2024 Summer Issue of Urban Land - 44

France's ESSEC Business School Team
Wins the 2024 ULI Hines
Student Competition-Europe
the ULI Hines Student Competition
in Europe this spring was the
fifth of its kind since the annual
contest expanded to the region in
2020-but the first one held as an
in-person event.
Previously, finalist teams convened
in a hybrid format to
compete in the hands-on urban
planning and development exercise.
This year, Hines hosted the final
at Grainhouse, its new European
headquarters in London, opening
its doors to six diverse teams from
universities and business schools
across Europe, as well as the jury
of senior industry leaders who
selected the winner.
On the day of the competition,
the student teams were briefed on
a case study in the morning and
then spent the day crafting their
proposals to address a range of
challenges in the built environment.
The student teams were tasked
with devising a development proposal
aimed at rebalancing the
urban mix of a historic district in
London's West End. Among the
challenges they addressed were
issues related to expanding, replacing,
or repurposing existing buildings,
as well as social, affordability,
and environmental matters.
Top row, from left: Lars
Huber, Hines; Lisette van
Doorn, ULI Europe; Rebeca
Guzman Vidal, Curate
Ventures; Jonathon Costello,
ULI UK Young Leader; and
Rachit Agrawal, ESSEC.
Bottom row, from left:
Solène Lelarge, ESSEC;
Brian Moran, Hines; and
Louis Fauvin and Anvi Singh,
ESSEC.
Specifically, the task focused on
delivering high-quality student
accommodation and community
spaces and reinvigorating the area's
performing arts legacy.
After each team presented its
proposed solutions, the jury of
industry veterans selected and
announced the Paris Team from
ESSEC Business School in France
as the winners.
The four members of the Paris
Team-Solène Lelarge, Louis Fauvin,
Rachit Agrawal, and Anvi Singh-
impressed jurors with their cohesive
regeneration proposal rooted in
the creation of open space. Their
attention to detail on architectural
and real estate issues and providing
creative solutions for social and cultural
integration also won praise.
Lars Huber, Hines chief executive
officer for Europe and ULI Europe
Chair, applauded the Paris Team
and the other finalists for their
approach to real-world challenges.
" Every year, the students raise
the bar with their vibrant problemsolving
and ingenuity, " said Huber,
who served on the jury. " While the
competition is helping inspire the
next generation of real estate leaders,
it also gives the judging panel
an insight into the brightest young
minds and their grasp of the key
issues and factors influencing the
future of our towns and cities. "
Other finalist teams included
S.O.T.A. and Bartlett Builders, both
from University College London in
the United Kingdom; Team Bavaria
from IREBS International Real
Estate Business School at the University
of Regensburg in Germany;
Epalinges Estate Collective from
EHL Hospitality Business School in
Switzerland; and South East Collective
from the University of Portsmouth
in the United Kingdom.
" This competition [provides] a
compelling preview of tomorrow's
real estate talent, " said Lisette van
Doorn, CEO of ULI Europe and
a jury member, " [and it centers]
collaborating, a multidisciplinary
approach, and sharing knowledge
and best practices to find solutions
to the critical challenges we face. "
Jury chair Brian Moran, a senior
managing director at Hines in
Dublin, Ireland, said the competition
each year is an invaluable for
emerging real estate professionals-
both in the process of solving problems
and in getting for feedback
from seasoned professionals.
" It really challenges teams at a
junior stage in their career to think
holistically about how you create
real estate from a finance perspective,
from a design perspective,
from a city responsibility perspective, "
Moran said. " But also, one of
the great things about this competition
is you'll be assessed by some
of the leaders in the industry. " UL
JACK MORRISEY is ULI director of executive communications
and is based in Chicago.
44
URBAN LAND SUMMER 202 4
ULI
2024 Summer Issue of Urban Land

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