‘Smart School’ Educational Complex in Irkutsk, Russia by Stanley Collyer  Winning entry by CEBRA (image © CEBRA, courtesy Strelka) Can it be that pedagogues from all over the world will soon be traveling to the far reaches of Siberia to examine the workings of a school, which not only will be catering to average students, but also feature a live-in community offering an optimal educational environment for disadvantaged children. A competition for this ‘model’ school occurred in 2015, and the winning entry came from a team led by the Danish firm, CEBRA. According to the organizers, the main focus of the program was…the inclusion of “three teaching corpuses, a cultural and leisure centre, sports hall, medical and practical study zones, and a residential complex. The educational institution will be built in the city of Irkutsk on a 20.9 hectare site beside the River Angara, which flows from Lake Baikal. Besides regular pupils attending classes, Irkutsk Region children deprived of parental care and those with special needs will live and study in family groups on the site.” Thus, this is not your typical bricks and mortar institution of learning for children; It foresees expanded community involvement in a holistic learning environment. The idea for this type of school project originated with Russian journalist and television producer, Tina Kandelaki. It was embraced by the community and supported by KB Strelka, a consulting subdivision of the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design, since 2013 an independent company. As this was envisioned as an innovative educational program, it was only logical that the organizers turned to a competition format to find the right formula for the design of the complex. For the competitors, “cluster,” was held out as the intended functional idea to be accomplished by the program. And the winner’s design best illustrated this, featuring the main buildings under a platform surrounding a courtyard. This was an invited competition, with the organizers explicitly inviting “design bureaus and consortiums of companies comprising specialists in the fields of architectural design, engineering systems, ecology, landscaping, the organizing and technical provision for comprehensive pre-school, school and supplementary education, and evaluation of design and construction costs.” The shortlisted firms came from around the world, including The Netherlands, U.S.A., Japan, Finland, and Singapore. They were: - Work Architecture Co. – New York
- CEBRA – Denmark
- Architects Rudanko – Finland
- MKPL Architects – Singapore
- Sou Fujimoto Architects – Japan
- MVRDV – The Netherlands
In addition to Tina Kandelaki, the jury consisted of Russians, with two outside panelists: - Kristin Jarmund, KristinJarmund Arkitekter AS, Norway
- Ann Finlayson, Chief Executive at SEEd (Sustainability and Environmental Education)
- Igor Remorenko, Rektor. Moscow Pedagogical University
- Gregoriy Revzin, Architecture Critic, KB Strelka
- Helena Osipova, Minister of Culture, Irkutsk
- Mark Sartan, Project Director, “Smart School”
After the first round of judging, three finalists advanced to the second round: Work Architecture, DEBRA, and Architects Rudanko. It should be noted that much emphasis was placed on landscape design, as this was to be an essential part of the learning environment, with emphasis on agriculture. Thus the inclusion of VEGA landskab and NIRAS engineering together with CEBRA on the winning Danish team was not to be underestimated as a key to their proposal’s success. Winning Entry: CEBRA (Denmark)  Presentation boards © CEBRA (courtesy Strelka) Second Round Finalist: Work Architecture Co. (New York)       Presentation boards © Work Architecture (courtesy Strelka) Second Round Finalist: Architects Rudanko (Finland)         Presentation boards © Architects Rudanko (courtesy Strelka) First Round Finalist: MKPL Architects (Singapore)   Presentation boards © MKPL Architects (courtesy Strelka) First Round Finalist: Sou Fujimoto Architects (Japan)   Presentation boards © Sou Fujimoto Architects (courtesy Strelka) First Round Finalist: MVRDV (The Netherlands)  Presentation boards © MVRDV (courtesy Strelka) |
Houston Endowment’s New Headquarters on the Bayou  Southwest view Houston Endowment Headquarters – Photo Ivan Baan, courtesy Kevin Daly Following in the footsteps of other major non-profits—The Ford Foundation and LA’s California Endowment Center in particular—the Houston Endowment’s new headquarters, located on a grassy knoll just above the Buffalo Bayou in the city’s outskirts, has also made a strong architectural statement. Similar to the California Endowment, this project was also the result of a design competition, won by the California firm, Kevin Daly Architects. 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/
The Makasiiniranta South Harbor Competition
Helsinki South Harbour and Tori Quarter Suomen Ilmakuva Helsinki. Image credit/ Tietoa Finland, Janne Hirvonen
As a prelude to a competition for the design of a new Architecture and Design Museum to be located in Helsinki’s South Harbor, the City of Finland staged an open competition to establish a roadmap for the future redevelopment of the Makasiiniranta harbor area, the last old harbor area to be transformed for public use in Helsinki. The competition for the museum is scheduled to take place later this year; but the entire surrounding area has come up with a plan to review improvements for the entire harbor environment.
Read more… Vltava Philharmonic Hall Design Competition  View to Concert Hall from bridge ©BIG Classical music is still part of a vibrant musical scene in Prague, with at least four principal venues hosting concerts, ballet and opera. As a modern European city, the only missing venue from these choices is a state of the art concert hall. Other European neighbors have also recently staged competitions for such projects: Munich, won by Cukrowicz Nachbaur Architekten of Bregenz, Austria; Belgrade, won by AL_A of London; and Vilnius, Lithuania, won by Arquivio Architects of Spain. It should be noted, however, that one of the most important competitions for a concert hall, not only in Europe, but the world, was the 1961 Berlin Philharmonic hall competition, won by Hans Scharoun (below). It was the interior of that building, in particular, that served as a model for many others that followed, one of the first being Los Angeles’ Disney Hall by Frank Gehry. Read more… Budapest’s Nyugati Rail Station Competition  Image courtesy Budapest Development Agency ©Grimshaw Completed in 1877, Budapest’s Nyugati Railway Station has witnessed many of the twists and turns of Hungarian history: the Austro-Hungarian Empire, revolutions of post-World War I and 1956, and various shades of expansion and shrinkage in their territory. Its important location in Europe’s history as a contested land in southeastern Europe has not only served as a path for armies of conquest, but as a matter of great interest for major powers. Amid all the changes it has experienced, Hungary, and Budapest in particular, has retained a fascination for outsiders, making it one of Europe’s high profile tourist attractions. Read more… A Quest for that Elusive Connective Formula  First Place: Pedestrian perspective from Parliament – Zeidler Architecture in association with David Chipperfield Architects How do you find a common thread that can connect an eclectic collection of buildings, visually as well as physically, all located within a one-block site, located just across from Canada’s Parliament building in Ottawa. To identify this common thread that could tie everything together, the client turned to a design competition for answers. With the aid of consultants, [phase eins] from Berlin and experts from Canada’s’ own Université de Montréal’s School of Architecture, the client turned to an invited international format to finally settle on six teams that could rethink the site. Read more… |