Emblematic Addition Competition WinnersThe Université Laval School of Architecture has announced the three winning projects, three mentions and two finalists of the Emblematic Addition ideas competition held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the School’s founding in Quebec City, Canada. Entries were asked to propose an “emblematic addition” to the 18th century building, the Old Seminary, in which the school is currently located. Despite its many architectural qualities, the building’s form and layout provide neither a central gathering space nor a significant visible presence for the architecture school in the city. Finding the proper balance between an historical structure and the forward-thinking orientation of its current vocation were only part of the challenge. The projects submitted each approached the problematic very differently: from more subtle responses to the existing conditions to radical shifts in the site topography or the building’s form. The competition received 115 entries from 22 countries. Most of the teams (49) were composed of students, while 38 were made up of practicing architects. Intern architects or mixed groups comprised the remaining teams. The jury members were: Philippe Barrière, architect DPLG and professor at the Université Laval School of Architecture; Emmanuelle Champagne, of the Quebec design collective 1x1x1; Joan Ockman, architectural historian and former director of the Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University (New York, USA); as well as Gilles Saucier and André Perrotte of Saucier + Perrotte architectes, based in Montréal.
After several days of deliberation, the jury chose unanimously to award three prizes of equal standing along with three honorable mentions. “Direct Axis” by Omar Aljebouri, Avery Guthrie, and Steve Socha (University of Tonronto students) “SHED” by Catherine Houle, Marianne Lapalme, and Vanessa Poirier (Université Laval students) “Layering the Present” by Jihoon Kim and Sanghwan Park (JKSP Architects, NY) “Spheres de Reference” by Éric Boucher and Élisabeth Bouchard (Montreal architects) “Shlack!!” by Julien Beauchamp, Romy Brousseau, Émilie Gagné-Loranger and Alexandre Hamlyn ( Université Laval students) “Untitled” by Odile Decq (Odile Decq Benoit Cornette Architectes Urbanistes) “Idendification” by Jil Bentz (architecture student in Luxembourg) “Untitled” by Dominique Poncelet (intern architect in Montreal) |
Image Courtesy Network Rail
From Grand Central Station to King’s Cross in London, railway stations have often represented some of the major architectural accomplishments of our times. But those edifices have been primarily located in great cities. In the U.K. there are over 2,000 stations located in medium-sized, small, and rural communities. Most of those are ‘quick stop’ locations, and not the destination terminals where space requirements often result in state of the art design. In July of last year, U.K.’s Network Rail, in collaboration with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) launched a competition to identify a concept for a design that would be suitable for the medium to small-sized rail stations, at the same time updating the program to fit the modern needs of such a facility. The competition was open internationally and received 213 entries from 34 countries last September. 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/ The Urban Confluence Silicon Valley Competition
Urban Confluence Silicon Valley winner: ©SMAR Architecture Studio
After several stops and starts over an extended period of time, the winner of the Urban Confluence Design Competition was named in early March, 2021. SMAR Architecture Studio’s The Breeze of Innovation, which prevailed over two other shortlisted finalists from the original 963 entries, won with a novel tower-like structure consisting primarily of hundreds of rods, generating energy while swaying in the wind. Read More…
Pedestrian perspective
The result of an effort from a professor at the TUM (Technische Universität München) to restore the Budludzha Monument in Bulgaria, located in a remote location on a mountain top in that country, we discovered that it originally was the result of a 1959 design competition won by the young Bulgarian architect, Georgi Stoilov. Read more… A Flawed Plan Leads to Budget Issues
Competition rendering of project looking south to Mies museum ©Herzog de Meuron
Once considered on the forefront of modern architecture in post-WWII Europe, Berlin has had its share of questionable decisions concerning important urban projects in recent history. Beginning with the rebirth of the Berlin Palace (Humboldt Forum) on the Spree by Italian architect, Franco Stella, and now followed by Herzog de Meuron’s controversial addition to Mies’s 20th Century Art Museum, the times when one could look to Berlin as a signpost of architectural innovation can only be viewed in the rear view mirror.
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