The jury of the Schindler Elevators Accessibility Awards for final degree projects presented at the ESARQ-UIC School of Architecture for academic year 2013-2014 was made up of the final year project professors Juan Trias de Bes, Miquel Lacasta and Alberto Estévez; Enrique Rovira, the professor in charge of the ESARQ Accessibility area; and Xavier Vallcorba from Schindler Elevators in Catalonia. The jury decided to grant first prize to Jon Ander López for his project ?Decanter building? for the quality of accessibility in his final year project. The project included mechanical ramps and different solutions for improving accessibility throughout the building and in its urban context.
The ESARQ-UIC School of Architecture submits entries each year for these awards, given that accessibility is addressed in students' final year projects.
The jury decided to grant these awards for the projects' aim to include accessibility in their architectural designs as a way of improving the quality of life of all people, especially those with reduced mobility/communication and those with major physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities.
Second prize was awarded to Mariola Borrell for her project “Civic Centre, Observatory of cultures” for including accessibility solutions by means of different ramps and landscaped paths, and for the building itself, which is equipped with different elevation mechanisms to facilitate everyone's movement on the different floors. Third prize was granted to Joan-Marc Garcés for his project “Proto-factory” for its architectural values and for complementing the building and its urban context with accessible solutions by means of mechanical ramps and moving walkways.
Schindler Elevators has been holding these awards for the last 14 years with the aim of learning about future architects and trying to spur their creativity and get them involved in areas that highlight the importance of accessibility. There is also a financial component of the awards granted to the winners for submitting final year projects that include accessibility by means of elevation designs and/or mechanisms that provide for independent movement with maximum comfort and safety for all.
