The opening in 1944 of the redevelopment of the El Silencio district marked Caracas' official debut as a developed city under the criteria of modern urban design. The outstanding architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva was responsible for the project, which won the 1940 Banco Obrero Prize. The old inner city area, which had become a center of overcrowding, ill health and poor public safety, re-emerged as the El Silencio Development, combining all that was best in contemporary urban design: gardens linking the buildings, wide-viewed balconies, community children's play areas, protected pedestrian walkways, public squares and sculptures, green spaces and many other features considered revolutionary at the time.