University News Last updated 11 December 2023
A Birmingham City University-backed project to create a new urban national park in the West Midlands has been praised for the way it “unleashes the power of landscape to shape us and policy makers” after winning international acclaim at the XII Barcelona International Landscape Biennial.
Already recognised by the UK Government’s latest Research Excellence Framework for its originality, significance and rigour, the West Midlands National Park (WMNP) was given an Honourable Mention by judges of the prestigious Rosa Barba Casanovas International Landscape Architecture Prize.
The WMNP describes itself as “a vehicle to help drive social, economic and environmental change” in the region and has already influenced thinking within the West Midlands Combined Authority, Birmingham City Council and the Environment Agency.
BCU Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Mba, said: “The West Midlands National Park Lab is a core part of the University’s Research Strategy and its work is widely recognized and adopted not only across the region, but nationally and internationally.
“This latest recognition is yet further evidence of the quality, impact and importance of the work and we are extremely proud of Professor Moore and the whole team in driving forward this cutting-edge research and practice that the region, and the world, so desperately needs.”
Dame Fiona Reynolds DBA, Chair of the West Midlands National Park Foundation, said “It is heartening that, faced with all the challenges we see in the world, a project like the West Midlands National Park is recognised as making a real contribution to addressing them.
“Coming during COP28 – the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates - this fantastic news could not be more timely, nor more relevant. Many congratulations to Kathryn and the team - and to BCU for its ongoing support of an excellent and impactful project.”
Championed by the Architects Association Catalonia and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · Barcelona Tech (UPC), the Rosa Barba Prize recognises the best and most innovative practices in landscape architecture worldwide.
The WMNP becomes only the second United Kingdom finalist to be honoured in the history of the competition, following the success of the Queen Elizabeth Park, which won the top prize in 2016.