Repository Library as Public-Friendly Asset Southern Branch of the National Central Library and National Repository Library, Taiwan  Image: courtesy Taiwan National Central Library ©BAF The primary reason for establishing a “Southern Branch” of Taiwan’s National Central Library And National Repository Library was logical: the main National Central Library was running out of space to store an increasingly large quantity of physical and digital items. One might have assumed this could have all been accomplished by building a large warehouse-type storage facility. Nothing of the kind happened here. The site of the competition announced by the competition organizers for the design of a new building was in a small city of 80,000 in southern Taiwan. The process chosen for design selection was one which has increasingly been used in Taiwan since 2013—a call for firms to submit tenders, with only Taiwan-based firms allowed to do so. This does not mean that international firms were excluded, as almost all of the competitions staged under this system included international firms as collaborators with the local firm. Here is was no different, as the winner of the competition, Bio-architecture Formosana teamed up with the Italian/U.S. firm, Carlo Ratti Associati. Nine tendering firms participated in the competition, five of which received recognition and a stipend for their ranking. The competition announcement was clear that this was not to be a simple storage facility, but an important research facility: “For the innovation of service facilities, enhancement of quality service and reinforcement of national competitiveness, “Southern Branch of the National Central Library and National Repository Library” will locate at Xinying District, Tainan, and is anticipated to be the largest, most resource abundant national library in southern Taiwan. Further, a digital preservation center will be established in a National Repository Library, thus the National Repository Library will serve as the pioneer library in providing preservation service for valuable academic digital materials in Taiwan. “Southern Branch of the National Central Library and National Repository Library” aims to establish a national-standard library and a repository library, via international perspective with a fresh vision, in order to enhance the competitive ability of Taiwan in this era of a knowledge economy.” The competition evaluation committee was made up of eight jurors, two of which were non-Taiwanese: - Felix Claus, Claus en Kaan Architecten
- Hermann Kossmann, Kossmann DeJong Exhibition
Both were from the Netherlands, and it was interesting that Kossman, an exhibit designer with an international reputation was included on the evaluation committee. There were obviously two main components to the design: one was the repository section for storage, the other a functioning library for the public. How this was solved site-wise turned out to be one of the major factors in the final selection of the winning design. First place Bio-architecture Formosana with Carlo Ratti Associati (commission) Taiwan/Turin, Italy      Images: courtesy Taiwan National Central Library ©BAF The design by Bio-architecture Formosana (BAF) and Carlo Ratti Associate (CRA) was based on the concept “A library as a town.” They brought into the design big data analysis and AI smart technology to create the library as a place of knowledge and life. In addition, the overall design emphasizes energy conservation and environmental protection, preserving 90% of the trees on the land and installing a solar panel canopy. Of special note is that this will be the first circulation library in Taiwan.Moving from the idea of a library as a monument to accessible, fluid knowledge sharing, BAF and CRA proposed an open, transparent learning environment as a less formal and interactive hub. The event hall, museum and repository are linked through the main axis to build connection between the site and the city. Three main ideas drive the concept: integration with nature, the openness of learning and the “museumization” of the library. -From architect’s narrative Solving this challenge by creating a two-buildings-in-one scenario solved the site problem organizationally. It also provided the structure with an additional aesthetic in its form that proved to at least eliminate in part the warehouse look that the repository element would traditionally represent. -Ed Second place Ricky Liu & Associates Architects+Planners Taiwan     Images: courtesy Taiwan National Central Library ©Ricky Liu & Associates Third Place StudioBase Architects, Design Group & Construction with Matter Design Taiwan/U.S.     Images: courtesy Taiwan National Central Library ©StudioBase Architects Fourth place Joe Shih Architects & Associates with YASUI ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS, INC./Yoshihiko Sano Architect Taiwan/Japan     Images: courtesy Taiwan National Central Library ©Joe Shih Architects & Associates Fifth place Chien Architects & Associates Taiwan     Images: courtesy Taiwan National Central Library ©Chien Architects & Associates |
 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 Read More
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).
Read more…  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… |