Low-Tech Solutions for Developing Countries: The Moving School Project in Burma

Low Tech Solutions for Developing Countries:

The Moving School Project in Burma

by Stanley Collyer

Winning entry by Amadeo Benneta and Daniel LaRossa

Children are often the ones suffering most when they become refugees. Not only do they undergo the physical deprivations common to many of the most serious scenarios affecting refugees, they often miss out on the intellectual stimulation provided in their previous educational environment. Because of the relatively recent flow of those Burmese refugees over the Thai border fleeing persecution in their native Burma, the situation of the children has become increasingly precarious. After visiting the Mae Sot refugee camp on the Tai/Burmese border, Louise McKillop and David Cole of the U.K. non-profit, Building Trust International, decided to make an attempt to rectify this, even though if only on a modest scale: they decided to stage a competition for the design of a low-tech, sustainable school module that could be easily dismantled and moved back to Burma when conditions dictated it was safe to do so.

Low-tech as High Value: De-Materializing Seattle Center

Low-tech as High Value

De-Materializing Seattle Center: The Triumph of the Idea

by Clair Enlow

Winning entry by ABF

The most ambitious urban plans often don’t materialize beyond the drawing board. Usually, it’s a funding issue, or local politics, or simply the lack of will on the part of those who are calling the shots to take up a brand new idea. Seattle, no stranger to grand urban schemes, seems to be one of those rare exceptions—the sweeping Olympic Sculpture Park by Weiss/Manfredi being a recent example. A new plan by Field Operations (James Corner) for the Seattle waterfront could well turn out to be a worthy addition. So staging an ideas competition for an underused site near Seattle’s urban core—Seattle Center—would seem like an attention-getter and harbinger of great things. As was the case with this competition, initiating a discussion about a site without imposing strict programmatic limitations can sometimes get the ball rolling. Wasn’t this how New York’s High Line got started, first raising the bar with an ideas competition until it developed into a real project?

New National Stadium Japan

Sponsor: Japan Sport Council

Type: RfQ, open, international

Languages: English, Japanese

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Eligibility requirements:

Laureates for any of the following: Pritzker Prize, AIA Gold Medal, RIBA Gold Medal, UIA Gold Medal, Honor of Prince Takamatsu and

Architects who have shown the ability to design and complete a

Enlightening Libraries — AIAS Student Competition

Sponsor: AIAS Students

Type: Open, architecture students

Timetable:

14 October 2012 – Registration deadline

29 November 2012 – Submission deadline

Total Awards: $7,725.00

Challenge:

With the steady advent of new technologies, libraries are becoming more urbanized, collaborative community spaces as well as massive repositories of online data

Generation Kingspan: 2012 Student Design Competition

Sponsor: Kingspan

Type: Student, open

Fee: None

Language: English

Eligibility: Students presently enrolled in an accredited university program in the U.S. or Canada

Timetable:

31 October 2012 – Submission deadline online

7 November 2012 – Online voting deadline

Awards:

• Judged Winner – selected by the

2013 Ed Bacon Student Design Competition

Sponsor: Philadelphia Center for Architecture

Type: Open, International

Fee: None for pre-registration; $50 for final entry

Language: English

Eligibility: Open to all college and university students who are matriculating during the competition period. Students may enter as teams or individuals.

Timetable:

Pre-Registration Deadline: 11:59PM, October 4, 2012

Draw up a Chair in Battery Park Competition

Sponsor: The Battery Conservancy, New York City

Type: Open, but restricted to professionals and students residing in the Americas

Eligibility: Professional designers and students residing in North and South America

Language: English

Fees and timetable:

Early registration – US$50 (individuals); US$75 (teams) to October 1, 2012

Late registration

Alzheimer’s Center (Centro Alzheimer)

Type: Open, international

Location: Armilla (Granada), Spain

Language: Spanish

Fee: None

Eligibility: Licensed architects

Jury: TBD

Timetable:

4 September 2012 – Submission deadline

Design Challenge:

Se pretende la construcción del Centro Granadino del Alzheimer, cuyo objetivo es ser un lugar de referencia asistencial y social,

Water_Works

Sponsor: Gowanus by Design

Type: Open, ideas, one-stage

Language: English

Location: New York City

Eligibility requirements:

Professionals and students of architecture/landscape architecture

Fees:

$50 for students; $75 for professionals

Timetable:

19 October 2012 – Registration deadline

16 November 2012 – Q & A deadline

2012 AIAS/AARP Student Competition Winners:

Aging in Place—Kitchens

First Place Preservation through Creation Tony Zhang, Daniel Gehr, Richard May Advisor: Erica Cochran 2nd year students, Carnegie Mellon University

Second Place Staying Young in Old City: Securing Independence through Adaptable Design Jason Klinker, Madeline LaPlante Recent Graduates, Ball State University

Third Place

The San Francisco Transbay Terminal Competition

City and Developer as Infrastructure
Catalyst

Not since the Golden Gate Bridge and BART has San Francisco experienced an infrastructure project of the magnitude and importance as the recently completed Transbay Transit Terminal. The subject of a 2007 competition won by Pelli Clarke Pelli (PCP) with Peter Walker Landscape Architects, the project is only missing some rail connections, which will enable passengers to connect to many parts of the state in the foreseeable future.

OFFICE 52 at Carnegie Mellon

Form and Dichroic Light
Scott Hall at Carnegie Mellon University
Michelle LaFoe and Isaac Campbell
OFFICE 52 Architecture
Forward by Cesar Pelli, FAIA
Introduction by Michael J. Crosbie, FAIA
Leete”s Island Books, Maine USA
Hard cover; 96 pages in color
ISBN 9780918172709

In his introduction to Form and Dichroic LIght, Michael Crosbie never mentions the term, “wild card,” to describe Office 52’s participation in the invited competition for the Carnegie Mellon Engineering Building. The four finalists, picked from a list of 17 firms, also included three household names: ZGF, Wilson, and BCJ (Bohlin Cywinski, Jackson). So what possible chance could a firm, which had just recently opened a small office in Portland, Oregon, have against a competition lineup of this magnitude? But as OFFICE 52 Principal, Isaac Campbell explained, as a small firm, “we were quite nimble,” and the $50,000 stipend the firms all received to produce a design could allow OFFICE 52 more time to undertake the research involved than might be the case with a larger office, where a cost controller is constantly focusing on the operation.

Sandy Hook Memorial

Commemorating the deaths of 26 victims of a well-publicized school shooting is no small chore. But because of the tragic events at its elementary school in 2012, the village of Sandy Hook has achieved national prominence as a symbol of the gun violence afflicting the nation. Although it is almost impossible to bring closure to such an event, the community did determine that the establishment of a memorial would at least be a positive step in that direction. To arrive at such an important issue as a design for the memorial, it was determined that an international design competition was a logical path to follow.

Architecture as Political Statement in the Ukraine

After an extended and rigorous competition process, the winner(s) of the National Memorial for the Heavenly Hundred Heroes and Revolution of Dignity Museum in Kiev have been selected. They are:

1^st Prize – Kleihues + Kleihues Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH, Berlin/Germany
2^nd Prize – Burø architects, Kiev/Ukraine
3^rd Prize – Lina Ghotmeh – Architecture, Paris/France

This was the second competition in the process to determine the designs for both the site and the museum complex itself. The purpose of the project was to honor the victims of the attempted suppression of the protests, which ultimately ended with the deposition of the pro-Russian premier, Viktor Yanukovych.

Where Ecology Rules: Hsinta Ecological Power Plant Competition

Whether it was the establishment of a shrimp industry, general water and flood abatement, or a site for bird migration, the Hsinta Ecological Power Plant competition produced a plethora of interesting approaches to mitigate the negative effects normally associated with the introduction of a power plant. Each of the five finalists in this international, two-stage competition showed an extensive amount of research to support their design strategies and the underlying sustainability features.

Mussolini on the Spree…and More

A construction site since the end of World War II, the apex of Berlin’s construction boom has seemingly reached a final stage with two major projects, one which is almost completed (Berlin City Palace), the other still on the drawing board, but scheduled to be realized by 2020—the addition to Mies van der Rohe’s New National Gallery by Herzog de Meuron. Above is a view across the Spree River to the almost completed Palace by Italian architect, Franco Stella, the winner of the 2008 competition. At first glance we think we might be finding ourselves in the EUR district of Rome, built during during the 1930s under Mussolini: the “modern” facade is almost a replica of one of the two buildings flanking the approach to Adalberto Libera’s Palazzo Della Civitá. Of course this is only the one, “modern” side of the Palace, looking east across the Spree to a future ensemble of modern structures. The other three sides are Baroque replicas of the original, including the dome.

Ph: (502) 451-3623; Fax: (502) 451-3623

Website: https://competitions.org

E: scollyer@competitions.org

IMPORTANT NOTICE : Unless otherwise indicated, photographs of buildings and projects are from professional or institutional archives. All reproduction is prohibited unless authorized by the architects, designers, office managers, consortia or archives centers concerned. The Competition Project, Inc. is not held responsible for any omissions or inaccuracies, but appreciate all comments and pertinent information that will permit necessary modifications during future updates.

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Low-Tech Solutions for Developing Countries: The Moving School Project in Burma

Low-tech as High Value: De-Materializing Seattle Center

New National Stadium Japan

Enlightening Libraries — AIAS Student Competition

Generation Kingspan: 2012 Student Design Competition

2013 Ed Bacon Student Design Competition

Draw up a Chair in Battery Park Competition

Alzheimer’s Center (Centro Alzheimer)

Water_Works

2012 AIAS/AARP Student Competition Winners:

2017 Annual is here!

• Half price on 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 Annuals.
• 2017 Annual now available in PDF format Look inside.

Recent Competitions

The San Francisco Transbay Terminal Competition

City and Developer as Infrastructure
Catalyst

OFFICE 52 at Carnegie Mellon

Sandy Hook Memorial

Architecture as Political Statement in the Ukraine

Where Ecology Rules: Hsinta Ecological Power Plant Competition

Mussolini on the Spree…and More

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2017 Annual is here!

• Half price on 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 Annuals. • 2017 Annual now available in PDF format Look inside.

Recent Competitions

City and Developer as Infrastructure Catalyst

• Half price on 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 Annuals.
• 2017 Annual now available in PDF format Look inside.

City and Developer as Infrastructure
Catalyst