Interreg 2 Seas Project SCAPE wins FEBE award

The FEBE Elements Awards are organised each year in Belgium by FEBE, the Federation of the Concrete Industry. These coveted awards reward projects using precast concrete elements. 

Within Interreg 2 Seas Project SCAPE (Shaping Climate change Adaptive PlacEs), whose main focus is climate adaptation in coastal areas, Ostend City River was developed. This construction was awarded the prize for the best "Precast in Landscape", which rewards visible surface projects for the development of public or private spaces.

What impressed the jury was the erratic shape of Cityriver, which required a great deal of creativity. The riverbank consists of hundreds of L-shaped walls made of architectural concrete which, are not standard elements due to the riverbed structure. 

In total, no less than 1,200 elements were delivered in precast concrete, in some 150 different formats.

The Ostend Cityriver combines a sustainable water policy with innovative landscaping. The classic street drains have been replaced by a real "urban river". An urban river that can overflow if necessary, uses the water in a circular way and allows it to infiltrate into the ground. In other words, an achievement that is ready to face the consequences of the current climate change. The result is functional and aesthetic. A new eye-catcher in Ostend, a city with increasing assets and a promising future.

Jury opinion: "An exemplary project where aesthetics and functionality are combined in harmony. A project that provides for infrastructure to better cope with future climate change, especially with regard to water. The jury is therefore particularly proud to award the prize to this ambitious project.”