City-Port Interface
City-port interface: the project must be located within a city-port interface and/or on former port land.
Established in 2024 by the AIVP, the AIVP Antoine Rufenacht Award is presented every two years to recognize the most outstanding urban development projects. This international award celebrates urban and port excellence in support of sustainable development and the city-port relationship.
The only international award dedicated to the development of city-port interfaces and the improvement of city-port relations.
Projects completed within the last 3 years located at city-port interfaces and/or on former port sites.
Alignment with the 10 goals of the AIVP’s 2030 Agenda.
Applications accepted from March through July 2026.
The award ceremony will be held in November 2026 in Dunkirk.
Mayor of Le Havre from 1995 to 2010 and founding president of the AIVP from 1988 to 2002, Antoine Rufenacht was a French politician and business leader who was highly regarded by his peers. Passionate about Le Havre, a port city ravaged by World War II, he devoted his entire life to understanding and highlighting its uniqueness, particularly its identity as a port city.
For him, the interconnection between a city’s influence and a port’s appeal was self-evident.
His vision of urban planning as a set of coherent and inseparable initiatives, his understanding of the role of port cities in globalization, his willingness to listen, and his open-mindedness have permanently transformed the image of his city and helped shape the identity and purpose of the AIVP.
The AIVP Antoine Rufenacht Prize pays tribute to him as a man of projects and dialogue, and highlights his vision of the port city as a balance between long-term planning, urban coherence, and innovation.
For several years now, dozens of cities across five continents have, in partnership with port authorities, explored the city-port relationship through the lens of unique urban developments and iconic architectural projects. These projects pave the way for new ways of envisioning and reimagining the city, the port, and their functions at the local, regional, and global levels.
The AIVP Antoine Rufenacht Award recognizes the most outstanding city-port interface projects that embody a sustainable and innovative vision of the city-port relationship. More specifically, this award aims to foster dialogue and healthy competition in pursuit of a safer and more sustainable future, ensuring that port cities remain sources of life, work, and pride.
Following a successful launch in 2024, the AIVP Antoine Rufenacht Award returns for a new edition in 2026 with its original mission intact: to recognize and promote the most outstanding urban-port interface development projects. The AIVP Antoine Rufenacht Award is open to port, local, and/or regional authorities in maritime and river cities around the world.
The jury for the AIVP Antoine Rufenacht Award is composed of international representatives, including experts and decision-makers in the urban and port sectors who are recognized for their expertise in urban planning, architecture, port development, climate change adaptation, and/or community engagement. All have developed expertise in areas related to improving the city-port relationship.
To him, the interconnection between a city's influence and a port's appeal was obvious.
The jury is co-chaired by Geraldine Knatz (Los Angeles, United States), the first female CEO of the Port of Los Angeles and a member of the board of directors of AltaSea, a large-scale project to transform the city-port interface in San Pedro into an innovation campus dedicated to the blue economy, and Carola Hein (Delft, Netherlands), a professor and holder of the UNESCO Chair on Water, Ports, and Historic Cities at Delft University.
Los Angeles - United States
Delft - NETHERLANDS
The AIVP Antoine Rufenacht Award follows a rigorous, multi-step evaluation process, ensuring a fair and thorough review of each nomination.
Since its founding in 1988, AIVP has been working to improve the dialogue between cities and ports and to promote cooperation among local authorities, port authorities, citizens, and economic stakeholders.
The AIVP Antoine Rufenacht Award is fully in line with this mission: to foster international competition, highlight exemplary projects, and inspire port cities around the world in their efforts toward sustainable development and the improvement of city-port relations.
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