The International Union of Architects endorsed an urban regeneration project linking the Slovenian city, Nova Gorica with the Italian city of Gorizia, creating a shared central area to be known as Europe Square – Piazzale Della Transalpina and the hub EPICenter.
As part of a campaign for the title of 2025 European Capital of Culture (ECoC), the Municipalities of Nova Gorica and Gorizia, under the umbrella of the EGTC GO and with the endorsement of the UIA, organised a joint programme to celebrate and develop the economic and cultural infrastructure of this unique area in the centre of Europe, at the crossroads of tradition and modernity.
The competition was thus divided into two parts:
- Area 1 – Project proposals for the design of Europe Square / Piazzale della Transalpina and the transcultural hub EPICenter
- Area 2 – Ideas proposals for the remodelling of the border zones from Solkan/Salcano to Rožna dolina / Casa Rossa
View the competition launch press release.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the submission deadline for the international competition to redevelop a square shared by the Italian city of Gorizia and the Slovenian city of Nova Gorica was extended from 6 April to 1 June 2020. This competition also extended the deadline for submissions to 31 August. The jury meeting took place on 9-12 September and the results announced on 16 September 2020.
On 18 December 2020, chairperson of the European Capitals of Culture Expert panel announced that the city of Nova Gorica has been recommended for the European Capital of Culture 2025 title in Slovenia.
Find out more about the candidacy.
The virtual exhibition of all projects received is now available. Find out more