AARP/AIAS Livable Communities Phase Two Design CompetitionSponsor: AARP / American Institute of Architecture Students Type: Student Location: Various Language: English
Fee: $10 / Free for AIAS Members Eligibility: All Current students and recent graduates Timetable: Registration Deadline: September 16 Submission Deadline: September 30 Winners announced by October 19 Awards: First Place $6,000 (AIAS Chapter: $1,000) Second Place $4,250 (AIAS Chapter: $500) Third Place $2,150 (AIAS Chapter: $300) Three Honorable Mentions: $500 each Four Merit Awards: $75 each Jury: To be Announced Design Challenge: Communities of all sizes across the United States are applying the concept of livability to holistically address a range of challenges, such as a growing population of older residents, rising housing costs, and limited transportation alternatives. AARP has defined a Livable Community to be “places where people of all ages and abilities have affordable and accessible housing choices, as well as public buildings, retail and services, parks, and streets that meet their needs to stay safe and comfortable in both their homes and neighborhoods.”
Utilizing the features present in the community master plans submitted to last year’s AARP competition, designers are challenged to further investigate the designs for ways to improve on and grow the ideas of the livable community. Pulling from the livable community designs, AIAS and AARP are looking to students to create attractive, flexible and user-friendly housing designs that utilize the basic ideas of sustainability, accessibility, livability and visitability. Addressing these needs in housing prior to construction ensures that both the housing development and the surrounding community will continue to be energetic and a desirable place to live for all. Submission Requirements:
Entries must be uploaded through this Web site by 5:00 pm, Eastern Time, on Friday, September, 30 2011. If the submission is from a team of students all student team members will have the ability to upload the digital files. Once the final submissions are uploaded no additional edits, uploads, or changes can be made.
A final Submission upload must contain the following files in a single (ZIP) folder not exceeding 20 MB:
- Completed submission information cover page including all team members and faculty sponsors
- Each of the four 20″X 20″ boards individually as high resolution Portable Document Format (PDF) files, or as 150 DPI Image (JPEG, TIFF or GIF) files
- A copy of the design essay as a high resolution Portable Document Format (PDF) file or Document (DOC) file
For more information, go to: http://aarp.aias.org/phase-two/
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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… |
