Parliamentary Precinct Redevelopment, OttawaSponsor: Government of Canada through PSPC Administration: Phase eins, RAIC Type: RfQ, invited, international Languages: English and French Process: The procedure will maintain the competitors’ anonymity. The names of the competitors qualified to participate in the competition will not be communicated to the jury. Oversight PSPC has engaged the RAIC to oversee the overall competition process (RFQ and RFP) with the nomination of two national Professional Advisors and the assistance of [phase eins] from Germany as competition organizers. Prior to and during the selection/competition processes, the RAIC will validate: a) Technical requirements related to the conduct of the competition; b) Competition rules and the competition brief; c) Judgement criteria; and d) Honoraria and prize structure. Timetable 16 February 2021 – Deadline for applications Compensation Under competition Stage 1, an honorarium of CAN$120,000 (excluding applicable taxes) has been allocated for each of the prequalified and invited Competitors presenting a Proposal compliant with the Competition Brief requirements. The terms associated with the payment of the honorarium will be set out in the Competition Brief. Under competition Stage 2, an honorarium of CAN$165,000 (excluding applicable taxes) has been allocated for each of the invited Competitors presenting a Proposal compliant with the Competition Brief requirements. The terms associated with the payment of the honorarium will be set out in the Competition Brief. Competition Stage 1 • Selected competitors submit an outline of their design concepts. • The Jury evaluates the design concepts and creates a shortlist of up to six competitors to advance to Stage 2 of the competition. Competition Stage 2 • Shortlisted competitors submit an advanced design concept for their previously submitted work. • The Jury will then evaluate each design and select the prize winners. Jury: To be appointed by the RAIC Challenge: The Block 2 project aims to redevelop the existing property and buildings that comprise the city block immediately south of Parliament Hill in downtown Ottawa. Block 2 is bounded by Metcalfe, Wellington, O’Connor and Sparks streets, within Canada’s Parliamentary Precinct. The new and renovated facilities will provide accommodations for Parliamentarians, as well as some retail spaces on the Sparks Street Pedestrian Mall. The purpose of the architectural design competition is to invite architectural firms to submit design proposals to redevelop Block 2 into an efficient complex of buildings while highlighting excellence in architecture. For more information: https://raic.org/news/advance-notice-parliamentary-precinct-redevelopment-ottawa-block-2-architectural-design |
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.
Read more…
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… |