Dresden (dpa/sn) – The flood protection system for the city of Grimma an der Mulde (Leipzig district) has received the Saxon State Prize for Building Culture 2022. According to the jury, the project is an example of how a town in a narrow valley can withstand the destructive forces of the water with the help of carefully integrated planning through engineering structures. The state reservoir administration as the builder and the flood protection working group at the TU Dresden had “put a great deal on its feet,” said Regional Development Minister Thomas Schmidt (CDU), according to a statement on Tuesday evening when the award was handed over in Dresden.
According to Schmidt, the images of the flood of the century in 2002 and the city under water have “burned themselves deep into the Saxon memory”. What was created in Grimma is impressive. The innovative protective structures to prevent the city from being flooded again by the Mulde also set “new standards in building culture,” he said. “A piece of the future was built here.”
The award, which is endowed with a total of 30,000 euros, is presented every two years by the Free State of Saxony, the Chamber of Architects and the Chamber of Engineers. This time, the focus was on lively and connecting places of togetherness. According to the ministry, a total of 73 contributions were submitted, 18 of which made it to the final selection. A skate park in Leipzig-Grünau, the Canitz church, the Wülknitz bowling alley and the Ourhaus, a cooperative housing project in the west of Leipzig, each received recognition worth 2,500 euros.
