The competition for the conceptual architectural design of the "City Apartment" project, which the Capital City announced in September last year, ended without a winner because none of the submitted works was fully compliant with the mandatory urban planning and technical conditions, which is why none of the planned prizes will be awarded. A new competition will be announced soon.
This was officially stated to "Vijesti" from the Capital City.
On September 18th of last year, the capital city announced a public international competition for the conceptual urban and architectural design of 220 "social apartments" on three urban plots with a total area of about 18.600 square meters, within the scope of the "Konik - Stari Aerodrom - Phase III" DUP. According to earlier announcements, the complex was supposed to be completed by the end of 2028.
"The competition for the conceptual architectural design of the "City Apartment" project, announced in September last year, did not result in the selection of a winning work. After the procedure was carried out, including an extended phase in which the finalists had the opportunity to improve their solutions in accordance with the clearly defined guidelines of the jury, it was determined that none of the submitted works was fully compliant with the mandatory urban planning and technical parameters. In accordance with the rules of the competition and applicable regulations, the jury unanimously decided not to award any of the envisaged prizes, guided by the principle of protecting the public interest and the obligation that the future implementation of the project rests on a solution that is fully planned and feasible," the Capital City said.
They added that they remain committed to the realization of this project, and will launch a new competition in the coming period with the aim of providing a high-quality, sustainable and fully harmonized conceptual solution as a basis for further development and finalization of the project. It was not specified when the competition could be re-announced.
Mayor Saša Mujović adopted the Decision on announcing a competition for a conceptual urban and architectural solution on September 12th of last year. Previously, in March of last year, the Assembly of the capital city adopted the Decision on determining the location for the construction of a residential and commercial building for the implementation of the “City Apartment” project.
It is envisaged that the urban planning solution must offer a clear concept of the organization of the complex, with rational use of space, clear subdivision and organization of buildings, as well as a functional traffic and pedestrian network.
The "City Apartment" project was launched in response to the growing need for affordable housing in Podgorica, where more than a quarter of households are in insecure housing conditions, and the prices per square meter exceed the means of the average household many times over.
The documentation accompanying the competition stated that housing in Podgorica had become one of the key socio-economic issues, due to the increasingly pronounced gap between the needs of the population and the real possibilities on the real estate market.
“The city with almost 180 thousand inhabitants, according to the 2023 census, makes up more than a quarter of the total population of Montenegro. It is particularly significant that almost half of the population is under 35 years of age, which makes this age group strategic when it comes to shaping public housing policies. There are about 63.900 households in Podgorica, with an average of 2,8 members. The dominant structure is made up of families with 3 to 5 members, while single-member and two-member households are present with 24 percent each, and households with six or more members with only 4 percent.”
They warn that it is concerning that more than a quarter of households, or rather 27,5 percent (17.542), do not have a resolved housing issue.
"This includes tenants and people living with relatives or friends. This figure indicates a significant presence of housing insecurity and growing housing needs," the document states.
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