Land reclamation and prizes

Chapter 1

Austria: Planlos award

We name and shame buildings often but it’s rare that they get a prize for bad architecture. But in Vienna, an independent group of architects has been drawing attention to “planless” projects since 2011.

Chapter 2

The Netherlands: land reclamation

The hardest part of land reclamation isn’t getting the land but holding it – and preventing the waters from clawing it back. The Netherlands has been doing this for almost 1,000 years and is now taking advantage of its expertise to not just shore up its own reclaimed land but also sell that knowledge to others.

Chapter 3

London: Garden Bridge

The Garden Bridge was to do exactly what its name suggests. The planted bridge was to straddle the Thames but, £37m later, the project has been cancelled, as the city’s former chief planning officer, Peter Rees, explains.