UIA-HYP CUP: City Puzzle & Puzzle City Sponsor: UED Magazine Type: International student competition Timetable: 30 August 2020 – Registration deadline 20 September 2020 – Submission deadline Jury:
• Wolf D. Prix, COOP Himmelb(l)au (Jury Chair)
• Cui Kai, UIA Representative, Chinese Academy of Engineering
• Kong Yuhang, School of Architecture, Tainjin University Awards:
1st Prize (1) – 100,000 RMB (approx. USD 15,000)
2nd Prize (3) – 30,000 RMB (approx. USD 4,500)
3rd Prize (8) – 10,000 RMB (approx. USD 1,500)
All of the above are before taxes.
Background “A century ago only 10% of the people of the planet lived in cities, and, according to the United Nations, this number is set to rise to 75% by 2050.” Besides these macro statistics, the surprising similarities of modern cities across the planet earth deems it increasingly necessary to consider the impacts of growth on people and on the environment. The analysis and understanding of the interaction between city, architecture and inhabitants; and how we chose to shape our cities, buildings and public spaces will indeed determine and relate to many other facts that will help determine our approach to future cities.
Argument Many cities have increasingly alienating nature; in their density one finds “space” but no sense of “place.” The urban inhabitants constantly arrive “anywhere,” but not “somewhere.” Under such circumstances, what shall be the true concern of man in general, and what shall be the concern in architecture profession in particular?
Analysis We have four squared plots, each plot 200 meters by 200 meters; we have to design mixed-use buildings for 2.000-8.000 people per plot. The building language is different, should be different, towers, high-density, low-density structures, whatever you want. But then, you have to add to the buildings, 30% green, on top of the buildings, on top of the roofs, courtyards, whatever you like; or, you can increase the greenery percentage in one plot, so that you have 50% – 60% green; or you allocate one plot to low density buildings and the other square to high density building, a city inside the city. In the middle of the four plots there should be a subway station; the program of every plot should be different, meaning one plot has more apartment buildings, the other plot has… etc. But it should be mixed-used within each plot as well, one square may be mainly allocated to shopping, one square to apartment, but each plot should still be mixed-up. The theme of the entire area is of a Media Culture Center, and by extensive, it could be considered as an experimental unit with innovative strategies, which hopefully will contribute as the trigger for the future urban prototypes.
Purpose To reflect the phenomenon of “pseudo-humanistic care” in the post-media society, we wish to engage the younger architecture professionals as a solutions oriented generation rather than of computer generated generation. For More information:
http://hypcup.uedmagazine.net/?r=site&en=1 |
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/  Aerial view of site – Courtesy National Finnish Museum When major cultural institutions in Finland plan a new building project, one can almost always assume that an open competition will be the vehicle by which the client settles on the building’s design. The only question is, will this be organized in a format open to local, Scandinavian, or international architects. In the case of the National Museum of Finland annex competition, it was open to architects throughout the world — resulting in 185 entries. Read more…
The Opening of Taichung’s Central Park by Catherine Mosbach/Philippe Rahm
 View from the south with downtown Taichung in the distance image: ©Mosbach/Rahm
The abandonment and closing of airports, including decommissioning those that were used for military purposes, has presented design communities with several opportunities to convert them entirely to civilian purposes. Notable among those which have been the result of competitions are Orange County Great Park, Irvine, California (Ken Smith Landscape Architects), The Estonian National Museum (Dan Dorell, Lina Ghotmeh and Tsuyoshi Tane), and Toronto’s less successful Downsview Park competition, whereby the winning design by OMA, with trees as the primary feature, has been basically ignored. Instead, the area has become the site of numerous commercial and residential projects.
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SMAR’s Winning Entry Gets the Green Light  Image: ©SMAR Architecture The winning competition entry in the 2016 Science Island competition in Kaunas, Lithuania by SMAR Architects may only take five years to realize—from the date of the competition to completion. This is encouraging news, as the duration of such projects resulting from a competition can often take much longer—sometimes up to 8-10 years. Read more…  Night view of the memorial tapestry from Independence Avenue, with Gehry’s sketch of the Normandy cliffs. Explaining the contributions of a World War II hero and later President of the United States on a very modest site on Independence Avenue just off the Washington Mall is tantamount to asking an author to describe the life of this person in no more than one paragraph. But on September 17th, after a long and bumpy journey, lasting almost 20 years and navigating a warren of the DC approval processes and public scrutiny, the Eisenhower Memorial finally was dedicated and opened to the public. Designed by Frank Gehry, it has received mixed reviews, the majority being more positive. But most have pointed out that the memorial is more impressive at night than in full daylight. This is due primarily to the illumination of an almost block-long metallic tapestry—featuring a sketch by Gehry, which depicts his interpretation of the cliffs of the Normandy coastline where the Americans landed on D-Day. Read more…  Professional winner: Brooklyn Bridge Forest (image © Pilot Projects Design Collective) While looking for new adventures on a visit to New York City, friends suggested that I take time to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge—certainly a New York icon. For those intending to undertake this trek across the bridge for the first time, the bridge consists of layers, with a large platform for pedestrians on top of a lower level for cars and the metro system. Traversing this connection for the first time between Manhattan and Brooklyn is not just about getting from one place to another, but experiencing a great scenic view of both boroughs and occasionally interacting with other bridge crossers. As for the latter, they provide a flavor of the city’s demographics, as opposed to similar experiences one might have of the city’s inhabitants when riding the city’s subway system. Read more… |