A New Meeting Place for Moscovites SWA/Balsley Wins Paveletskaya Plaza Landscape Competition 
Aerial view at night – courtesy SWA/Balsley 5+ Design
0f 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. 
Paveletskaya Station (2020) Photo: ©A. Savin
The competition was launched with the purpose of addressing this situation—reducing the size of the drop-off area in front of the station and also introducing retail as an integral element of a new park design. The project began with an invited competition for the entire site, which included the retail venue below grade. Here one should note that only one competition was initially planned for the entire project, whereby SWA/Balsley of New York and 5+ Design of Los Angeles—the eventual winners—had already teamed up in that initial stage. Although already identified as the winner in the competition for the entire site, the client then decided that a subsequent competition between SWA/Balsley and Gillespies for the landscape scheme should take place to bring more clarity to the project. This subsequent event was the basis for the total landscape design of the site. Although Gillespies from the U.K. had already been involved in several landscape projects in Moscow, SWA/Balsley from New York had only been involved in one invited competition in Russia, and that without success. Their luck turned out to be better this time, as the SWA/Balsley scheme prevailed. Since the location of the two entrances to the below-grade mall had already been determined in the initial stage, the landscape element, in the words of Tom Balsley, was simply putting “icing on the cake.” Still, their scheme had to present an idea that would set it off from a conventional approach to this challenge. As is the case with many landscape plans including major buildings, the client insisted in this instance that that height restrictions be honored to guarantee unobstructed sitelines to the station from the plaza.  
The section (left) and diagram (right) illustrate the transitional, two-level site strategy.
SWA/Balsley settled on an innovative, but logical solution, which would not only address the height issue, but add some positive features to the plan. Their strategy was a two-level park, with the edge at street level, then transitioning gradually to a lower level, which contained the two major entrances to the underground mall, café, and other amenities. The oval-tilted roofs of the two entrances to the mall were not only aesthetically welcoming, but eliminated the necessity of major signage to lure potential shoppers to the lower level mall. At the same time, pedestrians arriving at the park’s edge could look down to identify the various options they might be interested in, facilitating their journey to an intended destination. One cannot ignore the two-level strategy as a time-honored contrivance employed by landscape architects to create an impression that the distance from one point to another is greater than it might actually seem. Thus, one walking along the edge of this site will come away believing that it to be actually larger than normally would be the case with its 7+ acres. Because of the plaza’s proximity to both the Pavaletskaya Station and the Metro, this site represents your typical high-volume traffic situation. Because of the inclusion of a mall to the mix, other amenities, and a very well conceived, thoughtful concept containing all the features needed for multi-generational appeal, it promises to not only serve as an asset for the local neighborhood, but a major meeting destination for many Moscovites. -Ed 
 
 
Above: mall section
 
Unless otherwise noted, all above images courtesy SWA/Balsley 5+ Design |
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
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 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).
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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… |
