65 entries, 21 nominations and nine awards: the first Berlin-Brandenburg Landscape Architecture Prize showcases the diversity of contemporary landscape architecture in Berlin and Brandenburg. The main prize was awarded to the Spore & Publix foundation complex by POLA Landscape Architects, whilst the public’s choice award went to Campus Rütli CR² by studio polymorph Landscape Architects.
On 27 August 2026, the Berlin-Brandenburg Landscape Architecture Prize was awarded for the first time. From 65 entries, the jury shortlisted 21 projects. Nine projects were ultimately honoured with the main prize, seven category awards and the People’s Choice Award.
The winning projects could hardly be more diverse: a rooftop park, a collaboratively designed skate park, new educational spaces, a climate-adapted city park, community gardens and a place of remembrance and dialogue. Together, they demonstrate just how broad the scope of landscape architecture is today and how closely issues of design, climate adaptation and social cohesion are intertwined.
Grand Prize for Spore & Publix
The main prize was awarded to the Spore & Publix foundation complex by POLA Landscape Architects in Berlin-Neukölln.
The jury was particularly impressed by how the project connects a wide variety of open spaces within a comparatively small area: from the forecourt on the busy Hermannstraße, through the passageway and the sheltered garden, to the adjacent cemetery and the publicly accessible roof terrace. The jury also highlighted the site’s flexibility of use, the quality of the materials, and approaches such as reuse, upcycling and rainwater harvesting.
Jury chair Prof. Cordula Loidl-Reisch summed up her assessment at the awards ceremony in a concise statement: the project demonstrates “what landscape architecture is capable of”. The jury describes a place where history and the future are intertwined.
Over 1,000 votes for the People’s Choice Award
The People’s Choice Award went to the Campus Rütli CR² outdoor spaces by studio polymorph landscape architects.
More than 1,000 people took part in the online vote, thereby helping to decide which of the 21 nominated projects would receive the People’s Choice Award. The outdoor spaces at Campus Rütli create educational environments as well as places for exercise, play, relaxation and socialising, whilst also involving the local neighbourhood.
Seven further awards
In addition to the main prize and the People’s Choice Award, the jury awarded seven honourable mentions in the categories ‘Together rather than alone’, ‘Collaborations’, ‘New Aesthetics’, ‘Sustainability’, ‘Backbone’, ‘Technically Savvy’ and ‘Neighbourhood and the Provinces’.
Among those honoured were the Britz Urban Forest Garden, the community-developed Vetschau skate park, the Prenzlauer Berg Free Waldorf School, Einstein Park, the Jewish Garden in the Gardens of the World, the AERA Roof Park and the Angermünde Community Garden. The projects thus range from building roofs to rural areas, from educational and neighbourhood spaces to issues of remembrance culture, biodiversity and climate adaptation.
Two perspectives on the role of landscape architecture
Patron Julia Paaß from the Netzwerk Zukunftsorte and patron Achim Wollschläger from the Bundesstiftung Bauakademie also made it clear that landscape architecture extends far beyond the design of individual spaces.
Julia Paaß focuses on places as a prerequisite for encounter, participation and social connection:
These days, more than ever, we need open spaces for possibility and experimentation. Places where togetherness can emerge, and where things can be shaped and created collectively.
Julia Paaß
Netzwerk Zukunftsorte
In her speech at the awards ceremony, too, she focused on how landscape architecture can create the conditions for people not only to use spaces, but also to engage with their surroundings, take an interest and become actively involved themselves. She spoke of public spaces where one “feels invited to linger”.
Achim Wollschläger focuses on another, equally crucial point of intersection:
Interdisciplinary collaboration between architects, landscape architects and urban planners is taking on particular significance today.
Achim Wollschläger
Federal Foundation Bauakademie
In his view, buildings, greening, rainwater management and open space must be understood more strongly as an integrated planning task. It is precisely against this backdrop that he attaches particular importance to the Berlin-Brandenburg Landscape Architecture Prize.
Both perspectives are reflected in the award-winning projects: landscape architecture creates connections – between people and places, between ecological and social requirements, and between buildings, the city and the landscape.
A platform for landscape architecture in Berlin and Brandenburg
With this prize, awarded for the first time, the bdla Berlin-Brandenburg aims to highlight the contribution that landscape architecture can make to current issues in urban and regional development. The focus was explicitly not limited to completed showcase projects. Experiments, unconventional processes and work that strays from established paths were also invited for submission.
The 65 entries and 21 nominated projects clearly demonstrate just how diverse these responses can be: from climate adaptation and the circular economy, through education and participation, to the design of spaces for interaction and social cohesion.
We would like to thank all entrants and nominees, the award-winning teams, the jury, our patronesses and patrons, as well as all partners, sponsors, supporters and contributors who made this inaugural award possible.
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