Harvard University Graduate School Of
Design to award the sixth Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design
to Jorge Mario Jáuregui Architects
Award Recognizes Excellence in Urban Design With International Scope
Exhibition Rio de Janeiro's Favela-Bairro
Project by Jorge Mario Jáuregui Architects at Harvard Design
School December 5 - January 12, 2001
Cambridge, MA, October 16, 2000 -- Peter G. Rowe, Dean of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, today announced that Argentinean-born architect Jorge Mario Jáuregui and his Rio de Janeiro-based firm, Jorge Mario Jáuregui Architects, will receive the sixth Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design from the GSD. Jorge Mario Jáuregui Architects was chosen to receive the award for a series of projects implemented through the program "Favela-Bairro," a collaborative initiative that has transformed impoverished "favelas" (shantytowns) in and around Rio de Janeiro into functioning "bairros" (neighborhoods). Through the construction of new roads, public plazas, and facilities to house social and municipal services, recreational activities and revenue-generating ventures, collectively, Jáuregui's work has fostered economic growth, social interaction and citizen engagement within these formerly indigent communities. Jáuregui will be presented with the Green Prize on Wednesday, December 6 at 6:30 p.m. in a ceremony that is open to the public and will feature a talk by Jáuregui about the Prize-winning projects. The GSD will also present Rio de Janeiro's Favela-Bairro Project by Jorge Mario Jáuregui Architects, an exhibition that includes large-scale commissioned photographs by New York City-based photographer Jason Schmidt of the favelas as they appear today, as well as "before" photographs, and architectural drawings of Jáuregui Architects' interventions.
“Jorge Mario Jáuregui and his firm have demonstrated the power of urban design to realize social change and engage marginalized people in the revitalization of their own communities,” said Rodolfo Machado, Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the GSD and Chair of the Green Prize jury. “While the physical design of these projects is relatively simple, their impact is extremely sophisticated. Jáuregui's work models a progressive, more holistic approach to urban design that recognizes the value of social research and re-investing in communities, rather than the outmoded practice of demolishing dilapidated structures and displacing populations. On behalf of the jury, I am delighted to present Jáuregui with this prize as a tribute to his visionary work and to the local and international agencies that supported these projects – and as evidence of the powerful social impact that can be brought about through innovative urban design.”
Jorge Mario Jáuregui Architects' Design
Jorge Mario Jáuregui Architects' award-winning projects through the "Favela-Bairro" program have been built over the past five years in more than ten favelas -- including Fernao Cardim, Fuba-Campinho, Salgueiro and Vidigal -- with populations ranging from 850 to 12,000 families. These areas -- haphazardly colonized with clusters of sub-standard housing and lacking the most basic infrastructure -- have long been considered a nuisance by many city-dwellers, despite the rich cultural and artistic exports that frequently originate from the country's poorest communities. Guided by a mission to penetrate and revitalize these shantytowns around Rio's perimeter, Jáuregui's design initiatives range from the construction of new streets and pedestrian walkways, to community centers offering recreational activities and job training, to communal kitchens where local women cook together. These various projects succeed in facilitating new streams of traffic, supporting the generation of revenue, creating links to the city center, and taken collectively, improving the sociological and economic status of the community. Through strategic improvements in areas like Vidigal -- where a semi-abandoned sports center once overrun by drug traffickers has been transformed into the official venue for Rio's soccer championships -- Jáuregui has used architecture as a tool for social reform and a means of integrating these communities within the buzzing urban life of Rio de Janeiro.
A native of Rosario, Argentina, Jáuregui studied architecture the National University at Rosario, where he served as a professor from 1973 - 1976. He went on to earn a graduate degree in architecture and urban planning at the Federal University in Rio in 1991. Jáuregui was awarded the Grand Prize at the 4th International Architecture Biennial in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1999 for his work on the "Favela-Bairro" program.
"Favela-Bairro" has impacted an estimated 450,000 people in 105 shantytowns to date. Now in its fifth year, the program has been recognized through several international awards, including the prestigious "Habitat Award" from the United Nations, and has received funding from numerous international agencies. Program sponsors include the Inter-American Development Bank and the European Union.
The Green Prize
The Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design is the foremost award recognizing achievement in this field. The award was established in 1986 on the occasion of Harvard University’s 350th anniversary, and the 50th anniversary of the GSD. The Prize is awarded biannually to recognize excellence in urban design with an emphasis on projects that contribute to the public realm of a city and improve the quality of urban life. Other prize winners have been Sir Norman Foster (now Lord Foster) and his London-based firm Foster and Partners in 1998; Mexico City in 1996; joint winners Fumihiko Maki and Luigi Snozzi in 1993; the City of Barcelona in 1990; and joint winners Ralph Erskine and Alvaro Siza in 1988.
To be considered for the Prize, projects must be larger in scope than a single building, and have been constructed within the last 10 years. Nominations are submitted by a panel of distinguished critics, academics, and practitioners in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design. Prize recipients are presented with a monetary award and certificate. The jury for the sixth Green Prize was comprised of experts in the field of architecture and urban design, under the leadership of Professor Machado. Jury members were: Toshiko Mori, Professor in Practice of Architecture at the GSD; Elizabeth Mossop, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Design School; and David Childs, CEO of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Alex Krieger, Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the GSD, served as an advisory member.
Exhibition at Gund Hall Gallery
In conjunction with the Green Prize, the GSD will present an exhibition of work by Jorge Mario Jáuregui Architects from December 5 - January 12, 2001, entitled Rio de Janeiro's Favela-Bairro Project by Jorge Mario Jáuregui Architects at Harvard Design School. Focused on the five projects for which the firm is receiving the Green Prize, the exhibition will include commissioned photographs of the favelas by New York City-based photographer Jason, as well "before" photographs, and architectural drawings of Jáuregui Architects' interventions. Organized by Brooke Hodge, Director of Lectures, Exhibitions and Academic Publications at the GSD, the exhibition will be on view at the GSD’s Gund Hall Gallery, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA. The line for the public to call for information about the Gund Hall Gallery and exhibition is (617) 495-4784.
The presentation of the Green Prize reflects the GSD’s position as a world leader in design education and research through its three major departments – architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning and design. Established in 1936, the School’s mission extends beyond classroom education to educate students, faculty, design professionals, policy makers, government officials, business leaders and the public about design and its impact on our lives through a rich array of conferences, exhibitions, professional development and executive education programs, and research activities.
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