SO? Wins YAP Istanbul Modern 2013

SO? Architecture and IdeasSky Spotting Stop has been announced as winner of the 2013 Young Architects Program (YAP) Istanbul Modern in Turkey. Similar to its counterparts - CODA’s skateboard scrap Party Wall in New York and bam!’s buoyant installation He at MAXXI - the shady escape will be constructed in late June in the Istanbul Modern’s courtyard, offering refuge from the busy streets of Istanbul while overlooking the mouth of the Bosphorus.

2013 MoMA PS1 YAP Finalist: My Hair is at MoMA PS1 / TempAgency: Kutonotuk & mcdowellespinosa

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"My Hair is at MoMA PS1" is exactly what it sounds like. TempAgency, composed of architecture firms Kutonotuk and mcdowellespinosa have designed an installation that uses human hair from hair salons and barbershops as architecture. The finalist for 2013 MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program has found inspiration in the material waste to develop a project of cultural and design significance. Join us after the break for more images.

Re-inhabit the 21st century: Social Housing from the Modern Paradigm Competition

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With a continuing interest in the exploration of socially important and relevant issues, encouraging the creation of spaces for dialog and the participation of architects resolving concerns through proposed projects; Arquine summons participants to its 15th International Architecture Contest to Re-inhabit the 21st century. Social Housing from the Modern Paradigm.

Interface “Reconnect Your Space” Competition Invites Designs for Humans’ Deep Seated Love of Nature

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Some people love New York. Others fancy London, Sydney, or Hong Kong. While preferences for cities are split, science says that all of us may in fact be hard-wired to love the natural world. Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ: TILE), the world’s largest manufacturer, designer and marketer of carpet tiles, today launched a global competition named “Reconnect Your Space” that calls for architectural, interior or urban landscape design entries that put this affinity for nature, or biophilia, at the forefront. Biophilic design incorporates natural elements into manmade environments in order to help people feel and perform better.

The 2013 Architect’s Eye Photography Competition

Organized by International Art Consultants (IAC) and supported by The Royal Photographic Society, the Architect’s Eye competition has been celebrating and encouraging architects’ passion for photography since 2007. Now, in its fourth edition, UK architects are challenged to submit photos into two distinct categories: Architecture and Place and Architecture and People. The former focuses solely on the aesthetics of the architecture and places it creates, while the latter explores and celebrates the interaction of people with the environments created by architects. There are no restrictions on which buildings qualify for the competition.

bam! Wins YAP MAXXI 2013

With an intention to attract and impress viewers with his massive scale, He has been selected as winner of the 2013 Young Architects Program (YAP) MAXXI in Rome, an annual competition that promotes and supports young and emerging architects in collaboration with MAXXI Architettura, MoMA/MoMA PS1 of New York, Constructo of Santiago and, for the first time, Istanbul Modern, Turkey.

Call for Entries: Organize the U.S. Representation at the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale

The U.S. Department of State recently announced a request for proposals from any U.S. nonprofit organization at the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale, which is set to take place June 7-November 23, 2014. This includes museums, galleries, design centers, schools of architecture and design, and independent curators affiliated with a non-profit organization. The deadline for submissions is April 1, 2013. For more information, please visit here.

AECOM Announces Urban SOS Winners

AECOM has announced 'Unslumming Kibera' as winner of the fourth annual Urban SOS competition.

Rethinking Kala Nagar Traffic Junction - Winners Announced

Mumbai, like many populous modern cities, has a traffic problem that may be better be categorized as a traffic nightmare. At the Kala Nagar Junction, where five main traffic arteries merge to connect nearly 60,000 commuters per hour from the Island City to the western suburbs of Mumbai, the BMW Guggenheim Lab and Mumbai Environmental Social Network launched a competition to search for realistic solutions to the infrastructural tangle. Likely designed when traffic congestion was not as severe, the Kala Nagar Junction is no longer capable of accommodating the daily commuter demand. The competition, open to students and professionals, called on participants to consider solutions that not only resolved the traffic problems, but also produced public spaces and safe pedestrian routes. The six winning designs - 3 from the professional category, 2 from the student category and 1 people's choice that was decided by community votes and visitors to the Guggenheim Design Lab.

Architecture of Necessity 2013 Competition

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All professionally active individuals or legal persons such builders, architectural bureaus, local government, construction firms, or other companies are invited to submitted projects for the Architecture of Necessity 2013 Competition dated between 2010 and 2013, whether they have been built or not. The submitted material must include a short text describing the project in relation to the Architecture of Necessity, which espouses the values of being responsible, diligent, sustainable, just, and open. Entries should be submitted to Virserum Art Museum no later than February 15. For more information, please visit here.

AZPA to Transform Nineteenth Century Building into Locarno Film Festival Headquarters

London and Barcelona-based practice AZPA (Alejandro Zaera-Polo Architecture) has been announced as winner of an international competition aimed to establish a permanent residence for the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. Breaking away from the starchitect notion of public architecture needing to make an “extravagant gesture”, AZPA’s innovative proposal partakes in an act of “urban recycling” by reusing the pre-existent, nineteenth century structure of Piazza Castello and transforming its interior courtyard into three sizable theaters. Additionally, a complimentary renovation will take place on the surrounding Piazza Remo Rossi, which will be repaved with red natural stone that essentially provides a “permanent red carpet” qualified to host an array of festival related events.

Mayor Bloomberg Announces Winner of adAPT NYC Competition

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced the winner of adAPT NYC - a city-sponsored competition that challenged developer-led teams to design an innovative micro-apartment that responds to 21st century housing problems. With an all time high of 8.4 million people, and an expected million more by 2030, New York City’s shortfall of affordable one and two person apartments is continuing to grow at a staggering rate. In an effort to solve this imbalance, the winner of adAPT NYC will build an experimental project on a piece of city-owned land in Kips Bay, Manhattan, that has been alleviated from the 1987 density restriction that requires all new apartments to be greater than 400 square feet.

Proposals Unveiled for Kent State's new Architecture College

Yesterday, the shortlisted teams for Kent State’s new, $40 million College of Architecture and Environmental Design pitched their designs to the Kent community. From “simple and functional to splendidly provocative”, these proposals offer a range of innovative solutions that will satisfy Kent’s mission to create a modern campus that offers an outstanding academic experience and enriches the greater community of Kent, Ohio.

CODA wins P.S.1 with Skateboard Scrap ‘Party Wall’

The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1 has selected CODA’s (Caroline O’Donnell, Ithaca, NY) large-scale, self-supporting Party Wall, made from leftover shreds of skateboard material, as winner of the 2013 Young Architects Program (YAP). Drawn from five finalists, the porous skin of CODA’s temporary urban landscape will shade visitors of the Warm Up Summer Music series with its reclaimed woven screen, while providing water in refreshing cooling stations and seating with its detachable wooden skin on the lower half of the linear structure.

2013 RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship

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The 2013 RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship has recently been launched and is inviting applications from schools of architecture around the world. Proposals for research might include: learning from the past to inform the future; the future of society; the density of settlements; sustainability; the use of resources; the quality of urban life; and transport. A £6,000 grant will be awarded to one student by a panel of judges which includes Lord Foster and the President of the RIBA. The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 26. For more information, please visit here.

Wheelwright Prize

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Unique among architecture prizes with its focus on early-career architects, the Wheelwright Prize, recently launched by Harvard Graduate School of Design, is a $100,000 traveling fellowship awarded annually for exceptional itineraries in research and discovery. Recognizing the importance of field research to professional development, the prize reinforces the school’s dedication to fostering investigative approaches to contemporary design. Applications are currently being accepted until February 28. For more information, please visit here.

Assemblage Wins Iraqi Parliament Competition

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Assemblage has succeeded against a prestigious shortlist – which included Zaha Hadid Architects, Capita Symonds, Fevre Gaucher and ADPI – in an international competition for the new Iraqi parliament complex in Baghdad. The $1Bn USD project challenged contestants to design a new, large scale complex amidst the remnants of a partially built super mosque planned by Saddam Hussein (photos of the existing site here).

Wheelwright Prize Competition

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Harvard Graduate School of Design recently announced the launch of the Wheelwright Prize, a $100,000 traveling fellowship awarded annually to talented early-career architects worldwide proposing exceptional itineraries for research and discovery. With an open application process, the Wheelwright Prize recognizes the importance of field research to professional development, and reinforces Harvard GSD’s dedication to fostering investigative approaches to contemporary design. Online applications will be accepted starting January 10; deadline for submissions is February 28, 2013. For more information, please visit here.