EUROPAN 6

Europan is a competition initiative seeking its match with a view to other continents, as noted by Kazuyo Sejima, a Japanese architect and Europan 6 juror of the Scandinavian competition entries. To date, over two billion square meters have been designed from Europan 1 to Europan 6. Of course, this unique position can also lead to increased expectations. And although Europan Austria’s rate of realization at 66 percent is generally higher than that of the competitions initiated by the Chamber of Architects, public discussion of each individual unbuilt winning project provokes an exaggerated image of failure. Indeed, Europan promises to give its participants a chance to become established in the profession in a European country of their choice. If we assume that an inner-European space, where adequate priority is assigned to the issue of housing, actually exists, then Europan’s promise proves to be a legitimate test of the performance potential of our culture of competition and building.