Bilfinger Berger Magazine 2/2009

THE BILFINGER BERGER AWARD

It’s not always necessary to reinvent the wheel: There are urban planning solutions developed here and there, tried, tested and successful, that could serve as a model for others. But planners elsewhere know nothing of them. So they rely instead on old methods and processes, and achieve less than perhaps they could. This is where the Bilfinger Berger Award comes in. The award, presented this year for the second time, is intended to promote the exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of urban planning and provide new impetus for Germany.

Scientists at the Prognos-Institut evaluated 120 projects from around the world and submitted the most exciting potential model solutions to a jury chaired by Professor Klaus Töpfer, the former Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. The jury unanimously decided to award the prize of €50,000 to the “Kvarterløft Holmbladsgade” urban renewal project in Copenhagen. “The project shows that well-organized participation by local residents is essential,” said Klaus Töpfer in praise of the initiative. Herbert Bodner, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bilfinger Berger, was impressed with the way in which “the various interest groups sought solutions in partnership rather than antagonizing one another as is frequently the case in Germany.”

Reporting on the award ceremony, the Süddeutsche Zeitung remarked that the Bilfinger Berger Award “is not one of those awards that glorify the patron like sponsoring a golf tournament: It is a socially oriented award of a kind we should see much more often.”

Bilfinger Berger Magazine 2/2009