Grand Paris Express: Reconfiguring the City through Radical Infrastructure

Event Description

Established in 1986, the biennial Green Prize recognizes projects that make an exemplary contribution to the public realm of a city, improve the quality of life in that context, and demonstrate a humane and worthwhile direction for the design of urban environments. Eligible projects must include more than one building or open space constructed in the last 10 years.

The 14th Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design has been awarded to the Grand Paris Express, a large-scale transit project currently being built in and around the Paris metropolitan area. Through carefully articulated design interventions, the Grand Paris Express illustrates the potential for the planning and execution of mobility infrastructure to transform a city and its region. Société du Grand Paris, a national agency responsible for designing, creating, and implementing the Grand Paris Express, will receive the honors for the prize in recognition of their continued stewardship behind the project.

This year’s jury committee includes Eve Blau, adjunct professor of the history and theory of urban form and design at the GSD; Maurice Cox, LF ’05, commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development of the City of Chicago; Gary Hilderbrand, MLA ’85, Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture and chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the GSD; and Ron Witte, professor in residence of architecture at the GSD; and chaired by Joan Busquets, Martin Bucksbaum Professor in Practice in Urban Projects at the GSD.

Grand Paris Express: Reconfiguring the City through Radical Infrastructure, an exhibition coinciding with the prize, will be on display in the Druker Design Gallery from January 23, 2023, through March 31, 2023. Curated by Joan Busquets, Martin Bucksbaum Professor in Practice of Urban Planning and Design, the exhibition showcases models, renderings, documentary photographs, and video footage of this vast and ambitious urban design project. Megan Octaviani, MAUD ’23, was the Curatorial Assistant for the exhibition.

A public event and reception for the exhibition will occur on Thursday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m. in Piper Auditorium, and two workshops will take place on Friday, March 3 in Stubbins (Gund 112).

For more information about the Prize and to see a list of previously awarded projects, please visit the Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design website.

Schedule

Thursday, March 2
6:30 PM
Piper Auditorium

Celebration of the 14th Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design, followed by a reception in Druker Design Gallery

Friday, March 3
Stubbins 112
Reinterpreting the Grand Paris Express from North American Perspectives
an afternoon of workshops

12:30 PM – 2:15 PM
Workshop 1: High Performance Public Transportation

Opening by Dean Sarah Whiting

Introductory Provocation by Pierre-Alain Trévelo

Panel 1: Navigating Urban Transportation: A Look at Current Issues and Debates
Featuring Peter Rowe, Pauline Marchetti, Maurice Cox, and Jascha Franklin-Hodge. Moderated by Saad Boujane, MAUD ‘23.

Panel 2: Future Models of Mobility: An Innovation in Motion
Featuring David Zipper, Antoine Picon, and Carole Voulgaris. Moderated by Pranav Thole, MAUD ‘23.

2:15 PM – 3:00 PM
Break

3:00 PM – 4:45 PM
Workshop 2: New Stations as Urban Projects

Opening by Rahul Mehrotra

Introductory Provocation by Jacques Ferrier

Panel 3: Metro Stations and the Urban Context: Mobility Advancement as a Driver of Diverse Public Realms
Featuring Dominique Alba, Gary Hilderbrand, Diane Davis, and George L. Legendre. Moderated by Christopher Ball, MAUD ‘23.

Panel 4: Conceiving a Metro Station as a Design Object
Featuring Dominique Perrault, Grace La, Ron Witte, and Joan Busquets. Moderated by Sovona Ghatak, MArch II ‘23.

Harvard University welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the Public Programs Office at (617) 496-2414 or [email protected] in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for American Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance. Please note that the University will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.

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