The Western Red Cedar Lumber Association (WRCLA) is calling for entries in the 2010 Western Red Cedar Architectural Design Awards program. The awards recognize innovative design using one of the world’s most unique building materials, Western Red Cedar.

All entries must be submitted by July 30, 2010. Submissions must be made online at www.construction.com/community/WRCLA. Winners will be chosen by a panel of notable architects, and the results announced at the AIA 2010 National Convention.

Check the winners of last year’s competition here.

Ginseng Chicken‘s latest competition entry for the thematic pavilion of the 2012 Yeosu World Expo in Korea explores the relationship between land, coast, ocean and people.  Entitled SuperOcean, the project features a sampling of the ocean, as if a section was lifted above the surface as a way to allow viewers to explore the secrets the deep sea has to offer.  ”When exploring the question of what type of form best represents the identity of the ocean, we realized that the ocean has very objective and quantitative factors such as depth, surface level and area, but at the same time is a very abstract, even spiritual entity to others,” explained the architects.

More images, diagrams and more about the project after the break. read more »

Pool lounge © BIG

To close our coverage of this years P.S.1 YAP competition we present you BIG‘s proposal.

BIG’s invitation to the P.S.1 is not only rare for not being based in NY or in the US (they are based in Denmark), as it has been the common denominator over the years, but also because they have built several small-medium-large scale projects.

But personally, this was the proposal I wanted to see the most: BIG’s P.S.1 out of 7295 is a “cloudscape” formed by
translucent recycled PVC “bubbles”, with a cradle to cradle life-cycle design on which 7,295 bags will be made out of the ballons after the installation, completing the cycle that started as recycled truck bed covers and bags.

Check our P.S.1 coverage (2008 until 2010!) here.

More on BIG’s proposal after the break:

read more »

GOOD has teamed up with PRE and Studio X to inspire designers through the monthly Spontaneous Architecture competition. This month, they want you to come up with creative solutions to help Haiti in its rebuilding efforts.

Submissions are due February 15, and the entry fee is $5. Fifty percent of the entry fees will go to the winner, and the other half will be donated to the Haitian relief effort. For more details, go to the competition’s official website.

© EASTON+COMBS

We continue featuring the proposals for this years P.S.1 summer installation competition (awarded to SO-IL, read our full coverage of the PS1 competitions here).

This time we introduce you EASTON+COMBS, a practice ran by partners Rona Easton and Lonn Combs.

The firm has a focus on material innovation, which could be seen at LUX NOVA, their proposal for the P.S.1, which includes “Strong Light”, a 100 percent recyclable and exceptionally strong featherweight building component.

© EASTON+COMBS

The initial system is developed as a permeable featherlight structural skin that engages an environmental play of translucent and polychromatic effect. The system offers an 80% weight reduction over an equivalent glass system with no compromise in strength and stability at a significantly lower cost.

More about LUX NOVA after the break:
read more »

The ‘Concrete Geometries’ Research Cluster at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London is seeking submissions of work from the fields of art, architecture, sciences and humanities that explore the relationship between spatial form and social or aesthetic processes.

For more information go to the competition’s official website.

As I told you on our previous post, the summer installation competition held by the MoMA and the P.S.1 is a platform for young architects, and that’s why we are presenting you all the entries for this year. You can read our whole P.S.1 competition coverage here.

We continue with William O’Brien Jr, who has been very related to the academy and is currently a professor at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning and he also runs his own practice in Cambridge, MA.

© William O'Brien Jr

His proposal for the summer installation, Weathers Permitting, constructs an elevated boardwalk with a topology which collects water, which varies or evaporates depending on the current weather at the location. The action of the weather over the boardwalk reminds me of the weathering effect described by Mohsen Mostafavi on his book On Weathering: The Life of Buildings in Time.

More about William’s proposal after the break:

read more »

The international architectural competition “Habitats Nomades” invites students, architects and designers to design a home  for a nomadic family.

It’s objective is to promote nomadic cultures, their diversity, their know-how in term of construction of nomadic settlements, and the value of the nomads cultural heritage. You can find more information on the competition’s official website (it’s in French). Seen at Abitare.

The creators of Sustainable Dance Club and Hybrid Tuktuk present a new Wow! project – Open Source House. The design competition starts on January 15th, 2010 and is open for team or individual participation. The challenge is to design a sustainable, flexible and locally embedded one family house for a specific location in Ghana. The modular construction should be suitable for local implementation and affordable for its future owners. The winning design(s) will be built in Ghana.

For more information on timeline and submission, go to the competition’s official website.

The Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities International Design Ideas Competition invites qualified professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, planning and surveying and the general public to contribute ideas and concepts on the design for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF) for reference and future implementation by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSARG).

Registrations closes ends February 8. For more information on submission and schedule, go to the competition’s official website.

Works carried out by students usually disappear into drawers after presentation to a relatively small college audience. There the work remains invisible.

The :output International Student Award wants to change that. Every year more than 1.000 students from more than 30 different countries submit their best projects to the competition. A jury of international renowned designers and professors makes a selection which is published in :output. Send your best projects until February 15, 2010 and get published in the yearbook.

The best project of all submissions is honoured with the :output Grand Prix which includes also a scholarship worth 3,000 Euro. For more information on submission and conditions, go to the competition’s official website.

The Salvation Army joins the U.S. Green Building Council this year in hosting USGBC‘s 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition. Entrants will design an affordable, 800 square foot green home for an elderly client in the Broadmoor, New Orleans neighborhood. Winners will be announced after the top four entries have been constructed, inhabited and evaluated.

Through its EnviRenew initiative, The Salvation Army is kicking off a large-scale residential green building campaign in five neighborhoods in New Orleans, facilitating the construction of 125 new homes and the renovation of 125 existing homes over the next three years through the provision of grant financing to homebuyers and homeowners.

For complete schedule, requirements and submission go to the competition’s official website.

The Spontaneous Architecture mini-competitions are a series of twelve monthly competitions to last throughout 2010. The entries are single images, and the entry fee is $5 per entry. The competition winners will be decided by fellow competition entrants (although no entrant may vote for their own proposal).

This collective voting will harness the group’s intelligence and interests and hopefully catalyze a discussion within the participating group which will be formally continued in a live event in New York City. The event will be held in collaboration with Columbia University’s Studio-X in downtown Manhattan and will coincide with the announcement of the competition winner(s).

They have recently launched the first one. Details, after the break. read more »

Young architects and designers are invited to submit work to the annual Architectural League Prize Competition. Projects of all types, either theoretical or real and executed in any medium, are welcome. The jury will select work for presentation in public programs, an on-line installation, podcasts, and an exhibition in late spring 2010. W

inners will receive a cash prize of $1,000, as well as an additional stipend for transportation determined at set levels based on the applicant’s proximity to New York. A catalogue of winning work will be published by the Architectural League and Princeton Architectural Press. Deadline is February 8.

Seen at paperpressblog. For more information, go to the competition’s official website.

Site Northeast View

Atlantic City Boardwalk Holocaust Memorial Inc. is sponsoring an international open two-stage design competition for the purpose of realizing a Memorial to the Holocaust and genocide on a site dedicated for that purpose by the city of Atlantic City NJ. The competition will be anonymous and judged by a world class Jury. First stage submissions are on-line only.

Each winner of the first stage shall be awarded a $2500 honorarium to build a model which will be exhibited and judged at a gala event to be held in Atlantic City NJ in August 2010. The author of the winning design will be awarded the commission to realize a Memorial on a magnificent site overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and visited by millions of visitors annually.

Registration deadline is February 15 and submission deadline is March 15. For more information, go to the competition’s official website. Seen at deathbyarchitecture.

The competition is dedicated to the innovation of green in urban areas. Participants can be creative professionals (landscape architects, designers, architects, planners, artists, and associations) as well as students (schools of horticulture, landscape design, architecture, etc.).

The competition theme is the creation of innovative proposals for the creation of small urban areas, a terrace, a roof, balcony, walls, windows and any other city in the “Garden” theme. Particular attention will be given to projects that will appeal to the jury’s senses (fruits, edible flowers, aromatics, etc..) The maximum area to be developed is 15 m2. The research and the originality to invent new ways to experience nature in the city, merging environment and aesthetics, using lighting and furnishings, and tips for eco-gardener, ideas for recycling, etc. The best project in each category will receive the Innovation Award 2010. More information:www.jardinsjardin.com.

Seen at Abitare.

With the Homeless World Cup arriving in Rio de Janiero, Brazil in fall 2010, Architecture for Humanity, Homeless World Cup, and Nike are teaming up with local partners Organização Civil de Ação Social (OCAS), and Bola Pra Frente (BPF) to establish multiple Legacy Centers to implement the Homeless World Cup influence beyond the week-long Tournament and Leadership Conference.

With project partners officially on board and a site secured, we are pleased to welcome you to the Selection Process for Design and Architectural Services of the Homeless World Cup Youth and Women’s Leadership Center in Santa Cruz , Rio de Janiero, Brazil. With project partners officially on board and a site secured, we are pleased to welcome you to the Selection Process for Design and Architectural Services of the Homeless World Cup Youth and Women’s Leadership Center in Santa Cruz , Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

For more information on submission, awards and schedule, click here.

Design Challenge: The elevated Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway has been a controversial element of the Toronto skyline since it was completed in 1966. In recent years, public debate has been intensifying over whether its future should be a renovation, relocation, or complete removal. While many plans and proposals have been put forth over the years, none have produced a sufficiently compelling vision for a new urban identity and truly functional transportation system.

Waterfront Toronto and the City of Toronto are seeking input from the world’s most talented and creative design and engineering professionals in developing bold new concepts for the future of the elevated Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard, including the adjacent lands. The goal of the Innovative Design Competition is to produce a bold solution or series of bold solutions that can generate broad consensus on the best way forward for the eastern portion of the elevated Gardiner Expressway.

The intent of the Innovative Design Competition is to infuse the Environmental Assessment process with incisive design ideas and bring creative new solutions to the table. For more information about the submission requirements, click here.

The National Park Service and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay announced a new international design competition to re-invigorate the park and city areas surrounding “one of the world’s most iconic monuments”, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The competition, “Framing a Modern Masterpiece: The City + The Arch + The River 2015,” is called for in the National Park Service’s new General Management Plan, which was created through extensive public input over an 18-month period and approved on November 23, 2009.

According to the Gateway Arch Design competition site, “the Gateway Arch instantly became an international destination and won immediate recognition as one of the world’s premier works of public art. The grounds immediately surrounding it, designed by the late Dan Kiley, are also widely recognized as a landscape masterpiece. However, those grounds, and the city streetscape, highways, and the Mississippi riverfront which they abut, lack the ‘buzz’ of constant activity associated with a vibrant urban park – one of the issues the competition is meant to address.”

Seen at The Dirt. For more information, go to the competition’s official website.

The AIA is hosting its first ever design competition on Facebook—the AIA Facebook Young Designers Challenge. The competition is targeting emerging professionals, and is open to all AIAS members, all Assoc. AIA members, and all AIA young architect members. (The AIA defines young architects as being licensed 10 years or less.)

The AIA is asking designers to submit new, unbuilt building projects that address America’s most pressing design needs for the 21st century. This can include, but is not limited to: sustainability, public infrastructure, affordable housing, retrofitting suburbs and other resource-intensive built environments, urban farming, and rehabilitating dilapidated urban cores. This requirement is intentionally flexible. The most important factor is that each design offers an innovative solution to a concrete and unsolved problem. The winning designer will be announced in AIArchitect with a feature article on their design in January.

For more information, go to the competition’s website in Facebook.