With this year’s theme being “Big Tree Paradigm” Akihisa Hirata, Shelter Corporation of Japan is inviting under-graduate or post-graduate students at universities or at tertiary institutions (including: junior colleges, colleges of technology, and other relevant vocational schools) as of November 17, 2012, to participate in their annual Student Architectural design Competition. Participants are challenged to design a house that has an attractive quality that is somehow similar to the attractiveness of big trees. It is not necessary that the house imitates the shape of trees. Rather, it is good if the idea starts from the attractiveness of big trees and develops into an unpredictable outcome – the form does not need to look like a tree at all. Submissions are due no later than September 28. To register and for more information, please visit here.
Public voting started this past week and will go on until July 22 for the inaugural George Matsumoto Prize for North Carolina Modernist residential design, a unique architecture competition sponsored by nonprofit Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH).
This year the Cleveland Design Competition is calling for a re-imagining of the Detroit Superior Bridge – a 19th century bridge rich with history and value to Cleveland’s downtown area and industrial zones. Professional, students, firms and designers are all invited to propose a dynamic public space, performance venue and pedestrian experience along the abandoned lower streetcar level of the bridge. Registration for this competition closes on September 24th. The competition deadline is October 5th. This is an awarded competition for first, second and third prize winners. A free public reception and exhibition will takes place on October 26th to announce the winners. To register, visit the official competition website.
For a brief on the competition, join us after the break.
The [AC-CA]’s recent call for proposals for a new Contemporary Art Museum in the heart of Buenos Aires has been seductively synthesized by Houston architect Michael Arellanes II, principal and founder of M A 2 Architectural Design. The nature of the competition called for a building that reflects contemporary design tendencies, whilst simultaneously attending to the specific functions that are required of art museums and considering the impact upon the local milieu. Located within the Puerto Madero district, the museum will occupy a substantial plot of land along the riverbank of the Río de la Plata. While there are no plans for the Contemporary Art Museum to be built, the goal to generate progressive modern design ideas and dialogue surely succeeds with submissions of MA2’s caliber. More details and Arellanes’s description after the break.
The city of Sydney has launched an international design competition as part of the the Green Square Development Project for a new Library Centre and Plaza at the heart of a 278 hectare area south of the city centre. The Green Square Development project is an initiative to redevelop a 278 hectare area south of the city centre of Sydney, Australia by bringing in diverse functions of housing, open spaces, offices and facilities that contribute to a vibrant, sustainable community. The library will be designed as a community centre and hub and used as an educational and creative resource, as well as a lounge. The project is allotting $40 million for the design and construction of the new facility and should be an integrated whole between the library and plaza which will also be a host to public arts, community events and markets. Stage one entries close on August 21st. Visit the official Green Square Library website to learn more.
More details on the competition and the project after the break.
What do you think of the number 300? Mayor Michael Bloomberg found the number to be just the right amount of square feet necessary to attract a younger demographic to live in the city. In a city-sponsored competition entitled adAPT NYC, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is inviting developers to submit proposals for a new construction project in Kips Bay, Manhattan. The challenge is to design what Bloomberg calls “micro-units”, between 275-250 sqf of living space, complete with a place a kitchen and a bathroom, but no closet is necessary. “Developing housing that matches how New Yorkers live today is critical to the City’s continued growth, future competitiveness and long-term economic success,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “People from all over the world want to live in New York City, and we must develop a new, scalable housing model that is safe, affordable and innovative to meet their needs.”
Dominique Perrault Architecture, the French practice recently awarded with the opportunity to build a tower called The Blade in Seoul as part of Daniel Libeskind’s master plan, has now been announced as winner of a concept/construction international competition for the Esplanade Tower in downtown Fribourg, Switzerland. The high rise is part of regeneration project of the Swiss Federal Railways at the site of the former Pilettes Station.
In a call for a Sustainable New York City, Mayor Bloomberg stated: “Given that buildings account for more than 80 percent of all municipal greenhouse gas emissions, constructing buildings with energy-efficient features is essential to reducing those emissions, and DDC plays a critically important role in that work.”
This is a great idea for new construction, but what about the existing, aging buildings? Most older buildings were built in a time when energy costs were low and the exterior walls were used less for energy performance and more for structural integrity. Knocking these buildings down to start over would cause a greater environmental impact due to the tons of waste material that would need to be discarded. So, what is the solution? REskin. DesignByMany‘s challenges you to cleverly reskin a decaying urban building on the corner of Broadway and Reade St in New York City. Submissions can range from a focused investigation to an entire reskinning of the building.
The REskin challenge is sponsored by Autodesk and media partners ArchDaily. Winners will receive a full license of Autodesk Revit Architecture 2013. Check out the building and learn more after the break!
CLOG is currently seeking submissions for its fifth issue, CLOG: National Mall, which will be published in November 2012. In an election year when America is debating and deciding its trajectory, it’s time to critically discuss the space that perhaps more than any other reflects what the nation was, is, and wants to be – the National Mall. Visited annually by approximately thirty million people, the Mall is also a victim of its own success as its grounds and monuments have been steadily eroded by overcrowding in addition to budgetary and administrative pressures. Submissions are due on July 20, 2012 by midnight. For more information, please visit their website here.
The international team, lead by well-known Russian urbanist Andrey Chernikhov, and including McAdam Architects, Tower 151, Georgi Stanishev and Ginsburg Architects placed first in round two of the Moscow City Agglomeration Development Concept competition. The winning consortium sparked debate by suggesting Moscow officials should consider redeveloping the abundant brown field sites and other available infill spaces within the existing city boundaries before proposing new development. They highlighted vast areas occupied by goods railways and disused industrial sites from Soviet times as prime areas for regeneration and expansion, as well as a re-thinking of transport networks to alleviate pressure on existing systems.
In an effort to promote resilience for the Sandy-affected region, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan has launched a multi-stage regional design competition that is intended to attract world-class talent, promote innovation and develop projects that will actually be built. Dubbed Rebuild by Design, the competition will accumulate a variety of design solutions, ranging in scope and scale, for review. Once the best ideas are identified, HUD will incentivize their implementation using funds made available through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program as well as other public and private funds to actually build the project.
RETHINK REUSE, an independent group whose goal is to inspire discourse on the topic of reuse is inviting all to participate in their Transforming Seattle’s 520 Floating Bridge 2012 International Design Ideas Competition. The goal is to envision new, innovative reuse strategies. The 520 bridge will be decommissioned in 2014 due to high maintenance costs, damage, and the need for additional lanes. The Washington State Department of Transportation is requiring of the new bridge’s design-build team that it be reused or recycled in a sustainable fashion; current trends for the reuse of pontoons have been floating docks, breakwaters and piers, but what else could be done with such a feat of engineering? More information on the competition after the break.
The Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) has announced the selection of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects and Davis Brody Bond to design the New Embassy Compound (NEC) in Mexico City, Mexico. After an intense round of presentations and interviews, the duo was selected from a talented shortlist of nine architectural/engineering teams. As reported on the Latin American Herald Tribune, the jury believed that “their portfolio of work is compatible to the local culture and shows sensitivity that highlights their connection to the character of the site.”
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has selected L.A.’s Gruen Associates and London’s Grimshaw Architects to design the new master plan for Union Station in Los Angeles. The pair was awarded with the commission over some of the biggest names in the profession, such as Norman Foster and Renzo Piano (view the other five fantastical proposals here). They will transform the historic 1939 station and its surrounding 40 acres into a world-class, 21st century transportation hub that will host the future high-speed rail system that plans to connect L.A. and San Francisco.
The master planning process could take as little as 24 months. No surprise, considering both Gruen and Grimshaw have a great amount of experience with transit related projects. Gruen recently worked with Metro on the first phase of the Expo Line, while Grimshaw has extensive resume in Europe and is involved with the forthcoming Fulton Street Transit Center in Lower Manhattan, which is planned for completion in 2014.
Five international consortia of architecture and landscape firms have been shortlisted in a competition to design the future research centre of the European Spallation Source (ESS)- a Partnership of 17 European Nations committed to the goal of collectively building and operating the world’s leading facility for research using neutrons by the second quarter of the 21st Century. The 21st century, large-scale science centre will focus on sustainability, creating an attractive working environment and integrating well into its surroundings. It will be built in southern Sweden and is planned to open in 2019.
Continue after the break to view the complete shortlist.
AECOM recently shared with us their 4th annual Urban SOS student competition brief. Created to engage students in urban planning and design, architecture, landscape architecture, environmental restoration, and engineering and allow them to propose solutions for the issues that are confronting modern cities, and viewed by established professionals in their field. The theme for this current year is Frontiers. AECOM is seeking proposals that engage urban sites that are currently facing chronic liveability challenges that are largely the result of a city’s location on a natural, political, cultural or economic border. Submitted proposals should fall under at least one of the following criteria; “On a political border,” Ports and trade,” Migration and population shift,” Transnational destinations,” and “Shifting geo-political conditions.” The winners have the potential for their project to be engaged by a local organization to assist in advancing the project.
Designing Action, an international design competition, was recently launched by the Nashville Civic Design Center to re-imagine an industrial site along Downtown Nashville’s Cumberland River. With emphasis on creating active spaces for healthy citizens, and highlighting alternative sports and related activities, the 75 acre site has many variables to entice creative solutions. It is a brownfield site disconnected from the neighborhoods of East Nashville by an elevated interstate. The goal is to generate innovative ideas and concepts that could enhance the future redevelopment of riverfront property, promote active lifestyles and increase the quality of life for its citizens.
The Well building 2050, an international design contest for housing in the strategic area of “La défense” Paris, is giving additional time to apply until Wednesday, June 13 at 12h00 GMT Paris. The competition challenges students worldwide to place quality of life and energy efficiency at the heart of urban housing in 2050. We need to consider housing from a new perspective, to bring about changes and improvements to the skills and jobs related to designing, constructing and using tomorrow’s place to live in. For more information on the competition, please visit here.
