OFF GRID 2: Horseshoe Cove Competition: Healing the Damaged EdgeSponsor: The California Architectural Foundation Language: English Registration fee: none Eligibility: all residents of California Awards:
Student Category
Honor Award – $2,500 Merit Award – $1,250
Professional Category
Honor Award – $2,500 Merit Award – $1,250
An additional Environmental Prize of $5,000 will be distributed to an accredited school of architecture in the State of California, to be named by the winner, to further sustainable design research. Timetable:
30 July, 2009 – submission deadline Jury:
Mary E. Griffin, FAIA – Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects
John King – San Francisco Chronicle
Hsin-Ming Fung, AIA – Hodgetts & Fung Design Associates
Mark W. Steele, FAIA, AICP – M.W. Steele Group, Inc. Design Challenge:
A significant plot at the water’s edge along Horseshoe Cove remains vacant, damaged and undefined. This waterfront site offers a design opportunity to enhance the visitor’s experience of the San Francisco Bay. From casual bikers and hikers, to attendees at the Cavallo Conference Center, to the school children and families visiting the Bay Area Discovery Museum, a wide cross-section of the public is drawn to this location. A sensitive infill project that provides improved access to the water will only increase the appeal of Horseshoe Cove.
Suggested program components:
-Warming hut/shelter – minimum building program as follows:
-Café – counter serving line with simple warming kitchen area; Indoor seating for 30 people 2- and 4-top + counter; views to the water are
desirable. 2,200 net square feet (nsf)
-Cove shop – NPS gift and bookshop supporting Fort Baker programs, coordinate with Cavallho Conference Center, Travis Marina and
Discovery Museum; exterior presence and/or display windows desirable. 1,200 nsf
-Rest Rooms – male & female to Title 24 ADA requirements. 600 nsf.
-Water’s edge improvements
-Demonstration area – garden, art/sculpture, sustainability, alternative energy Submission Requirements:
Each entrant must submit two boards (A and B), explaining their project. The specifications of these boards are as follows:
– two 30×40” at 200 dpi PDF format are required (5MB maximum size for each file to be used as primary files for printing boards),
– Two JPEG versions of the same files (72 dpi, 600×800 pixels each – 150K maximum size for each file to be used for online exhibition)
– a single detail/thumbnail (100×100 pixels), and a Microsoft Word compatible document containing project description text. For more information, go to: http://www.caf-e.org/offgrid.htm |
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.
Read more…
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… |
