Museum of the 20th Century and its Urban Integration (Berlin)(Mies van der Rohe’s Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts) Sponsor: Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
Location: Berlin, Germany Type: Open, ideas
Entrance Fee: None
Awards: The total competition money available amounts to 260,000 euros plus VAT. 10-20 equivalent
prizes of 13,000 to 26,000 euros each are planned to be awarded.
Languages: English, German
Eligiblity: The competition is held as an open ideas competition for bidding consortiums of architects with landscape architects in keeping with the guidelines for planning competitions (RPW 2013). Urban planners are eligible to take part in a bidding consortium with architects and landscape architects.
Submission Deadline: 12 December, 2015
Design Challenge: A museum of international standing is to be created for the art of the 20th century at the
behest of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation SPK. For the first time in decades, the newly created museum complex Neue Nationalgalerie – Museum of the 20th Century will enable the collection of the Nationalgalerie, so far only exhibited to the public in parts, to be presented in an adequate fashion. The internationally important holdings of the Nationalgalerie of 20th century art, the Marx and Pietsch collections, the Marzona archive and works from the Museum of Prints and Drawings will be permanently and jointly exhibited for the first time. The presentation of the holdings will embrace the lower level of the Neue Nationalgalerie and – first and foremost – the exhibition spaces
of the new building. The new building will thus form a tightly circumscribed unity with the Neue Nationalgalerie in content and function. Both establishments – the Neue Nationalgalerie and the new building – are meanwhile to be understood as autonomous architectures with their own entrances, own functional areas (exhibition spaces, administrations, foyers, visitor services, etc.) and their respective own identities. The target set for the new building is a usable area of ca. 14,700 m² (UA 1 – 6), ca. 9,200 m² of which can be used as exhibition spaces. The construction field at Potsdamer Strasse has a buildable area of ca. 10,200 m². The gross floor area expected, depending on the concept, is ca. 27,700 m², while the clear room height in the exhibition areas needs to reach up to 9 m. The location of the new museum at the Kulturforum, in the direct vicinity of two of Germany‘s most important architectural icons of the 20th century (Neue Nationalgalerie, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1968 and Philharmonie, Hans Scharoun, 1963), as well as in the environs of further architectural monuments (St. Matthew‘s Church, Berlin State Library), calls for a particularly attentive architectural and development approach.
This competition for ideas is meant to clarify how the new building for the Museum of the 20th Century and its immediate environment can be fashioned architecturally, in terms of urban planning, and in the design of the open spaces. The competition is aimed at gaining insights into the task formulation and framework conditions of the realisation competition to follow. Based on the results of the competition for ideas, its organiser will optionally define further parameters for the urban planning and the design of the open spaces. In addition to this, 10-20 competitors are meant to be qualified for the subsequent realisation competition as prize winners of the competition for ideas. The competition for ideas is thus designed to provide architects who have not yet planned or realised large museums or similar buildings with an opportunity to take part in the realisation competition. For more information, go to: www.wbw-m20.de |
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… 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: accounting@phase1.de 
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… 
RUR model perspective – ©RUR
New Kaohsiung Port and Cruise Terminal, Taiwan (2011-2020)
Reiser+Umemoto RUR Architecture PC/ Jesse Reiser – U.S.A.
with
Fei & Cheng Associates/Philip T.C. Fei – R.O.C. (Tendener)
This was probably the last international open competition result that was built in Taiwan. A later competition for the Keelung Harbor Service Building Competition, won by Neil Denari of the U.S., the result of a shortlisting procedure, was not built. The fact that the project by RUR was eventually completed—the result of the RUR/Fei & Cheng’s winning entry there—certainly goes back to the collaborative role of those to firms in winning the 2008 Taipei Pop Music Center competition, a collaboration that should not be underestimated in setting the stage for this competition Read more… 
Winning entry ©Herzog de Meuron
In visiting any museum, one might wonder what important works of art are out of view in storage, possibly not considered high profile enough to see the light of day? In Korea, an answer to this question is in the making. It can come as no surprise that museums are running out of storage space. This is not just the case with long established “western” museums, but elsewhere throughout the world as well. In Seoul, South Korea, such an issue has been addressed by planning for a new kind of storage facility, the Seouipul Open Storage Museum. The new institution will house artworks and artifacts of three major museums in Seoul: the Seoul Museum of Modern Art, the Seoul Museum of History, and the Seoul Museum of Craft Art.
Read more… |
