Cleveland MLK Public Library Branch Project Sponsors: Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland Foundation
Type: Open, RfQ, two-stage
Eligibility: Licensed architects
Language: English
Location: University Circle, Cleveland, Ohio
Fee: none
Timeline:
27 November 2017 (5pm EST) – RfQ deadline
18 December 2017 – Notification of semi-finalists
Building and budget details
• Building size: 20,000 sf (1-2 levels.)
• Air Space: The Developer will construct a residential apartment building in the air space above the library building as part of the overall development between 5 to 10 stories in height.
• Total Project Budget: $10 million, which includes all costs of design, permits, consultants, soft costs, construction, and all contingencies.
Two-Phase Design Competition Details
• Phase I – Semi-finalists
• Up to eight firms will be selected from the Statements of Qualifications in response to the Design Brief/ RFQ and will be interviewed remotely or in person. · Phase II – Finalists
• At least 3 firms will be selected from the Phase I interviews and Statements of Qualifications and be invited to develop a design concept for the new MLK Branch and present in-person.
Compensation
$20,000 will be paid to each of the three selected finalists upon satisfactory completion of the competition requirements to cover design costs and travel expenses.
Design Challenge The new Martin Luther King Jr. branch library (“MLK Branch”) will replace an older, outdated building that will be demolished to make way for a large residential and commercial mixed-use project in Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood. This offers the Library a unique opportunity to both significantly upgrade its branch facilities and move to a location directly on Euclid Avenue, one of Cleveland’s most accessible streets for public transit. It also allows the Library to design a new, iconic facility that honors the legacy of the branch’s namesake—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Air Rights above Library
The Developers of Circle Square have the legal right to build in the airspace above the MLK Branch. The exact boundaries and dimension of the Developer’s air rights parcel have not yet been defined, but based upon the massing plan included as Attachment C, it is anticipated that a portion of the 5 to 10 story apartment building will be constructed in the air rights above the Library, partially covering the roof of the Library. The front of the apartment building will be set back approximately 37 feet from the front of the Library, leaving a section of the Library roof exposed. A portion of the Library roof will also remain exposed in the northeast corner, where Library mechanical equipment will likely be installed. There is no set height at which the air rights parcel must begin. Rather, the air rights parcel will begin at an elevation just above the roof of the Library and any equipment or amenities placed upon the roof. Structural columns to support the apartment building will need to be placed within the Library for which the Developers will be financially responsible. At this time the anticipated weight of the apartment building or the type of materials to be used is unknown, but these details will become available from the Developers before design concepts are developed. Although the two buildings must necessarily share some of the same building elements, the Library should be visually distinct from the apartment building and should appear as separate building. Plaza Adjacent to Library
The development currently contemplates a small plaza adjacent to the Library on the east side close to Euclid Avenue. The plaza’s frontage will be approximately 67 feet long, and the depth approximately 55 feet (See Attachment C). The Developers intend to install limited hardscaping in the plaza and invite the Library to collaborate on the design. The plaza will be open to the public, and the Library may use the plaza for periodic programming on a nonexclusive basis. Therefore, the Library design should incorporate access to the plaza. To view the competition brief, go to: https://cpl.org/wp-content/uploads/procurement/mlk-design-competition-brief-and-rfq-with-attachments.pdf |
SWA/Balsley Wins Paveletskaya Plaza Landscape Competition 
Aerial view at night – courtesy SWA/Balsley 5+ Design
Of the nine railway stations in Moscow, Paveletskaya is the largest and one of the last of those that opened around the turn of the century. Compared to other Moscow stations, Paveletskaya, designed by Alexander Krasovsky and opened in 1900, represented a lower-key presence in its sprawling configuration, similar to palaces such as a Sans Souci without the ornamentation. The original site for the recent competition included a small park facing the station, bordered on one side by the Ring Road. Post WWII, the site was bifurcated by a road, thus separating the front entrance of the station from the grassy area facing it. 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/
Image Courtesy Network Rail
From Grand Central Station to King’s Cross in London, railway stations have often represented some of the major architectural accomplishments of our times. But those edifices have been primarily located in great cities. In the U.K. there are over 2,000 stations located in medium-sized, small, and rural communities. Most of those are ‘quick stop’ locations, and not the destination terminals where space requirements often result in state of the art design. In July of last year, U.K.’s Network Rail, in collaboration with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) launched a competition to identify a concept for a design that would be suitable for the medium to small-sized rail stations, at the same time updating the program to fit the modern needs of such a facility. The competition was open internationally and received 213 entries from 34 countries last September. Read more… The Urban Confluence Silicon Valley Competition
Urban Confluence Silicon Valley winner: ©SMAR Architecture Studio
After several stops and starts over an extended period of time, the winner of the Urban Confluence Design Competition was named in early March, 2021. SMAR Architecture Studio’s The Breeze of Innovation, which prevailed over two other shortlisted finalists from the original 963 entries, won with a novel tower-like structure consisting primarily of hundreds of rods, generating energy while swaying in the wind. Read More…
Pedestrian perspective
The result of an effort from a professor at the TUM (Technische Universität München) to restore the Budludzha Monument in Bulgaria, located in a remote location on a mountain top in that country, we discovered that it originally was the result of a 1959 design competition won by the young Bulgarian architect, Georgi Stoilov. Read more… 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.
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