Grand-Métis – The International Garden FestivalSponsors:
Jardins de Metis / Redford Gardens
Type:
Open, International
Language:
French/English
Location:
Grand-Métis, in the Gaspésie region of Québec, Canada
Timetable:
14 September, 2009 – call for entries
6 November, 2009 – deadline to send proposals
1 December, 2009 – public announcement of the chosen projects
1 February, 2010 – deadline for reception of documents showing the preliminary design for the garden
26 February, 2010 – deadline to submit pans and estimates for the construction of
the garden, incorporating comments by the technical committee of the Festival
12 March 2010 – Final approval of the plans and estimates by Festival’s artistic and technical committee
16 March, 2010 to 1 May, 2010 – Purchase of materials and preparation of plants by
the Festival in collaboration with designers
5 May, 2010 Construction begins by the Festival team
18-25 June, 2010 – Designers are on site to supervise the completion of the gardens, participate in the opening events, meet the public and the media
25 June, 2010 – Inauguration of the Festival
26 June, 2010 – The Festival opens to the public
27 June, 2010 – Designers meet with the public
3 October, 2010 – The Festival Closes Eligibility:
This call for entries is open to all professional designers (or teams of designers) from Québec, the rest of Canada and internationally that work in the fields of landscape architecture, architecture, visual arts, and design. The Festival encourages participants to form multidisciplinary teams to favour an approach which is open and encompassing of the various design disciplines. Multidisciplinary teams may be composed of a landscape architect and an architect, engineer, scenographer, artist or designer from other disciplines. We encourage each team to incorporate a landscape architect or a garden designer
Jury: TBA
The Competition:
The International Garden Festival is preparing its 11th edition and is issuing a call for proposals to select designers to create contemporary gardens around the theme of “Paradise”. The Festival will be held from June 26 to October 3, 2010 at Les Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens, in Grand-Métis, Québec, Canada. The International Garden Festival is recognized as one of the most important events of its kind in North America and one of the two leading annual garden festivals in the worlds. The Festival encourages participants to explore all facets of the garden, from the physical setting to creating a range of sensory, emotive and intellectual experiences for the visitor. Submission Requirements:
Entries should be sent electronically as a single PDF not exceeding 30 Mb. This should include a presentation page with the name of the project, designers, and respondent of the team. Contact information including: address, telephone, fax, email and website (if appropriate). A 150-word presentation of the team and a 70 word maximum answer to “In what way, in your view, will your project contribute to the renewal of the art of the garden?”
A schema 11” X 17” or A3 with a 150 word description of the concept and experience offered to visitors, a plan layout (min. scale 1/100) and a list of suggested plants.
A schema 11” X 17” or A3 with two main views or elevations, and a perspective showing the garden in its entirety.
Curriculum vitae of the designers, 2 page maximum per person
A schema 11” X 17” or A3 presenting up to three recent projects by the team and/or its designers
For more information, go to: http://www.refordgardens.com/english/ |
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… 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/ 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… Budapest’s Nyugati Rail Station Competition 
Image courtesy Budapest Development Agency ©Grimshaw
Completed in 1877, Budapest’s Nyugati Railway Station has witnessed many of the twists and turns of Hungarian history: the Austro-Hungarian Empire, revolutions of post-World War I and 1956, and various shades of expansion and shrinkage in their territory. Its important location in Europe’s history as a contested land in southeastern Europe has not only served as a path for armies of conquest, but as a matter of great interest for major powers. Amid all the changes it has experienced, Hungary, and Budapest in particular, has retained a fascination for outsiders, making it one of Europe’s high profile tourist attractions. Read more… A Quest for that Elusive Connective Formula 
First Place: Pedestrian perspective from Parliament – Zeidler Architecture in association with David Chipperfield Architects
How do you find a common thread that can connect an eclectic collection of buildings, visually as well as physically, all located within a one-block site, located just across from Canada’s Parliament building in Ottawa. To identify this common thread that could tie everything together, the client turned to a design competition for answers. With the aid of consultants, [phase eins] from Berlin and experts from Canada’s’ own Université de Montréal’s School of Architecture, the client turned to an invited international format to finally settle on six teams that could rethink the site. Read more… Vilnius Railway Station and Public Square Competition 
Vilnius Station competition Image: ©Zaha Hadid Architects
In European cities, recent history has seen their central railway stations become the subject of upgrades, or totally new projects, many of them springing up in Eastern Europe. In most cases, the focus on this phenomena occurred several decades after earth-shaking political events. In Germany it was the construction of a new main central station (Hauptbahnhof) shortly after the reunification of Germany and Berlin. in Estonia, and now Lithuania, it has occurred after the independence of those countries in conjunction with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. And in Hungary, it was the subject of a recent competition encompassing a large area surrounding the station. Read More… |
