And the MIPIM 2013 Awards Go To…

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

With MIPIM 2013 just barely over, participants are still abuzz with everything that had happened this year on the French Riviera. One of the most talked about occurrences of the four-day real estate event is most certainly the MIPIM Awards. This year’s awards were one for the books, with a record setting 175 projects from 46 countries from all around the world entering the competition. Four finalists in each of the nine categories were announced Jan. 30, while the awards ceremony took place on March 14 on the last night of the Cannes tradeshow.

And the winners are…

Located in Azerbaijan’s capital, the 2.5 million square-foot Baku Flame Towers won Best Hotel & Tourism resort. Developed by Azinko Development MMC and signed by HOK International Ltd, the nearly 800-foot tall skyscrapers are set to be among the tallest in Azerbaijan. The project features three flame-shaped towers, set in a triangular layout. Each tower has a separate function: residential, Class A office and hotel. Several smaller buildings, containing retail space, connect the towers at the base forming a podium. DIA Holdings served as design-build contractor, while Hill International provided project management.

The Best Office and Business Development category was won by The Squaire, IVG Immobilien AG’s 1.5 million square foot project in Frankfurt am Mein, Germany. Designed by JSK International, the LEED Gold- certified project sits atop Frankfurt International Airport’s long-distance train station. The project also encompasses a Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn.

Danish projectIsbjerget/ The Iceberg won the title of best residential development. Located in the harbor of Denmark’s second largest city, Aarhus, the socially sustainable residential development offers 208 apartments, a third of which are affordable housing. The project also targets a varied demographic: from single, to new parents and seniors.  PensionDanmark A/s is €32.6 million project’s developer and investor, while the architectural team includes Cebra, JDS Architects, SeARCH and Louis Paillard.

Europe’s northern region took home another prize with Culture Casbah, the Swedish project that took home the Best Futura Project statue. Owned by MKB Fastighets AB the Malmö, Sweden-located property was designed by Lundgaard&Tranberg. The property is set to revitalize in a dilapidated area of the city, transforming the neighborhood’s monolithic urban structure with a futuristic structure that continues to idea of a boardwalk but vertically.

Germany’s second win came with Milaneo, a €550 million mixed-use project set in Stuttgart, Germany. Developers ECE Projektmanagement G.m.b.H. & Co. KG, STRABAG Real Estate and Bayerische Hausbau broke ground in mid-2012 on the project signed by RKW Rhode Kellermann Wawrowski Architekture + Städtebau and ECE architects. Set to finish by summer 2015, Milaneo will feature more than 460,000 square feet of retail area with more than 200 stores, around 80,000 square feet of office space, more than 90,000 square feet of hotel space with 165 hotel rooms, 415 apartments and 1,680 parking spaces. Milaneo is DGNB Gold pre-certified.

London’s King’s Cross took home to awards: Best Refurbished Building, as well as the Special Jury Award. Considered by many the largest urban regeneration project in Europe, the inner city redevelopment project is signed by architects John Mcaslan + Partners with Arup in on engineering and Vicni handling construction.

The award for Best Industrial & Logistics Development  went to the Wastewater Treatment Plant in North Alt Maresme in Pienda de Mar, Spain. The project was developed by Agència Catalana de l’Aigua ACA – Generalitat de Catalunya and designed by Baena Casamor Arquitectes BCQ, slp.

As country of honor for MIPIM 2013, Turkey was most certainly center of attention at the awards ceremony, with three projects being recognized. Istanbul’s Marmara Park, a more than 1 million-square- foot shopping center developed by ECE Projektmanagement G.m.b.H. & Co KG and designed by ECE Projektmanagement took home the title of Best Shopping Center. The location opened in October 2012 and boasts approximately 250 shops, cafes and restaurants, as well as a cinema. Akasya Acibadem Lake & Woods Parcels, another Istanbul   project won the People’s Choice Award. Developed by SAF GYO, the more than 100,000-square-foot residential and office project was designed by architecture firm Mimarlar Workshop. Mimarlar also designed Bosphorus City, the third Istanbul development to be honored, taking home the award for Best Turkish Project. Developed by Sinpas Gyo, the residential project relies heavily on outdoor water features and green spaces.

This year’s MIPIM Awards jury was composed of Hulusi Belgü, CEO of Multi development Türkiye, Dr. Thomas Beyerle, Managing Director and Head of CS & Research  of IVG Immobilien AG, Architect and Founder of PCA Architecture Philippe Chiambaretta, RICS President ALAN Collett, Unicredit Group’s Head of Group Real Estate Paolo Gencarelli, Global Head of Asia at AXA Real Estate Frank Khoo and Dr. Alexander Kolontay, Deputy Director at the Government Of Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning. The jury was presided over by CBRE Executive Chairman –EMEA Michael Strong.