Cooling Towers Design CompetitionResults The first stage of the competition attracted 34 entries that were assessed anonymously. Six finalists presented their design proposals to the jury panel. 1st Prize Insite Environments 2nd Prize DLA Architecture Ltd 3rd Prize Astudio Ltd in collaboration with Alfredo Caraballo 3 Other Finalists Moxon Architects Sheffield Wildlife Trust Sprunt ____________ Announcement SPONSOR: Groundwork Sheffield TYPE: Open, international, anonymous, 2-stage, ideas LOCATION: Tinsley, Sheffield TIMETABLE: 30 May 2007 – Registration Deadline 06 Jun 2007 – Stage 1 Submission Deadline (14:00 hrs) 19 Jul 2007 – Stage 2 Finalists Interview with Jury JURY: to include a Landscape Adviser; Architect Adviser and representatives from E.on UK (the principal landowner); Groundwork Sheffield; English Partnerships; Sheffield City Council and Rotherham Metropolitan District Council ELIGIBILITY: architects, landscape architects, engineers, town planners and urban designers (or teams thereof) AWARDS: 1st Prize – £4,000 2nd Prize – £2,000 3rd Prize – £1,000 The remaining finalists will each be paid a contribution of £250 towards expenses incurred in attending the final interview. FEE: £35.00 THE COMPETITION: Participants are invited to submit imaginative, inspirational ideas for the future use of a brownfield site situated adjacent to the M1 Tinsley Viaduct in Sheffield. The competition site occupies a key gateway location, lying just off the M1 motorway opposite the Meadowhall Shopping Centre (which attracts some 13 million shoppers per year). The area has been the focus of significant public interest over the past year, due to the selection of the two disused Cooling Towers located on the site for the Channel 4 Big Art program. The Cooling Towers are a highly emotive issue with the general public. People either loathe the Towers considering them an eyesore, or love them, regarding them as a local landmark that welcomes residents and visitors alike to Sheffield. What would it be like to drive along the M1 without the Towers looming over the viaduct is a frequently asked question? Notwithstanding the Channel 4 program and local campaigners’ determination to transform the Towers into a public artwork, demolition remains the preferred option of the landowner due to the on-going maintenance liability that they represent. Competitors can choose to either incorporate or exclude the Cooling Towers from their design ideas. Despite its industrial setting, the site is significant as the River Don and Tinsley Canal which cross the site are an important recreational resource and wildlife corridor that links to the adjacent Blackburn Meadows Nature Reserve. The challenging site requires an innovative approach for its redevelopment, which if implemented, would be visible by the thousands of motorists who use the two-tier Tinsley Viaduct every day. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Cooling Towers Site Competition RIBA Competitions 6 Melbourne Street Leeds LS2 7PS UK Tel: +44(0)113-234-1335 Fax: +44(0)113-246-0744 riba.competitions@inst.riba.org http://www.architecture.com/competitions http://www.groundwork-sheffield.org.uk |
Chungji National Heritage Museum Competition
Image ©Ona Architects + Jongjin Lee architects + Laguillo Arquitectos
For those unfamiliar with Korean Heritage and its symbols, the choice of the jury for a new complex to house artifacts, now located at various scattered sites, would seem to beg more information, especially when one views the designs of the non-selected finalists—all quite modern. Some of this can certainly be explained by the subject matter of the new museum’s holdings, another by the site in broader terms. Some might say that emphasis placed on the heritage element in the design brief fostered an interpretation leading to the choice of the winning design: “The site chosen for the new Chungji National Museum is logical: Chungju, located in the central part of the Korean Peninsula, is the center of the so-called ‘Jungwon culture,’ which has played an important role geographically and historically since ancient time. Jungwon culture developed around the Namhan River, which runs through the central region from east to west, and the relics showing this are currently scattered and stored in various museums.”
Read more… Young Architects in Competitions When Competitions and a New Generation of Ideas Elevate Architectural Quality 
by Jean-Pierre Chupin and G. Stanley Collyer
published by Potential Architecture Books, Montreal, Canada 2020
271 illustrations in color and black & white
Available in PDF and eBook formats
ISBN 9781988962047
What do the Vietnam Memorial, the St. Louis Arch, and the Sydney Opera House have in common? These world renowned landmarks were all designed by architects under the age of 40, and in each case they were selected through open competitions. At their best, design competitions can provide a singular opportunity for young and unknown architects to make their mark on the built environment and launch productive, fruitful careers. But what happens when design competitions are engineered to favor the established and experienced practitioners from the very outset? This comprehensive new book written by Jean-Pierre Chupin (Canadian Competitions Catalogue) and Stanley Collyer (COMPETITIONS) highlights for the crucial role competitions have played in fostering the careers of young architects, and makes an argument against the trend of invited competitions and RFQs. The authors take an in-depth look at past competitions won by young architects and planners, and survey the state of competitions through the world on a region by region basis. The end result is a compelling argument for an inclusive approach to conducting international design competitions. Download Young Architects in Competitions for free at the following link: https://crc.umontreal.ca/en/publications-libre-acces/ University of Florida’s College of Design Construction and Planning’s New Addition 
Development phase image courtesy ©Brooks + Scarpa
If architects have had one complaint concerning the planning and realization of a project, it has been with planners and especially construction managers, both of whom often display a lack of knowledge about architecture. The survival of a well-conceived design can hang in the balance when there is a knowledge gap at the planning and realization end.
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Houston Endowment’s New Headquarters on the Bayou
Southwest view Houston Endowment Headquarters – Photo Ivan Baan, courtesy Kevin Daly Following in the footsteps of other major non-profits—The Ford Foundation and LA’s California Endowment Center in particular—the Houston Endowment’s new headquarters, located on a grassy knoll just above the Buffalo Bayou in the city’s outskirts, has also made a strong architectural statement. Similar to the California Endowment, this project was also the result of a design competition, won by the California firm, Kevin Daly Architects. Read more…
The Makasiiniranta South Harbor Competition
 Helsinki South Harbour and Tori Quarter Suomen Ilmakuva Helsinki. Image credit/ Tietoa Finland, Janne Hirvonen
As a prelude to a competition for the design of a new Architecture and Design Museum to be located in Helsinki’s South Harbor, the City of Finland staged an open competition to establish a roadmap for the future redevelopment of the Makasiiniranta harbor area, the last old harbor area to be transformed for public use in Helsinki. The competition for the museum is scheduled to take place later this year; but the entire surrounding area has come up with a plan to review improvements for the entire harbor environment.
Read more… Vltava Philharmonic Hall Design Competition 
View to Concert Hall from bridge ©BIG
Classical music is still part of a vibrant musical scene in Prague, with at least four principal venues hosting concerts, ballet and opera. As a modern European city, the only missing venue from these choices is a state of the art concert hall. Other European neighbors have also recently staged competitions for such projects: Munich, won by Cukrowicz Nachbaur Architekten of Bregenz, Austria; Belgrade, won by AL_A of London; and Vilnius, Lithuania, won by Arquivio Architects of Spain. It should be noted, however, that one of the most important competitions for a concert hall, not only in Europe, but the world, was the 1961 Berlin Philharmonic hall competition, won by Hans Scharoun (below). It was the interior of that building, in particular, that served as a model for many others that followed, one of the first being Los Angeles’ Disney Hall by Frank Gehry. Read more… |
