14-11-25 // LISE MEITNER SQUARE WINS LOOP DESIGN AWARD 2025

The quote by Françoise Héritier, a French anthropologist and feminist, from her book Le Sel de la Vie runs parallel to the orange oval
on the Lise Meitner Square. Image ©STAR – strategies + architecture

Lise Meitner Square, designed by BOARD in collaboration with STAR – strategies + architecture, has been named Winner of the LOOP Design Awards 2025 in the “Landscape and Public Space” category. The jury recognised the project for transforming a highly constrained geothermal site into a generous 2,600 m² public space — an inventive integration of infrastructure and civic life.

LOOP highlighted the square’s design ingenuity: the orange asphalt ring marking the geothermal perimeter, bold ground graphics, and a resilient material palette tailored to strict maintenance requirements. Selected from hundreds of international entries, the 2025 LOOP awards received submissions from 49 countries, underscoring the global competitiveness of this recognition. The award celebrates Lise Meitner Square’s ability to turn technical constraint into social value — a public space that is both robust and unexpectedly poetic.

In addition to the LOOP Design Award, the project has received multiple international distinctions: it’s also a Platinum Winner at the ADC Awards 2025 in “Public & Urban Spaces – Landscape,” and won two Platinum Awards in the Houzee Awards 2025 for “Urban Landscape Design” and “Courtyard & Patio Design”. On top of that, it was Runner-Up in the RTF Global Architecture & Design Awards 2025, Shortlisted for the Architecture Hunter Awards 2025 (Public & Urban Design), and Longlisted in the Archello Awards 2025 for “Public Space of the Year”.

The design of the square highlights the geothermal energy system at its centre. The choice of materials responds to the strict maintenance constraints associated with the geothermal infrastructure, while the colour palette aligns with the overall identity of the surrounding START-Ivry project by STAR – strategies + architecture. Image ©STAR-BOARD

Though shaped by constraints, Lise Meitner Square is ultimately a gift to the neighbourhood, a fully open,
inclusive public space. Image ©STAR-BOARD

The security zone around each geothermal wellhead, materialised by an orange asphalt oval, shapes the arrangement of
buildings in the square. Image ©STAR – strategies + architecture

Three circular areas are designated as flexible-use zones, for sports, fitness, café terraces, and more, each materialised with a different surface treatment.
Image ©STAR-BOARD