Soar Island International Ideas CompetitionSponsor: RIBA Location: Leicester, UK Type: Open, international, ideas, two stage Languages: English Eligibility: The competition is open internationally to registered architects and landscape architects only. Architects should be registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) in the UK, or an equivalent, recognised overseas regulatory authority. Fee: £50+VAT Awards: Each shortlisted designer will receive an honorarium of £5,000 + VAT and be invited to present their designs to the judging panel in June 2015. The selected winner will receive an additional £5,000 prize money. Process: The competition will follow the Open Ideas format and will be organised in the following stages: - Stage 1 – Submission of concept designs which will be assessed anonymously.
- Stage 2 – A shortlist of up to five designs will be selected and invited to submit and present their enhanced ideas to the judging panel.
Timeline: 17 March 2015 – Stage One submission deadline 25 May 2015 – Stage Two submission deadline Design Challenge: Architects and Landscape Architects are invited to take part in a competition which seeks ideas for the future use of Soar Island, located in the middle of the River Soar in Leicester. This architectural competition focuses on one site within Waterside-a unique piece of land which is expected to be brought forward in one of the first phases of Waterside development. Soar Island is, as the name suggests, an island within the River Soar and Grand Union Canal. Rally Park-an area of recently improved open space sits immediately to the west across the water. Connected with a network of bridges-both vehicle and footbridges, the site is just 10 minutes’ walk from the city centre. At 2.15 acres (0.87 ha) the site is currently a mixture of industrial works, open space and woodland, but Leicester City Council believe it offers unrealised potential in the form of a mixed-use (housing, commercial, community or leisure) that includes high quality open space and public realm and, enables public access to the island. It requires a special approach with a design that enhances the contribution Soar Island makes to the biodiversity of the area. Soar Island is at one of the most interesting parts of the river. It needs to include a use which creates an attractive destination that draws people to it, where they can enjoy being by the river. It is a distinctive and highly visible site and is well connected. The competition is being launched to raise the profile of Leicester Waterside ahead of major regeneration in the area. It is important to note that Leicester City Council is unlikely to be the developer of the site, instead; the outcome of this competition will provide a guide for the future use of the site. Whilst the Council is already a significant land owner in the area and has acquired a number of sites to help facilitate large-scale development, it is currently considering options for its role in bringing forward development. The council will be preparing an outline planning application for submission in July 2015. The outline application will include this site and the competition’s winning entry may be used to inform the final content of this application masterplan. The winner will be guaranteed publicity as part of the final announcement however; it will be at the discretion of the ‘developer’ as to whether they chose to take forward the winning design through to development. For more info, go to: http://www.ribacompetitions.com/soarisland/ |
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/ Hangang District Urban Design International Master Competition
1st place entry by Dominique Perrault Architecture (image ©Dominique Perrault Architect)
China’s planning priorities for their urban areas experienced a sharp turn after the post-Mao reforms took place. During the early post-WWII period, when Soviet influence in the early urbanization of China dominated, industrial development took precedence over all other issues, with heritage, conservation, residential planning, and the amenities associated with it, being almost entirely neglected. Read more…
Winning design by ©Moreau Kusunoki /Genton
Although one might normally assume that local firms participating in a competition might have a clear advantage over foreign competitors, this has seldom been the case: just see Sydney’s Opera House, won by a Danish architect, and Toronto’s City Hall, won by a Finn—as evidence that well devised competition briefs as adequate documentation can create a level playing field for potential competitors, regardless of their location.
Read more…
Jensen Architects – Winning entry (Honor Award) Beginning in 2011, Architecture at Zero, a collaboration between the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and the California chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIACA), was established to investigate the role architecture might play in reducing energy consumption in the built environment. Since then, every year has seen a new site and building type selected as a design challenge in what has become one of the world’s most interesting international competitions.
As a sign of its mounting popularity, the competition received 237 registrations from 49 countries and, according to the professional adviser, about 150 entries— all this during the Covid-19 virus pandemic, when all were compelled to work from home. Read more… An Ideas Competition in Opposition to a Concrete Design
Entry by TheeAe (Image © TheeAe)
In early 2020, a group advocating a new approach to the design of the Los Angeles Museum of Art (LACMA)—The Citizens’ Brigade to Save LACMA—organized a competition to counter an existing design by the Swiss Architect Peter Zumthor. Already commissioned by the LACMA administration, the project is slated to begin almost immediately with the demolition of four LACMA buildings—three existing and one new. Moreover, the existing plan to incorporate all of the existing collections under one roof isn’t covered by the Zumthor plan. This obvious lack of exhibit space was the focus of a query by the Ahmanson Foundation, a major donor of artworks to LACMA in the past. Upon not receiving assurances from LACMA that those donated works would be exhibited, but possibly held in storage and hidden from public view, the Foundation cut all ties with LACMA. Finally, the plan by Zumthor foresees the new structure not only occupying much of the new space created by demolition, but extends part of the new building over Wiltshire Boulevard. As one might anticipate from Zumthor, the construction of the structure is also primarily of concrete, thereby raising the cost per SF. So no matter how highly finished this material turns out to be, it does in essence represent a brutalist structure replacing an eclectic ensemble. Read more… National Railway Museum Central Hall (U.K.)
Winning entry by Feilden Fowles (image © Fielden Fowles)
If one were to search for a railway museum in the U.K., London would seem to be an obvious choice. But, as it happens, its location is in the northeastern city of York, far from the major cultural and economic centers of the country. But despite its distance from the major metropolitan areas to the south and west, York has managed to become the focal point of research into the history of rail in the U.K., supplemented by a major museum. Here we are not just talking about some posters, but sheds replete with a large collection of vintage trains. Read more… |
