UfM announces winners of 2025 Student Competition on Urban Design for Climate Resilience
Barcelona, 26 February 2026. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) has announced the winners of the “UfM Student Competition on Urban Design 2025: Exploring Mediterranean Urban Solutions to Climate Change and Resilience”, launched with the financial support of the Minitre of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands under the UfM Network of Schools of Architecture and Urban Planning to recognise youth-led projects advancing environmental and climate action through urban design.
Following the review of around 80 proposals submitted by students from 37 universities across 12 UfM countries, an international jury awarded First, Second and Third Prizes, as well as five Mentions. The jury praised the high quality and originality of the entries, noting that the selection process was both challenging and inspiring.
The First Prize went to SUNKEN, developed by Martina Cutillo, Elena Pagliuso, Valentina Santoro and Rebeca Temperanza from Università IUAV di Venezia (Italy). Set in Fos-sur-Mer in southern France, the project proposes a long-term territorial transformation strategy responding to sea level rise, industrial pollution and energy transition challenges. Through phased interventions extending to 2100, it integrates industrial reconversion, biomass production, coastal defence infrastructure and natural phyto-purification systems, envisioning a cohesive landscape where ecological processes and human infrastructure coexist in dynamic balance.
The Second Prize was awarded to V-LIVE. Regenerating Vjosa: A Living Corridor for Europe’s Last Wild River by Erva Sala of POLIS University (Albania). The proposal strengthens ecological processes along the Vjosa Valley through restored wetlands, adaptive floodplains and community-oriented initiatives, positioning the river as a backbone for resilience and sustainable local development.
The Third Prize went to Metamorfosis Besòs by Álvaro Rosell Serrano of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain). The project reimagines Barcelona’s Besòs River as a transformative metropolitan axis, turning former infrastructural barriers into green corridors and hybrid landscapes that enhance climate adaptation and urban vitality.
Five Mentions recognised additional outstanding proposals: Growing in the City (ENSA Marseille, France); KM0. Merge Nature, Countryside and City (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain); Co-Existence: Future Prospective for the Energy Landscape of the Tagliamento (Università IUAV di Venezia, Italy); Living Streams (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain); and Inhabited Transition: Coexisting with Urban Renewal Works in the ‘Three Windows’ Housing of Marseille (ENSA Marseille, France). These projects address challenges ranging from river renaturalisation and energy landscapes to climate-responsive cultural spaces and socially inclusive urban renewal.
By spotlighting innovative academic work rooted in Mediterranean realities, the competition reinforces the UfM’s commitment to empowering young professionals and advancing sustainable, climate-resilient urban development across the region.
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