Nine impressive developments from around the world have been selected as winners of the 2021 ULI Global Awards for Excellence. This year’s winners include three from North America, one from Europe, and five from the Asia Pacific region. ULI began the Awards for Excellence program in 1979 to recognize truly superior development efforts in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Winning projects represent the highest standards of achievement in the land use profession.
In 2021, 45 projects and programs that had been named as winners across the three ULI regions in 2020 and 2021 were considered as global finalists. From this impressive field, the jury ultimately selected the nine winners and five special mentions.
The 2021 ULI Global Awards for Excellence winners are as follows:
- Alexandra Park Revitalization, Toronto, Canada. Developers: Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), Tridel. Owners: Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), Tridel. Designers: Urban Strategies Inc., LGA Architectural Partners, Teeple Architects, Janet Rosenberg Studio.
- Circl, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Developers: BAM, Bunnik. Owner: ABN AMRO. Designer: de Architekten Cie.
- Dasha River Ecological Corridor, Shenzhen, China. Developer/Owner: China Resources Land Co. Ltd. Designer: AECOM.
- East Point, Oklahoma City, United States. Developer: Pivot Project Development. Owners: Jonathan Dodson, David Wanzer, Ben Sellers, Sandino Thompson, Jabee Williams, Jeff Watts, Michael Davis, Garner Watson, Jamila Harvey, Patrina Sattiewhite-Walter, Quintin Hughes, Chaya Fletcher, Crystal Buggs, Steven Harris, Brittani Hunter, Jeff Engle, Brandon Birdwell, Levi Ballard, Emmanuel Sosanya, Cordell Love, Greg Johnson, Courtney Strickland, Kenyetta Richard, Steve Mason. Designers: Miles and Associates, Gardner Architects.
- Funan, Singapore. Developer/Owner: CapitaLand Mall Trust. Designers: Woods Bagot, RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte.).
- Kampung Admiralty, Singapore. Developer/Owner: Housing & Development Board. Designer: WOHA.
- Plant Riverside District, Savannah, United States. Developers: Plant Riverside District, The Kessler Collection. Owners: Plant Riverside District, The Kessler Collection. Designers: Sottile & Sottile, John T. Campo & Associates, PFVS Architecture, Thomas + Hutton Engineering.
- Punggol Town, Singapore. Developer/Owner/Designer: Housing & Development Board.
- The HUB, Shanghai, China. Developer/Owner: Shui On Land. Designers: Ben Wood Studio Shanghai, P&T Group, CallisonRTKL, ARUP, HBA, Neri & Hu, Design Land Collaborative.
The five projects named as Special Mentions are as follows:
- Gare Maritime, Brussels, Belgium. Developer/Owner: Extensa Group. Designers: Neutelings Riedijk Architecten, Bureau Bouwtechniek.
- Governors Island, New York City, United States. Developers: Trust for Governors Island, New York City Mayor’s Office. Owner: Trust for Governors Island. Designers: West 8, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, Magnusson Klemencic Associates, AKRF, Hart Crowser Inc., Pentagram, Tillotson Design Associates, Dagher Associates, Pine and Swallow Environmental, Northern Designs, Code Consulting Inc., Faithful & Gould, ETM Associates, Langan.
- Harrow Square, London, United Kingdom. Developers: Hyde New Homes, Barratt West London. Owner: Hyde New Homes. Designer: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
- New Hope Housing and Star of Hope’s Cornerstone Community, Houston, Texas. Developers/Owners: New Hope Housing Inc., Star of Hope Mission. Designers: GSMA, Kirksey Architecture.
- Riverfront Park, Spokane, Washington. Developer/Owner: City of Spokane Parks and Recreation. Designers: Berger Partnership, NAC Architecture, Jacobs, Dark Light Design, Land Expressions, Garco Construction, Hill International, Walker Construction, DH, GuildWorks, Stantec Engineers, Bernardo Wills, SPVV.
The awards are open to projects and programs in the three ULI regions that are substantially complete, financially viable, and in stabilized operation. The program evaluates submissions on overall excellence, including achievements in marketplace acceptance, design, planning, technology, amenities, economic impact, management, community engagement, innovation, and sustainability, among others.
In 2021, the winners of the regional ULI Awards for Excellence in the ULI Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe regions became finalists in the 2021 ULI Global Awards for Excellence. Finalists included 2020 winners of the Asia Pacific and Europe Awards for Excellence; the Americas awards program launched in 2021.
The winners were selected by a multidisciplinary jury of nine ULI members who had served on their respective regional juries. The jurors represent a range of real estate and land use expertise, including development, finance, planning, urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture.
“Each of the 45 finalists demonstrated a level of excellence and best practices within their respective regions,” noted jury chair Alex Rose, senior vice president, Continental Development Corporation, El Segundo, California. “In addition to superior levels of achievement at the regional scale, the winners each exhibited a higher level of excellence in their community enhancement, uniqueness, innovation, and replicability at a global scale—the characteristics that enable developers and communities around the world to learn from one another and transport and adapt aspects of such phenomenal projects to their respective, unique circumstances.”
In addition to Rose, the 2021 ULI Global Awards for Excellence jury members are Ame Engelhart, director, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Hong Kong; Siew Leng Fun, chief urban designer, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore; Manfred Guenterberg, member of the board, Wolfsburg AG, Wolfsburg, Germany; Peter Holland, director, Cistri, Melbourne, Australia; Jane Jenkins, president and chief executive officer, Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Tinka Kleine, senior director, private real estate, PGGM, Zeist, Netherlands; Paul Morris, chief executive officer, MCP Foundation Inc., Atlanta, Georgia; and Giancarlo Scotti, chief executive office, Reale Compagnia Italiana, Milan, Italy.
