15 Minute City
Urban Design Competition 2023
Premise
Welcome to the 3rd Edition of the 15 Minute City Urban Design Competition!
Long commutes, traffic congestion, and polluted air have been a scourge on urban life for far too long. But what if we could make urban living less stressful and more sustainable? That’s the idea behind the 15 Minute City – a city where all essential destinations, such as schools, shops, offices, entertainment venues, and healthcare facilities, can be reached within a 15-minute walk, cycle, or public transit ride.
Affordable, accessible, and adaptable housing, fresh groceries, and other amenities are also key features of a 15 Minute City. Working from home or close to home can also help to reclaim our time, health, and well-being while fostering more inclusive communities. Several major cities, such as Paris, Melbourne, Detroit, Portland, and Ottawa, are already embracing similar concepts.
This year’s competition encourages designers and planners to re-imagine urban landscapes as cleaner, safer, healthier, and more inclusive places to live. So, let’s get creative and make our cities more livable!
First Prize Winners
Johana Martinez, German Paipa, Sergio Cortes & Ana Garzon
Colombia
15MC-12507
Jury Comments
“Dilligently translates a cohesive argument for dense, green living into actionable design guidelines. The examples of landscaping and architecture given were at once realistic and aspirational.“
Second Prize Winners
Qi Li, Ziyao Qin & Shuyi Zhang
Germany
15MC-12426
Jury Comments
“Very nuanced, multi-dimensional proposal that took in the macro and micro considerations of planning – from airport access to walking radiuses; The distinction between preserved areas and rebuilt, new development areas was particularly interesting – really practical point of view and shows the designer’s ability to translate urban ethos smoothly into different contexts.”
“Very clear presentation of ideas to show how a regional transportation infrastructure like the Berlin Brandenburg Airport and the regional transportation connections to the airport can spur the development of 15-minute city modules along the corridor. A 15-minute cycling loop is an innovative idea to organize 15-minute city modules.”
Third Prize Winner
Yuxin Yao
China
15MC-12499
Jury Comments
“Fresh take on what amenities a “Design Destrict” ought to provide; Appreciated the mix of urban living, commerce, as well as programmable venues to encourage thematic development.”
Honorable Mention
Haoyu Zhao & Ying Zhang
USA
15MC-12498
Jury Comments
“Good job weaving in climate-ready design strategies as part of the 15 minute city module within the context of the greater Los Angeles region.”
Honorable Mention
Hu Yongjia, Liao Jinzhou, Li Wenhao & Jiang Xixi
China
15MC-12472
Jury Comments
“Great choice of design impetus – issues of soil erosion, low water tables are key to producing sustainable urban communities. The canal-like city created by this prompt is both easy on the environment and provides an interesting cityscape for its residents. “
Honorable Mention
Joonoh Kim & Dongho Hong
France
15MC-12350
Jury Comments
“Folies as a modular community node is an interesting idea. Good exploration of circulation systems based on modes within the 15-minute city framework.“
Honorable Mention
Tang Xueer, Deng Yinsheng & Wang Chenghui
China
15MC-12447
Jury Comments
“Good integration of multi-modal transportation network, diverse types of housing, and other mix of use organized around a network of small blocks and walkable streets.“
Honorable Mention
Urvashi Vaijwade
India
15MC-12428
Honorable Mention
Yiwen Zeng
China
15MC-12478
Jury Comments
“This was a very well-researched proposal – I appreciated the mix of anecdotal first hand data alongside larger data trends. The paradoxes of urbanization and densification are well documented – this proposal would benefit from further formal exploration that mitigated those conflicts.“
Honorable Mention
Brock Jones & Luis Spinola
USA
15MC-12479
Honorable Mention
Xingyu Cui, Zhuowen Bai, Kaixin Liu, & Xiaoxi Hui
China
15MC-12358
Jury Comments
“Nice exploration of housing typology and retrofitting large urban blocks to introduce public space with programming for diverse demographic groups.”
Honorable Mention
Evan Taylor
Canada
15MC-12356
Jury Comments
“The exploration of urban design and city planning’s role in addressing mental well-being is commendable. 15-minute city design can indeed address some of the challenges presented by the mental health crisis facing us. Could have explored Transit Oriented Development principles as part of the overall design with higher density and mix of uses around the train station.“
Honorable Mention
Charlie O Grady
Ireland
15MC-12455
Jury Comments
“A 15-minute suburb is a great idea and the need of the hour, given how many people today live in the suburbs. Great exploration of how a suburb can be retrofitted at the neighborhood scale, urban block scale, and building scale. “
Shortlisted - Top 30
Out of all the path-breaking works received for ‘15-Minute City 2023’, only the choicest 30 could make it to the final round of evaluation. Scroll down to explore the other shortlisted Top 30 designs!
陈诺, 李婧钰 & CHNG QIN EN
China
15MC-12382
Jury Comments
“The focus on designing a 15-minute city for older people is commendable. Clear analysis and recommendations to retrofit the existing old town area of Guangzhou.”
Kyle Sutton
USA
15MC-12506
Zuoxi Li & Xinyi Ling
Australia
15MC-12317
Jingyi Zhou & Chuanqi Gao
USA
15MC-12421
Pratham Kumar Rathi & Anushka Agarwal
India
15MC-12341
Jury Comments
“Interesting urban form characterized by a fine grain mix of uses organized in a small block pattern and integrated with open space and amenities. The design is inspired by traditional Indian city-building principles but can be implemented through modern real estate development practices. Great job weaving in stories of diverse inhabitants within the 15-minute city module. “
Sachin Mane, Shashank Manohar & Neha Ajit
India
15MC-12360
Jury Comments
“Impressive ideas to retrofit existing neighborhoods. A Roundabout with a Smog Tower is an interesting idea to combat air pollution in Bengaluru.“
JingYue Huang
China
15MC-12475
Altea Gjana & Megi Ajdini
Albania
15MC-12354
Yovanik Mistry, Nishigandha Dalvi, Disha More & Khushi Patel
India
15MC-12369
Abeer Ahmed Ramadan & Ashraqat Khaled Khalaf
Egypt
15MC-12326
Zhou Shiyi
China
15MC-12490
Kushal Sunil Goyal, Palash Shah, Nandita Agarwal & Nikita Singla
India
15MC-12389
Lee Yeeun, Kim Deokkyeong, Lee Seokjun & Lee Sungjin
South Korea
15MC-12464
Han Wang, Jingwen Jiang & Hejia Guan
United Kindgom (UK)
15MC-12359
Cho Mingyo, Lee Daehee, Lee Guemmok & Kown Minji
South Korea
15MC-12392
Emmanouil Polydakis, Em Gray, Demirkan Byuyukoglu & Toby Huang
United Kingdom
15MC-12481
Priyam Gulati, Karuna Kannan, Aatmi Chitalia & Dhruvi Shah
India
15MC-12468
