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Prototype City

Prototype City International Architecture Showcase a Celebration at Balfron Tower © British Council

International Architecture Showcase a Celebration at Balfron Tower © British Council

Prototype City is an architecture exchange programme centering on international collaboration to test new ideas in cities around the world.

Teams of international and UK-based architects will work together to respond to creative briefs co-developed by local communities, cultural institutions, local developers, and governing bodies. Their ideas will be prototyped and built as interactive interventions in the participating cities. While unique to their location, the prototypes will seek to address global issues of inclusivity, sustainability and accessibility as well as joy, respite and discovery.

Prototype City offers the opportunity to learn from different cultural contexts, practices and processes and gain insights into diverse urban contexts, demonstrating the role that architects can play in designing cities of the future.

Opportunity: Prototype City Coventry

Opportunity: Prototype City Coventry Close-up of modernist architecture in Coventry. Image credit: Garry Jones, commissioned by Coventry UK City of Culture 2021

Close-up of modernist architecture in Coventry. Image credit: Garry Jones, commissioned by Coventry UK City of Culture 2021

2 March 2021

We are launching a pilot international exchange programme, Prototype City Coventry, as part of Coventry UK City of Culture, for which the British Council is international partner.

Together with Coventry UK City of Culture we are calling UK based architects, urban designers and spatial practitioners to apply to collaborate with international architects to address the urban landscape of two different sites in Coventry. Using co-design and collaborative processes, the teams will design prototypes for more inclusive and welcoming public spaces.

The extended deadline for applications is Wednesday 5 May 2021, midnight.

Since travel is currently restricted due to the ongoing global pandemic, this inaugural edition will take place online, which presents specific and exciting challenges about how space can be communicated virtually and the potential of collaborating across borders, remotely.

To find out more and apply go to Coventry UK City Culture page here