The Significant Furniture 2016-2017

Sponsor: Aldo Morelato FoundationType: open, internationalLanguages: English and ItalianEligibility: professionals and studentsFees:Professionals – 60 EurosStudents – 30 EurosAwards:2,500 Euros – Professional prize2,500 Euros – Student prizeTimetable:5 May 2017 – Registration and submission deadlineJury:• Silvana Annicchiarico, Director of the Triennale Design Museum• Ettore Mocchetti, Designer and Editor of the AD magazine, Edizioni Condé Nast• Ugo La

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West Smithfield Museum of London Shortlist

The Museum of London announced the six architectural teams shortlisted to design its new museum in West Smithfield in the international design competition organized by Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC). The museum also released full details of the competition jury. The new museum, which has a £130-150m construction budget, will secure the future of a series

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Memorials for the Future

Sponsor: Van Alen Institute, National Park Service and National Capital Planning CommissionLocation: Washington, DCType: open, two-phase, with three finalistsFee: noneLanguage: EnglishTimetable: Teams are encouraged to signal their intent to submit a proposal by pre-registering via http://future.ncpc. gov with the team lead’s name and contact information by April 18, 20164 May 2016 – Phase I submission

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New York/New Jersey Port Authority Bus Terminal

Sponsor: New York/New Jersey Port AuthorityType: RfQ, open, two-phase with five finalistsEligibility: Experienced teams of architects, planners, etc.Sponsor: New York/New Jersey Port AuthorityType: RfQ, open, two-phase with five finalistsEligibility: Experienced teams of architects, planners, etc.Location: between Ninth and Eleventh avenues, New York CityLanguage: EnglishBudget: NATimetable28 April 2016 – Phase I submission deadlineJuly/August – Submission deadline

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New Competitions 4/7/2016

Tall Building Design Competition

Sponsors: CTBUH and KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox)Type: Open, International, studentEligibility: Open to students in accredited schools of architectureLanguage: EnglishFee: noneTimetable:Monday, July 18th – Registration deadlineMonday, July 25th – Submission deadlineMonday, August 8th – Short-listed “Semi-finalists” announcedThursday, August 18th – Top-five “Finalists” announcedMonday–Friday, October 17th–21st – CTBUH 2016 Conference, Top-five Finalists will

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In Memoriam – Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid by Mary McCartney    
Photo: ©Mary McCartney

As was the case with many in the U.S. who had not seen her work, my first encounter with a Zaha Hadid project and with the architect herself was at the dedication of the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati (COMPETITIONS 2003, Vol. 13, #2), with the headline, “Cubism Comes to Cincinnati.” This was a real challenge, because the CAC site was not generous in size or configuration, but constrained on a prominent corner location in downtown Cincinnati. Because of site and floor plan limitations, the staging of large exhibitions is in itself a work of art. And the generous space allocated for the stairs in the atrium, while bringing in much needed light and resulting in a moving experience for visitors, did reduce valuable space for exhibits. This was an additional case that posed

   
Corner View b&w
Photo: ©Paul Warchol

the question: whether Zaha’s design talents could also produce a building that would work ideally for users.

 

 

Later projects, such as the BMW plant in Leipzig, indicated that function and form could happily coexist. Even her unbuilt Cardiff Opera House, a competition so well documented by Nicholas Crickhowell’s book, Opera House Lottery, held promise as one of the world’s groundbreaking performance venues. The Cardiff Opera house controversy may not have enhanced her reputation in the eyes of some potential clients; but she subsequently was able to design and build many projects around the world, but few in this country—one of the notable exceptions being the new Michigan State University Art Museum.
Over the years, Zaha’s firm became one of the foremost invited participants in competitions worldwide. We never counted them, but we were amazed that she could devote so much energy and time to the number of competitions which her firm participated in.

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St. Hilda’s College, Oxford

Gort Scott
Image: ©Gort Scott; courtesy MRC

St Hilda’s College has selected Gort Scott to design a new £10m+ front-of-house development for its exceptional riverside site in the conclusion of the Redefining St Hilda’s invited design competition, organized by Malcolm Reading Consultants. St Hilda’s College was one of the original group of five women’s colleges founded at Oxford at the end of the nineteenth century. Since 2008, it has selected its undergraduates and graduates without regard to gender. St Hilda’s now has one of the highest proportions of international undergraduate students of any college within the University.

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Tintagel Bridge Castle Competition

An Adventure of the First Order

The Tintagel Castle Bridge Design Competition

ney-and-partners-boards-1

©William Matthews Associates; courtesy MRC

Out-of-the-way places can be serious destinations, especially when they embody an object of historical significance. The medieval Tintagel Castle site is certainly one of these examples, attracting scores of visitors every year. Although only now a ruin, its history, linked to the tales of King Arthur, is certainly the tale which can be of interest to any serious English history buff. But getting to the crest of the hill cliff where it is located is only something for the hardy. The problem has been the steep ascent to the site, which could only be reached via a circuitous winding pathway. To address this issue, a new bridge in a more advantageous location was proposed to replace an existing, somewhat rickety span.
Organized by Malcolm Reading Consultants, this competition’s call for expressions of interest drew 137 responses, with six firms being shortlisted for the design competition phase. At the conclusion of the adjudication process, the jury announced the team of Ney & Partners with William Matthews Associates as winners. The other finalists, without ranking, were:

  • Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes with Terrell
  • Marks Barfield Architects with Flint and Neill J&L Gibbons LLP and Mola
  • Niall McLaughlin Architects with Price and Myers
  • RFR and Jean-Francois Blassel Architecte with Engineershrw and WSP
  • WilkinsonEyre with Atelier One

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