William Menking (1947-2020)
Photo courtesy Architects Newspaper
The passing of Bill Menking represents the loss of one of our most important voices in the architecture world of publishing and criticism. Bill was interested in all facets of design, and regarded design competitions as an instrument to push the design envelope. My initial encounter with Bill occurred in the early years of the new Millennium, when he became interested in running competitions as a competition adviser. His most important venture into this field—and what turned out to be a somewhat frustrating one—was as the adviser for the Waterfront Gateway Design Competition in New Rochelle, New York. Although the results of the competition were impressive, local politics saw to it that the winner was discarded in favor of a rather commonplace scheme from an outside architect. Still, Bill and I remained in contact, and I was fortunately enough to visit with him on a sunny day in New York at one of his favorite restaurants. He remained a fan of COMPETITIONS, and we discussed the future of this subject over the last few years of his life. When AN arrived at our office, it was treated as no other publication that came through our door: it was read from start to finish before we turned to the matters of the day. Bill’s standard for the writing we so enjoyed is no doubt his legacy—one we anticipate will continue under the direction of his wife, Diana Darling. Memorial for Bill Menking Join Diana Darling, Architect’s Newspaper and Pratt Institute School of Architecture on Monday, May 4th at 6:30 PM (EST) for an (online) Memorial to celebrate the life and Legacy of WIlliam Menking. The Memorial will be live-streamed via Facebook LIVE on Pratt School of Architecture’s Facebook page.
facebook.com/PrattSchoolofArchitecture Remarks by:
Barry Bergdoll, Jennifer Bolstad, Frances Bronet, Anita Cooney, Dennis Crompton, Diana Darling, Murray Fraser, Nancy Goldring, Thomas Hanrahan, Harriet Harriss, Julie Iovine, Robert Ivy, Joe Kerr, Anthony Lucaccini, Walter Meyer, Kyong Park, Dagmar Richter, Rob Rogers, Joel Sanders, Ken Saylor, Michael Webb, Claire Weisz, James Wines |
The Cold War Veterans Memorial Competition 
Rendering: Oyler Wu Collaborative/Courtesy Pritzker Military Museum & Library
The Pritzker family is no stranger to good architecture; so it should come as no surprise that a project launched by the Pritzker Military Archives, including a competition for a Cold War Veterans Memorial in Wisconsin, would embrace this approach. Other major projects focusing on war veterans have also identified architecture as a significant element in the choice of a design—most notably the choice of SHoP architects for the design of Syracuse University’s National Veterans Resource Center (https://competitions.org/2017/03/syracuse-national-veterans-resource-center/). 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/ 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… Vilnius Railway Station and Public Square Competition 
Vilnius Station competition Image: ©Zaha Hadid 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… AL_A Prevails over a Star-studded Cast 
After over a year of planning, the choice of a site, and the establishment of criteria for the staging an international competition for a new concert hall, the process recently culminated in the choice of an architect for the design of the new Philharmonic in Belgrade, Serbia. Once a rather drab, nondescript city under the Tito regime, Belgrade has been reimagining itself to take its place as a major European city, including cultural attractions one might attach to such a claim. Read more… 
After narrowing the field to three finalists and reviewing their presentations via ZOOM, the competition jury gave the nod to KUTONOTUK of Charlottesville, VA as the winner. The winning team is led by principals, Leena Cho and Matthew Jull, faculty members at the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture. Second place went to FORMA from New York City, and third place was awarded to Lewis Williams with Hudson Architects from Norwich, England. Presentations of all three finalists can be seen here:
https://competitions.org/2022/03/atlantic-beach-nc-boardwalk-design-competition/ |
