The paradigmatic Praça de Lisboa, at the core of Porto Historical Centre, seems to be of greater relevance to launch a first debate about interventions in public space, promoting, simultaneously, a global reflection about the process of city’s rehabilitation and about our participation as citizens in that process. Launching an Ideas Competition to Praça de Lisboa, under the name NO RULES, GREAT SPOT: WANTED, IDEAS FOR PRAÇA DE LISBOA (No rules, great spot, is a sentence written on a wall of this space) seems, in this sense, a fundamental action, able to provoke an in-tensive and ex-tensive debate around urban rehabilitation as a shared and informed, participated and discussed city project.

The Intergrain Timber Vision Awards are back in 2011, inviting architects, landscapers and designers nationwide to showcase their visionary use of timber in residential and commercial design projects. With the chance to showcase your work in front of a prestigious industry audience, the awards now cover five categories including: Residential Interior, Residential Exterior, Commercial Interior, Commercial Exterior and Young Architects (under 30 years of age).

Participation is open to all graduates of architecture and engineering faculties coming from all over the world. The theses, made individually or in groups, must have been discussed in the period between January 1, 2009 and October 31, 2011.

This year’s ACADIA 2011 Annual Conference, with the support of FLATCUT_, seeks proposals for innovative geometric forms that push the limits of design through the exploration of integrative material strategies for digitally fabricated assemblies. The competition hopes to address the questions that parametric design models are pose in terms of material practice: How does parametric design engage changes scale? How does the selection, tooling, and deployment of material shape the physical environment? How do inventive material pairings work positively and cohesively to produce new forms of assembly and environmental response? How do designers begin to embed parameters that engage concepts of sustainability, augmented performance and material flexibility?

JAJA Architects just shared the news of their competiton proposal for an extension of Falkonergården High School in Frederiksberg, Denmark. The competition attracted over one hundred proposals, and JAJA’s placed third for its “…respectful relation to the existing buildings through its geometric formal language”. The jury explained, “The shape appears logic with an interpretation of the buildings existing virtues. And the objective of capturing the warm glow of the surrounding buildings with new materials seems very convincing.”

Modern Atlanta (MA) is pleased to announce the first annual Modern Atlanta Prize 2011 competition. The prize intends to highlight talented designers and their projects each year under a new and interesting theme.

Carlsberg Group hereby announces an international design competition to transform the New Carlsberg Brewhouse into an exciting, must-see Brand and Experience Centre, attracting 500,000 visitors each year.

The central idea behind this challenge is that the project in question is a “virtual project”, one that has been created specifically for this competition.

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Christian Pottgiesser architecturespossibles recently shared with us their entry for the Russian Orthodox Center in Paris. Read about their proposal and view their renderings and video after the break.

They seek other geo-political border ‘hot spots’ in and out of the Political Equator that need to be interpreted and engaged. These geographies of conflict need to be understood through the radicalization of the existing in order to imagine new models of the possible. For more information please visit the competition’s official website.

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Parramatta City Council is officially on the hunt for the boldest, most innovative and creative thinkers to present their vision for an iconic site along the scenic Parramatta River foreshore as part of an international ideas competition, ‘Ideas on Edge’. Prize money of $50,000 is on offer for a commercially viable idea for the site located at a prime position on the edge of Parramatta River, with the competition open to people of all ages and backgrounds from around the world.

London is the largest urban zone in the European Union with a cosmopolitan population of over 7.7 million residence. The London Games is being eagerly anticipated by millions of sporting fans around the world. The Games, which officially kicks off on the 27th July 2012 will see the arrival of world’s top athletes and their team officials representing various participating nations, international dignitaries, the Games officials and not to mention millions of supporters and fans.

March 8 marked the beginning of voting for the best student architectural project that will revive the Fužine neighborhood in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana. Until March 23, visitors to the competition website can vote for the 30 short-listed projects, selected from among all 363 submitted projects by the international ten-member expert jury. The winning solution will be released on location this summer and announced on March 28. More images and competition description after the break.

The Waterfront Center is envisioned as the principal new access point from the capital’s riverfront to its historic core, and a contemporary architectural anchor point for a vibrant pedestrian zone in one of the city’s oldest continually inhabited parts.

Following the success of last year’s competition, Architecture for Humanity Chicago, in collaboration with Archeworks, is proud to announce the Street Furniture Competition 2011. Read over the full competition brief after the break.

The International Olympic Committee and the IAKS are organizing the IOC/IAKS Award 2011 for Exemplary Sports and Leisure Facilities. At the same time, the International Paralympic Committee and the IAKS are holding the IPC/IAKS Distinction for Accessibility 2011.

The international competition, NETWORK RESET, seeks to reactivate the entire boulevard system. The competition will focus on the urban scale and a larger framework for the system as well as smaller scale user impacts. NETWORK RESET aims to reactivate the entire Boulevard System of Chicago and to develop a quality transportation corridor.

The competition seeks out fresh and inventive designs that will help promote not only downtown but the City of Miami, and it’s historical connections to modern architecture.