In attempts to better define what it really means to be green, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, in partnership with Make it Right, has selected products from ten companies as finalists in the Product Innovation Challenge. 144 applicants were screened by toxicologists and building professionals, proposing new alternatives from insulation grown from fungi and bricks from living organisms, to roofing made from waste limestone and recycled plastic. The ten finalists represent the shared values of practical sustainability and entrepreneurship, creating "a building product that is safe, healthy, affordable, effective and designed to be returned safely to nature or industry after use."

Three winners will ultimately be announced on November 15, 2013 at the Institute's Innovation Celebration in New York City, offering a $250,000 cash prize: $125,000 for first place, $75,000 for second and $50,000 for third. The jury members, who include executives from Google, US Green Building Council and the Schmidt Family Foundation, will judge each product based on five categories: material health, material reutilization, water stewardship, renewable energy and social fairness.

Without further ado, the 10 finalists are…

SANAA, it is. In attempts to separate itself from its sister cities, Taichung City has named SANAA, led by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, winners of an international competition that intends to unite a newly formed city. As of December 2010, Taichung city executed a mega-merger that increased its population from 1 million inhabitants to 2.5 million, encompassing the skyscraping towers of downtown Taichung to the agricultural mountainside villages of Taichung County. As a result, the local government envisioned a new urban space that would place art at its core, celebrating the regions' disparate cultures.

The FAR ROC Competition, released shortly after Hurricane Sandy hit the eastern seaboard, called for a thoughtfully considered proposal for an 80-acre, 11-mile long peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean in the Rockaways (Queens, NY). The RFP expressed the need to explore a comprehensive solution to developing Averne East, a FEMA designated Hazard Area Zone that experienced extensive storm surge damage and continues to be a vulnerable site for future natural disasters. While the competition focused on this particular site, the full intention is to develop strategies that could be appropriated to low-lying and vulnerable regions all over the world.

The first phase of the competition was completed earlier this month: four finalists and six honorable mentions were announced. The four finalists - Ennead Architects of NYC, USA; Lateral Office of Toronto, Canada; Seeding Office of London, UK; and White Arkitekter of Stockholm, Sweden - will continue on to Phase Two with a $30,000 stipend, due in early October.

Join us after the break for more details on the finalists and honorable mentions.

Rock Ventures LLC and Bedrock Real Estate Services has announced the winners of Opportunity Detroit’s international design competition which solicited ideas for a potential signature project on the former Hudson’s Department Store site in downtown Detroit. The three winning design ideas came from Rome, Italy; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Southfield, Michigan. More images and information on the winning entries after the break.

The winners of CAPITheticAL, the international competition to design a hypothetical Australian capital city, were announced just last month in Canberra at the Gallery of Australian Design. A hundred years after the original call for design entries for Australia’s capital city, CAPITheticAL asked professional designers and students to imagine how an Australian national capital might look if created today. Western Australian landscape architecture firm Ecoscape won the $70,000 first prize for its submission, The Northern Capital. More images and information on the winning entries after the break.

Each year, the prestigious MIPIM Awards recognizes excellence and innovation in the international real estate sector.After a record number of submissions (over 175 projects from 46 countries!), 36 finalists were selected by the jury to compete in an onsite vote during MIPIM. The 23^rd MIPIM Awards took place on March 14^th where the final results were announced at a ceremony held in the main auditorium of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. More images and information on the winning entries after the break.

Organized by the Polytechnic Museum Development Foundation, the team of MASSIMILIANO FUKSAS Architetto (Italy) and SPEECH (Russia) was recently announced the winner of Architectural Concepts Competition for the Museum and Educational Center of the Polytechnic Museum and Lomonosov Moscow State University. The challenge was to create a museum and educational center for demonstrating most recent scientific and technological discoveries using state-of-the-art multimedia technologies for accommodating multiple displays and exhibitions as well as for conducting scientific educational programs. More images and information on the winning team and finalists after the break.

Organized in 2006 by eVolo Magazine the Skyscraper Competition recognizes outstanding ideas for vertical living. After reviewing more than 600 projects from 83 different countries, the winners for the eVolo 2013 Skyscraper Competition have just been announced.

First place was awarded to Derek Pirozzi from the United States, currently an intern at Olson Kundig Architects. Second place went to Darius Maïkoff and Elodie Godo, from France. And third place was awarded to Ting Xu and Yiming Chen from China. Check the images and more info on the winners after the break.

AIA Cincinnati, in partnership with the Over-the-Rhine Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation, recently announced the winners of their LIVE-MAKE Industrial Arts Center Cincinnati competition. The challenged was to design a membership based facility that will feature private residences, maker-in-residence studios, light industrial studios and an open workshop that will help shape a new economic opportunity for the neighborhood. The grand prize went to Frenchman Olivier Terrisse’s scheme, whose iconic element consisted of a silvery residential loft tower rising from the rear hill over the renovated factories, whose fabric the architect cut to continue the existing street patter and to open up the spaces of the factory building. More information on the winning proposals after the break.

The results of the Piraeus Underwater Antiquities Museum Competition were recently announced with the collaborative team of architects Antonopoulos Evangelos, Vetta Thalia, Gavalas Georgios, Riga Maria – Kiriaki, and Stamouli Anastasia, and Pilarinou Maria announced as the first place winner. The challenge was for the design of a new landmark for the city and the port of Piraeus, with main reference to the culture, quality tourism and sustainability as well. Piraeus Port Authority is organizing an open exhibition with all the proposals that were submitted to the competition at the “Petrini” (Stonebuilt) Warehouse – future Museum of the History of P.P.A. and Museum of Immigrants – within the zone of the Cultural Coast. The opening of the exhibition is planned on 28th March 2013. More information on the winning proposals after the break.