsible for the design of Wonderwoods in Utrecht, won two prizes. Not only did the project win the ‘Best Mixed-Use Project’-award, Wonderwoods was also declared the overall winner of the MIPIM 'Future Project of the Year'-award.
According to the jury, the concept of Wonderwoods perfectly mirrors the values the MIPIM stands for: the creation of places for the future, that don’t lose sight of financial and real estate principles, nor deny the 'softer' values that ensure that people like to spend time in those places. According to the jury, Wonderwoods is a genuine example of truly integrated mixed-use in this twin tower development. The two buildings are similar but not replicas and both provide functions like housing, facilities and workspace.
At the presentation of the 'Future Project of the Year' award, Paul Finch, Editorial Director of the magazine Architectural Review and chairman of the jury, stated that Wonderwoods is the clear winner: "The jury found that our winner [Wonderwoods] offers an optimistic but convincing proposition about the future of cities, based on a symbiotic relationship between the manmade and the natural.”
Both architectural firms behind Wonderwoods are very pleased that their teamwork, in which developers G&S Vastgoed and KondorWessels Projecten played an important role, is rewarded in this way.
Stefano Boeri at Stefano Boeri Architetti says: “This prize makes us very happy because it confirms that the Vertical Forests' green architecture is becoming a model that can be replicated in other cities of the world. Urban Forestry and vertical forests are powerful instruments for increasing air quality and reducing climate change effects.” Roberto Meyer at MVSA Architects adds: “Wonderwoods will change the perception of how we live in increasingly densifying urban areas.”
According to Wonderwoods, the awards demonstrate the added value of the completely new approach to project development. In this approach not only beautiful, inspiring architecture is considered, but also how people use a building and how their lives can be influenced by a sound concept around health and sustainability. Jason Blackmore, CEO of G&S Vastgoed says: "Wonderwoods was developed from a holistic perspective in which we considered experiencing Wonderwoods as a brand. This approach was developed together with Stndrd Creative Company. Not only was a sustainable building created, but also a sustainable brand and a complete Healthy Urban Living concept.”
About MIPIM
MIPIM, founded in 1990, is a 4-day real estate event to bring together the most influential players from all sectors of the international real estate sector. It brings together the entire value chain and provides unparalleled access to the largest number of development projects and sources of capital worldwide. MIPIM is a unique exchange and network platform for forging deals. Our 26,000 participants represent the entire value chain (investors & financial institutions, developers, cities and municipalities, residents, architects and hotel groups) and all asset classes (residential, healthcare, hospitality, logistics & industrial, infrastructure, retail & leisure, office and mixed-use).
About Wonderwoods
Wonderwoods is an iconic green urban real estate project, consisting of 2.5 acres of 'vertical forest' on two towers, located on the Croeselaan in Utrecht. Wonderwoods wants to be part of the solution to restore the imbalance between human and nature in the city. The goal is to bring together all aspects of life into one building: housing, work, culture, sports and recreation. The fully implemented Healthy Urban Living programme renders Wonderwoods green, sustainable and healthy. This is expressed, for example, in the 2.5 acres of Utrechtse Heuvelrug planting in the facades, in various atriums and on the roof terraces, the far-reaching possibilities for waste recycling, the stimulation of sustainable mobility and physical activity, and the numerous healthy catering facilities. Wonderwoods is being developed by Wonderwoods Dveelopment B.V., a development consortium consisting of G&S Vastgoed and Kondorwessels Projecten. More information: www.wonderwoods.com.
Press contact
Michiel Steyn
+31 612 40 41 23
michiel@stndrd.eu