Ideal Theater 2009 CompetitionIdeal: Theater 2009 Sponsors: Serapid, Boldt Construction and HGA Architects and Engineers
Type: Open, international, ideas, two-stage
Eligibility: Open to any registered architecture and theater student (team) enrolled at an accredited college or university.
Awards:
Each of three finalists will receive:
• Cash award of $1,000
• Team travel assistance of $500 to USITT Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Cost of Conference registration for two team members covered
• Additional cash prize of $500 for winner Timetable:
17 November 2008 – Submit intention to compete by email
– End Question and Answer period
15 January 2009 – Submission deadline
19-21 March 2009 – Final presentation and exhibition at USITT Conference
Jury:
• Architect: John Prokos, FAIA Gund Partnership, Cambridge, MA
• Acoustician: Mark Holden, JaffeHolden Norwalk, CT
• Theatre Consultant: Benton Delinger, Theatre Projects Theatre Consultants, South Norwalk, CT
Design Challenge:
The Architectural and Theatre Students “Ideal Theatre” Design Competition requires teamwork. The competition poses the design question, “What is the Ideal Theatre for teaching professional theatre”? This question is to be explored and answered by a “Team” composed of at least one theatre student currently enrolled in a college or university theatre program and one architectural student enrolled in an accredited architectural college or university program.Teams can be part of a class or be independent students.
Each team member has a defined responsibility. The theatre students will act as the “Client” and the architectural
students as the “Designer”. The “Client” is responsible to teach the “Designer” about the workings and artistry of Theatre! The “Client” will define the detail needs of the theater complex and provide at least one critique of the design produced by the “Designer.” It is desired that the “Client” will remain an active member of the design process. The design solution MUST be the result of a “Conversation” between the “Client” and “Designer”. History proves the most successful theatre design solutions take into account all aspects and needs of theatre production, artist presentation and audience interaction.
The Problem Statement
Your College has been given a gift of $25 million to construct a new Center for the Performing Arts. The new Center must reflect your department’s educational goals and the technological needs for your area of theatre specialty. The audience chamber can be between 400 to 600 seats. The intimacy of the live performance must be
expressed and the layout is to be defined by your University’s performance specialty. Additional front and back of house must be defined by the “Client” to meet the department needs. The Center will be a free standing building on your college campus.
The Art Center Spaces
The program detail, areas, stage type and audience arrangement must be developed by the “Client” to reflect their department needs. The “Client” is to provide a written statement describing their University’s Theatre Department’s educational goals and needs of the teaching program. This can be made up or patterned after a real program.
For information, go to:
Website: www.usitt.org (ref: student architecture awards)
Email: sgeorgeson@hga.com
Submissions should be sent to:
USITT Competition:
Scott F. Georgeson, AIA,
HGA Architects, 333 East Erie Street,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53202
414.278.8200 |
1st Place: Zaha Hadid Architects – night view from river – Render by Negativ
Arriving to board a ferry boat or cruise ship used to be a rather mundane experience. If you had luggage, you might be able to drop it off upon boarding, assuming that the boarding operation was sophisticated enough. In any case, the arrival experience was nothing to look forward to. I recall boarding the SS United States for a trip to Europe in the late 1950s. Arriving at the pier in New York, the only thought any traveler had was to board that ocean liner as soon as possible, find one’s cabin, and start exploring. If you were in New York City and arriving early, a nearby restaurant or cafe would be your best bet while passing time before boarding. Read more… Preparation and Organization of Design Competitions 
[phase 1] Benjamin Hossbach / Christian Lehmhaus / Christine Eichelmann
210 × 230 mm, 192 pp.
over 600 images
softcover
ISBN 978-3-86922-316-2 (English)
ISBN 978-3-86922-240-0 (German)
Dom Publishers
€48 in EU (For price abroad, see below)
Founded in 1998 in Berlin, Phase 1 has been a principal player in the organization and facilitation of design competitions, not only in Germany, but abroad as well. The accomplishments of the firm have been well documented in three volumes—The Architecture of Competitions—beginning in 2i006. Whereas these books mainly focused on the results of the competitions they have administered, the present work, Fundamentals of Competition Management, takes one from the very beginnings of the competition process to its conclusion. The authors envisioned the publication as “three three books in one: one „blue book“ with example projects, one „yellow book“ with statements and the „white book“ with the actual guideline to competition management.”
Although there have been a number of handbooks covering the administration of designcompetitions a study covering the entire process in such detail is a welcome addition to the the literature in this field. As a contribution to this important democratic process that has yielded exceptional design for decades, this volume is not only valid for Europe, but a current overview of the process for those globally who wish to raise the level of design by virtue of a design competition. -Ed Foreign institutions wishing to obtain a copy of the book will recieve a discount to cover the cost of foreign shipping.
To obtain a copy for that offer, go to: accounting@phase1.de 
Helsinki Central Library, by ALA Architects (2012-2018)
The world has experienced a limited number of open competitions over the past three decades, but even with diminishing numbers, some stand out among projects in their categories that can’t be ignored for the high quality and degree of creativity they revealed. Included among those are several invited competitions that were extraordinary in their efforts to explore new avenues of institutional and museum design. Some might ask why the Vietnam Memorial is not mentioned here. Only included in our list are competitions that were covered by us, beginning in 1990 with COMPETITIONS magazine to the present day. As for what category a project under construction (Science Island), might belong to or fundraising still in progress (San Jose’s Urban Confluence or the Cold War Memorial competition, Wisconsin), we would classify the former as “built” and wait and see what happens with the latter—keeping our fingers crossed for a positive outcome. Read More… 
2023 Teaching and Innovation Farm Lab Graduate Student Honor Award by USC (aerial view)
Architecture at Zero competitions, which focus on the theme, Design Competition for Decarbonization, Equity and Resilience in California, have been supported by numerous California utilities such as Southern California Edison, PG&E, SoCAl Gas, etc., who have recognized the need for better climate solutions in that state as well as globally. Until recently, most of these competitions were based on an ideas only format, with few expectations that any of the winning designs would actually be realized. The anticipated realization of the 2022 and 2023 competitions suggests that some clients are taking these ideas seriously enough to go ahead with realization. Read more… 
RUR model perspective – ©RUR
New Kaohsiung Port and Cruise Terminal, Taiwan (2011-2020)
Reiser+Umemoto RUR Architecture PC/ Jesse Reiser – U.S.A.
with
Fei & Cheng Associates/Philip T.C. Fei – R.O.C. (Tendener)
This was probably the last international open competition result that was built in Taiwan. A later competition for the Keelung Harbor Service Building Competition, won by Neil Denari of the U.S., the result of a shortlisting procedure, was not built. The fact that the project by RUR was eventually completed—the result of the RUR/Fei & Cheng’s winning entry there—certainly goes back to the collaborative role of those to firms in winning the 2008 Taipei Pop Music Center competition, a collaboration that should not be underestimated in setting the stage for this competition Read more… 
Winning entry ©Herzog de Meuron
In visiting any museum, one might wonder what important works of art are out of view in storage, possibly not considered high profile enough to see the light of day? In Korea, an answer to this question is in the making. It can come as no surprise that museums are running out of storage space. This is not just the case with long established “western” museums, but elsewhere throughout the world as well. In Seoul, South Korea, such an issue has been addressed by planning for a new kind of storage facility, the Seouipul Open Storage Museum. The new institution will house artworks and artifacts of three major museums in Seoul: the Seoul Museum of Modern Art, the Seoul Museum of History, and the Seoul Museum of Craft Art.
Read more… |
