Book Review: Canada (Modern Architectures in History series)Rhodri Windsor Liscombe Michelangelo Sabatino (authors) Reaktion Books Ltd. London (2016)  Although Canada is a large country in area, its population of approximately 38 million—equivalent to the state of California— is concentrated near its southern border with the United States. The rapid expansion of its population over the past century has also led to a corresponding demand for housing and public services—and architects needed to design them. All this has coincided pretty much with a period highlighted by the rise of modern architecture on a global scale. Rhodri Liscombe and Michelangelo Sabatino, the authors of Canada, have endeavored to cover this “modern” period within the confines of 349 pages, expanding the focus to include the activities of Canadian architects abroad, as well as within the borders of the Commonwealth. Including everything does have its drawbacks, however: some interesting details about Arthur Erickson’s winning design for the Los Angeles’ Bunker Hill competition were included, whereas others, such as the Kitchener City Hall competition lacked an important reference—Detlef Mertins’ expansive coverage of the event in Competing Visions.* Going through the book, project by project, one encounters numerous competitions, some of which elevated the winners to national and international prominence: Safdie, Erickson, Patkau—just to name a few. But one of the main themes of the book was its focus on what was peculiarly Canadian in its encounter with modern architecture. Canada was not culturally isolated from the rest of the world—and that country south of the border. But what it accomplished in many cases, both regionally and nationally, comes to light in this book. Although short on descriptive material in many of the cases mentioned, Canada can serve as a valuable resource for those who wish to pursue the study of Canadian in more detail. Visually, the books images would have been more appealing in color. But one can understand that budget sometimes gets in the way of more fluff. *KPMB’s design for Kitchener City Hall cannot be fully understood without seeing the Mississauga City Hall Competition entries and winners, where Barton Myers with Bruce Kuwabara won second place. Kuwabara evidently learned a lot from that competition, as KPMB’s winning Kitchener design incorporated many of the lessons learned from the various Mississauga designs. |
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… |