Page 8 - Informed 2018 Issue 2

ICSC Awards evolve to shape the future
ICSC’s European Shopping Centre Awards are changing. Lower entry fees and a later deadline are primed to give more firms a shot at reaching the finals, while setting the bar higher than ever for quality, innovation and success
Every year since 1977, ICSC has captured the headlines with its awards for the most outstanding new,
refurbished and established shopping centre in Europe.
While the prizes for 2019 will once again shine the spotlight on the best established, improved and latest centres across the con- tinent, the awards are changing.
‘You can still expect a jury of seven indi- viduals with different experience and backgrounds, representing a broad spread of industry knowledge,’ said this year’s jury vice chair Christian Recalcati, managing director, Savills Italy, ‘but the main differ- ence is that all the projects will be judged online, without having the two-step process of previous years. This year, all the projects go directly into the final. The jury will examine them and then meet face-to- face in February, to exchange thoughts on
the schemes and reach a final decision.’ This means that the deadline for submit- ting entries – and the eligibility period for projects – are both later. ‘This year’s entry deadline is 3 December, while projects which complete as late as 13 September can compete,’ Recalcati added.
This year’s jury is chaired by Lars Richter, head of asset management at Union Investment Real Estate, who succeeds previous chair Robert Pearce, consultant at UK firm Haskoll Architects and Designers. And while the jury will be following the strict criteria detailed on the awards guidelines, Recalcati underlined that the prize-winning centres tend to combine
a tantalising mix of design, location, economic and environmental sustain- ability, innovation, and a desire to stay ‘fresh’.
‘It’s not enough for a new centre, for
example, to display a great opening week or month of footfall. They have to show they have a long-term plan to succeed,’
he said. ‘Similarly, an established centre needs to show it has been and continues to be successful in terms of investment returns, merchandising mix, as well as dis- playing that best-in-class quality that great centres have.’
Awards location
Once again, the awards will be announced and celebrated in Barcelona at the end
of April, during the annual European Conference & Exhibition, taking place for a second year at the city’s Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos I hotel. According to last year’s chair, the 2018 awards ceremony captured the relaxed and positive mood of delegates in the Catalonian capital.
‘Going back to Barcelona is a great idea,’ Pearce said. ‘The venue is ideal. Although I do think that moving on every few years in terms of location is important to keep things fresh.’
8 | ICSC INFORMED | NOVEMBER 2018