poto: typeResults Winning Entries: FOLDING SCRAPER by S. Papitto & G. Evels (Rome, Italy) PODIUM TOWER by A. M. Kakavandi, F. S. Seiehkalan, N. Lofti, M. Jahanian, F. Bahmani, S. Rezvani (Toronto, Canada) OTO by J. Kurtz, K. Stitak, K. May, D. McKeown (Cleveland Heights, USA) Honourable Mentions:
STACKHOUSE by T. Wai, C. Min (Vancouver, Canada) LOST TYPOLOGIES by D. Jacobson (Vancouver, Canada)
____________
Announcement
SPONSORS:
AFBC, AIBC, RAIC, CCA, UBC SALA
TYPE:
Open, international, anonymous, student, ideas
LOCATION:
Vancouver, Canada
LANGUAGE:
English
TIMETABLE:
18 Jul 2007 – Inquiries Deadline
25 Jul 2007 – Answers Posted
03 Sep 2007 – Registration Deadline
15 Aug 2007 – Submission Deadline (arrive by 4:00 pm)
22 Aug 2007 – Exhibition of All Entries, AIBC Gallery
01-05 Sep 2007 – Jury Deliberation
06 Sep 2007 – Winners Announced
ELIGIBILITY:
Architects, intern architects, designers and creative thinkers worldwide
JURY:
James Cheng, MAIBC
Patricia Patkau, MAIBC
Brent Toderian, Director of Planning, City of Vancouver
Dr. Rhodri Windsor-Liscombe, Head of Art History, University of British Columbia
George Yu, AIA
AWARDS:
1st Prize – CDN$2,500
2nd Prize – CDN$1,500
3rd Prize – CDN$1,000
Honorable Mention per Juror
FEE:
CDN$40
THE COMPETITION:
Potogroup presents an open architectural ideas competition: poto:type. This competition will question the emerging typology originating in Vancouver’s downtown area: podium/tower typology. The podium/tower typology evolved as a response to the cities’ desire to intensify its downtown area by increasing the number of residential units while maintaining pedestrian-friendly streetscapes. Proliferation of this architectural mono-type could potentially create social and economic disparateness while weakening neighborhood identities. Potogroup makes an invitation to the participants to explore, rethink, question and experiment with new ideas that will challenge the concept of the podium/tower. This investigation should encompass formal, programmatic, social and cultural aspects of this specific type. The projects should challenge the logic of the present, formulate new questions, and facilitate variations that will allow new potentials for living and existing in the city. Poto:type should investigate both macro and micro scale as well as examine the notion of ‘vertical sprawl’. Architects, intern architects, designers and creative thinkers all around are encouraged to take part in this challenge to reinvent the ubiquitous Vancouver poto:type and explore viable alternatives for urban densification. The criterion is to explore alternate solutions to the mixed-use/residential typology currently prevalent in Vancouver, with a typical density of FSR 8, and a fictitious site of 120’x600’ with a 300’ ceiling and 4 storey street edge typical of a comprehensive development. It is the competitor’s prerogative to depart from these criteria and propose a project outside these zoning bylaws, but should the entry wish to work within these parameters, competitors may look at the guidelines of the City of Vancouver Comprehensive Developments (CD-1). Regardless, all proposals shouldattempt to incorporate social, regional, economic, technical, and aesthetic elements into the final solution.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Scott Kemp MAIBC, Professional Advisor
Poto:type Architectural Ideas Competition
100 – 440 Cambie Street
Vancouver BC V6B 2N5
Canada
http://www.poto.ca |
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/
Aerial view of site – Courtesy National Finnish Museum
When major cultural institutions in Finland plan a new building project, one can almost always assume that an open competition will be the vehicle by which the client settles on the building’s design. The only question is, will this be organized in a format open to local, Scandinavian, or international architects. In the case of the National Museum of Finland annex competition, it was open to architects throughout the world — resulting in 185 entries. Read more…
The Opening of Taichung’s Central Park by Catherine Mosbach/Philippe Rahm
View from the south with downtown Taichung in the distance image: ©Mosbach/Rahm
The abandonment and closing of airports, including decommissioning those that were used for military purposes, has presented design communities with several opportunities to convert them entirely to civilian purposes. Notable among those which have been the result of competitions are Orange County Great Park, Irvine, California (Ken Smith Landscape Architects), The Estonian National Museum (Dan Dorell, Lina Ghotmeh and Tsuyoshi Tane), and Toronto’s less successful Downsview Park competition, whereby the winning design by OMA, with trees as the primary feature, has been basically ignored. Instead, the area has become the site of numerous commercial and residential projects.
Read more…
SMAR’s Winning Entry Gets the Green Light
Image: ©SMAR Architecture
The winning competition entry in the 2016 Science Island competition in Kaunas, Lithuania by SMAR Architects may only take five years to realize—from the date of the competition to completion. This is encouraging news, as the duration of such projects resulting from a competition can often take much longer—sometimes up to 8-10 years. Read more…
Night view of the memorial tapestry from Independence Avenue, with Gehry’s sketch of the Normandy cliffs.
Explaining the contributions of a World War II hero and later President of the United States on a very modest site on Independence Avenue just off the Washington Mall is tantamount to asking an author to describe the life of this person in no more than one paragraph. But on September 17th, after a long and bumpy journey, lasting almost 20 years and navigating a warren of the DC approval processes and public scrutiny, the Eisenhower Memorial finally was dedicated and opened to the public. Designed by Frank Gehry, it has received mixed reviews, the majority being more positive. But most have pointed out that the memorial is more impressive at night than in full daylight. This is due primarily to the illumination of an almost block-long metallic tapestry—featuring a sketch by Gehry, which depicts his interpretation of the cliffs of the Normandy coastline where the Americans landed on D-Day. Read more…
Professional winner: Brooklyn Bridge Forest (image © Pilot Projects Design Collective)
While looking for new adventures on a visit to New York City, friends suggested that I take time to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge—certainly a New York icon. For those intending to undertake this trek across the bridge for the first time, the bridge consists of layers, with a large platform for pedestrians on top of a lower level for cars and the metro system. Traversing this connection for the first time between Manhattan and Brooklyn is not just about getting from one place to another, but experiencing a great scenic view of both boroughs and occasionally interacting with other bridge crossers. As for the latter, they provide a flavor of the city’s demographics, as opposed to similar experiences one might have of the city’s inhabitants when riding the city’s subway system. Read more… |
