THINK public SPACEAn international, public, anonymous, single stage, conceptual architectural – urbanistic design Competition This year the Think Space Programme is returning in form of a Special Edition Competition under the topic „THINK public SPACE“. The programme is shifting from its well known cycle format of Competitions to a single public, anonymous conceptual architectural Competition that will focus on urban public spaces. On this occasion Think Space has teamed up with the City of Zagreb in an ambitious and comprehensive project of revitalization of public spaces in the City of Zagreb – „Zagreb for Me“, which is being executed by the Zagreb Society of Architects in cooperation with the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Zagreb and the City Acupuncture initiative. “Zagreb for Me” is a project that comprises 17 architectural – urbanistic design Competitions aiming at raising the quality of public spaces within an urban landscape through integrative architectural interventions engaging the public, experts as well as institutions within the process. In this context Think Space will strive to seek out solutions for present-day public spaces on conceptual and theoretical levels. As the public space of a city is a key place of conflict of economical and political paradigms of the society the task is to respond to the question of architecture’s ability (as a specific discipline) to intervene in this process. What is actually the support and function of architecture in times of growing economical and political instability and its repercussions on public space? Is architecture forced to rely on its own knowledge, its own form in these times, or, and how to include other disciplines in co-creating the public sphere? In accordance with the premises of THINK SPACE founded in 2010 by the Zagreb Society of Architects, progressive thinking about space and architecture is expected of the Competitors conducted through spatial-social experiments, which might be used as a bases for future research, studies, projects and realizations, possibly within Zagreb for Me project, erasing the limits between architecture and associated disciplines Following the start of the Competition we will be launching a Call for Papers soon after and will brief you on subjects and deadlines. As before, professionals and students in architecture and related fields are eligible to participate in THINK public SPACE Competition as individual authors or as a team. We are promoting and welcoming interdisciplinary approach and whoever feels capable of submitting an entry that complies with the competition requirements is eligible to apply. Participation is free of charge. The General Terms and the Competition Programme can be found at www.think–space.org . Registration and submission of Competition entries is done online through the Think Space web site. Deadlines are as follows: April 27th 2015 – Competition start
May 20th 2015 – Questions deadline
June 30th 2015 until 12.00 hours CET – Submission deadline
July 25th 2015 – Winners announced If by the determined submission deadline at least six entries are received, that are professionally produced and comply with the Terms of the Competition, the Jury is obliged to award the following Prizes in exact amounts as follows:             Number of Prizes         *Gros amount I. Prize                 1                 5000 €
II. Prize                 1                 3000 €
III. Prize                 1                 1000 € An international Jury is comprised of following members: 1. Aristide Antonas, PhD, University of Thessaly, Athens, Greece
2. Ana Dana Beroš, architect, Zagreb, Croatia
3. Izaskun Chinchilla Moreno, ETSAM / The Bartlett School of Architecture, Madrid, Spain
4. Jan Liesegang, Raumlabor, Berlin, Germany,
5. Karin Šerman, PhD, Architectural Faculty, University of Zagreb, Croatia We are happy to be launching this Special Edition of THINK SPACE and hope we will be seeing many of you Think Spacers this time around as well. Stay tuned for updates about THINK SPACE Call for Papers. For any further information follow us on www.think–space.org. |
Completed IMEX by Tuck Hinton Architects. Photo courtesy Anecdote
It is not often that we look back to a competition that occurred three decades ago that was also covered in detail by COMPETITIONS (Vol. 4, #4; pp. 14-27). What made the Chattanooga IMAX different back in 1994 was that the article covering that competition was authored by Prof. Marleen Davis, then Dean of the University of Tennessee’s School of Architecture and a member of the jury panel. This was not just a short article, covering the high points of the competition with a few talking points about the winning design. This 4,000+ word document also described in detail the jury’s observations about all the finalists, including the honorable mentions—one of the few times we have gained such a detailed glimpse in this country from the inside of the competition process. Read more… Preparation and Organization of Design Competitions 
[phase 1] Benjamin Hossbach / Christian Lehmhaus / Christine Eichelmann
210 × 230 mm, 192 pp.
over 600 images
softcover
ISBN 978-3-86922-316-2 (English)
ISBN 978-3-86922-240-0 (German)
Dom Publishers
€48 in EU (For price abroad, see below)
Founded in 1998 in Berlin, Phase 1 has been a principal player in the organization and facilitation of design competitions, not only in Germany, but abroad as well. The accomplishments of the firm have been well documented in three volumes—The Architecture of Competitions—beginning in 2i006. Whereas these books mainly focused on the results of the competitions they have administered, the present work, Fundamentals of Competition Management, takes one from the very beginnings of the competition process to its conclusion. The authors envisioned the publication as “three three books in one: one „blue book“ with example projects, one „yellow book“ with statements and the „white book“ with the actual guideline to competition management.”
Although there have been a number of handbooks covering the administration of designcompetitions a study covering the entire process in such detail is a welcome addition to the the literature in this field. As a contribution to this important democratic process that has yielded exceptional design for decades, this volume is not only valid for Europe, but a current overview of the process for those globally who wish to raise the level of design by virtue of a design competition. -Ed Foreign institutions wishing to obtain a copy of the book will recieve a discount to cover the cost of foreign shipping.
To obtain a copy for that offer, go to: [email protected] 
Winning entry by Luca Poian Forms Image ©Filippo Bolognese images
Good design seldom happens in a vacuum. And so it was with an international competition for a new mosque in Preston, U.K. A mid-sized city of 95,000, and located in Lancashire near the west coast and almost equally distant from London and Glasgow, Preston has a storied past, going all the way back to the Romans and the late Middle Ages, where it was the site of significant battles. During the Industrial Revolution, the city prospered, and it was not until after World War II that Preston experienced the British version of the U.S. Rust Belt. In the meantime, the city has experienced an upswing in economic activity, with an unemployment rate of only 3%. Aside from the appearance of new industries, the city has benefitted from the establishment of Central Lancashire University (CLU), which employs over 3,000 faculty and staff, and, as such, is one of the regions major employers. Any new university requires new facilities, and one of the most outstanding examples of this at CLU was the new Student Centre and Plaza, a result of a 2016 RIBA-sponsored competition won by Hawkins/Brown
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 Changdong Station winner – image ©D & B Partners Architects
Whereas international competitions for real projects have become a rarity lately, Korea is a welcome exception. Among the plethora of competition announcements we receive almost weekly, several have ended with foreign firms as winners. But the history of welcoming international participants does go back several years. One notable early example was the Incheon Airport competition, won by Fentress Bradburn Architects (1962-70).
Among the more recent successes of foreign firms was the Busan Opera House competition, won by Snøhetta (2013-) and the Sejong Museum Gardens competition, won by Office OU, Toronto (2016-2023).
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1st Place: Zaha Hadid Architects – night view from river – Render by Negativ
Arriving to board a ferry boat or cruise ship used to be a rather mundane experience. If you had luggage, you might be able to drop it off upon boarding, assuming that the boarding operation was sophisticated enough. In any case, the arrival experience was nothing to look forward to. I recall boarding the SS United States for a trip to Europe in the late 1950s. Arriving at the pier in New York, the only thought any traveler had was to board that ocean liner as soon as possible, find one’s cabin, and start exploring. If you were in New York City and arriving early, a nearby restaurant or cafe would be your best bet while passing time before boarding. Read more… 
Helsinki Central Library, by ALA Architects (2012-2018)
The world has experienced a limited number of open competitions over the past three decades, but even with diminishing numbers, some stand out among projects in their categories that can’t be ignored for the high quality and degree of creativity they revealed. Included among those are several invited competitions that were extraordinary in their efforts to explore new avenues of institutional and museum design. Some might ask why the Vietnam Memorial is not mentioned here. Only included in our list are competitions that were covered by us, beginning in 1990 with COMPETITIONS magazine to the present day. As for what category a project under construction (Science Island), might belong to or fundraising still in progress (San Jose’s Urban Confluence or the Cold War Memorial competition, Wisconsin), we would classify the former as “built” and wait and see what happens with the latter—keeping our fingers crossed for a positive outcome. Read More… 
2023 Teaching and Innovation Farm Lab Graduate Student Honor Award by USC (aerial view)
Architecture at Zero competitions, which focus on the theme, Design Competition for Decarbonization, Equity and Resilience in California, have been supported by numerous California utilities such as Southern California Edison, PG&E, SoCAl Gas, etc., who have recognized the need for better climate solutions in that state as well as globally. Until recently, most of these competitions were based on an ideas only format, with few expectations that any of the winning designs would actually be realized. The anticipated realization of the 2022 and 2023 competitions suggests that some clients are taking these ideas seriously enough to go ahead with realization. Read more… |
