Rochester Design CompetitionSponsor: Design Rochester
Type: Open, ideas
Location: Rochester, Minnesota
Languages: English
Eligiblity: Interns within seven years of graduating, architectural students, and unlicensed individuals are all eligible. ÂÂ Licensed architects and teams of individuals are not eligible.
Entrance Fee: $20ÂÂ (multiple entries per individual are allowed provided multiple fees are submitted)
Awards: First PrizeÂÂ $1,000ÂÂ Honorable Mention Prize(s)ÂÂ $250
Registration Deadline: 22 April, 2015
Submission Deadline: Hardcopies postmarked by 27 May, 2015
Design Challenge: Modeled after AIA Minnesota’s St. Paul Prize, the Rochester Design Competition focuses on a transitional site in the heart of downtown Rochester. Both the Rochester Downtown Master Plan and Destination Medical Center Development Plan employ a strategy focused onÂÂ the Zumbro River as a revitalized public amenity in contrast to the current utilitarian flood control channel.ÂÂ The 2015 Rochester Design Competition centers around a piece of land locked between the Zumbro River, Fourth Street SE, and Civic Center Drive/Third Avenue SE of paramount importance.ÂÂ While currently expansive and underutilized, the potential exists for the site to transform the livability and walkability of downtown Rochester.ÂÂ Besides one four-story commercial building, the site is currently used as surface parking lot (summertime home of the Rochester Downtown Farmers Market) and Public Works storage.ÂÂ The 2015 ÂÂ Rochester Design Competition will provide an opportunity to focus on a potential public-private partnership project to encourage development along the river’s edges throughout downtown and the core neighborhoods.
For more information, go to: http://designrochester.org/events/ |
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.
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/ Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Competition
Image: ©KPMB Architects
Not to be outdone by other Canadian provincial capitals, Halifax has chosen to make its own ambitious museum statement on the city’s waterfront. New museums in Vancouver, BC, Calgary and Fredericton, New Brunswick, the latter two by KPMB Architects, are either in development or already under construction. Saskatoon’s Remai Modern by KPMB and OMA’s Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in Montréal were more recently completed, and Vancouver’s new Art Museum by Herzog & de Meuron is still under development. Read more… Urban Adaptation Competition
Image ©Francesco Allaixand Julio Orduña
Recently we are beginning to see a resurgence of wood as a primary building material, not only for detached residential housing, but also for multi-family and commercial urban structures. Masonry, steel, and composite materials are still the bread and butter of the construction industry; but wood may be making serious inroads into the future of commercial buildings. Yes, we have seen the use of wood in interiors of large buildings: one of the more impressive projects being that of the Christ the Light Cathedral by SOM in Oakland, California. Read more…
Aerial view of site – Courtesy National Finnish Museum
When major cultural institutions in Finland plan a new building project, one can almost always assume that an open competition will be the vehicle by which the client settles on the building’s design. The only question is, will this be organized in a format open to local, Scandinavian, or international architects. In the case of the National Museum of Finland annex competition, it was open to architects throughout the world — resulting in 185 entries. Read more… |
