Seoul Workers’ Welfare Center and Happy Housing Complex Project International Design CompetitionCompetition organizer: Seoul Housing and Urban Corporation Neighborhood Regeneration Division Type: open, international, one-stage Fee: none Eligibility: Design professionals Languages: Korean and English Timetable: 8 May 2021 – Registration Deadline 21 May 2021 – Q&A Deadline 21 July 2021 – Submission Deadline Jury: 8 Korean design professionals, some with international experience. (see competition website) Design Challenge: ■ This design contest is a project to build a complex building that combines worker welfare centers and happy houses by utilizing the site of the Gangseo Waterworks Office Guro Office. ■ It is expected that the two disparate functions are properly separated and connected, there is no inconvenience in being used as an efficient space and movement plan, and a creative plan with a rational structure plan applied is prepared. ■ Workers’ Welfare Center is a facility that is relocated and built to respond to the increase in demand for labor welfare services, and is a Seoul-style worker welfare center that can perform expanded functions as a regional labor hub such as supporting unorganized and vulnerable workers and improving labor awareness of ordinary citizens. I want to build it. ■ The Happiness Housing promoted along with this is a customized happy housing for young people, college students, newlyweds, and residents who can contribute to solving the housing problem of the younger generation, and differentiated publicity with a space and system that can improve the quality of life of residents. It is promoted to make a happy house equipped with a family. Historical Background ■ This project will reflect the increased demand for labor welfare, relocate old and narrow labor welfare centers, and perform expanded functions such as supporting the vulnerable and improving public awareness in accordance with the policy direction of’Seoul, a city that respects labor’. It was promoted to build a Seoul-type Worker Welfare Center’. ■ After the workers’ welfare center decided on the target site for relocation, the project was changed to develop a combination of the worker welfare center and happy housing in order to improve the land use of the site and contribute to the supply of housing for younger households. For more information, go to: https://project.seoul.go.kr/view/viewDetailCptt.do?cpttMstSeq=353¶mMap%5B%27prev%27%5D=cpttMstSeq%253D353 |
Chungji National Heritage Museum Competition

Image ©Ona Architects + Jongjin Lee architects + Laguillo Arquitectos
For those unfamiliar with Korean Heritage and its symbols, the choice of the jury for a new complex to house artifacts, now located at various scattered sites, would seem to beg more information, especially when one views the designs of the non-selected finalists—all quite modern. Some of this can certainly be explained by the subject matter of the new museum’s holdings, another by the site in broader terms. Some might say that emphasis placed on the heritage element in the design brief fostered an interpretation leading to the choice of the winning design: “The site chosen for the new Chungji National Museum is logical: Chungju, located in the central part of the Korean Peninsula, is the center of the so-called ‘Jungwon culture,’ which has played an important role geographically and historically since ancient time. Jungwon culture developed around the Namhan River, which runs through the central region from east to west, and the relics showing this are currently scattered and stored in various museums.”
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/ University of Florida’s College of Design Construction and Planning’s New Addition 
Development phase image courtesy ©Brooks + Scarpa
If architects have had one complaint concerning the planning and realization of a project, it has been with planners and especially construction managers, both of whom often display a lack of knowledge about architecture. The survival of a well-conceived design can hang in the balance when there is a knowledge gap at the planning and realization end.
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Houston Endowment’s New Headquarters on the Bayou  Southwest view Houston Endowment Headquarters – Photo Ivan Baan, courtesy Kevin Daly Following in the footsteps of other major non-profits—The Ford Foundation and LA’s California Endowment Center in particular—the Houston Endowment’s new headquarters, located on a grassy knoll just above the Buffalo Bayou in the city’s outskirts, has also made a strong architectural statement. Similar to the California Endowment, this project was also the result of a design competition, won by the California firm, Kevin Daly Architects. Read more…
The Makasiiniranta South Harbor Competition
Helsinki South Harbour and Tori Quarter Suomen Ilmakuva Helsinki. Image credit/ Tietoa Finland, Janne Hirvonen
As a prelude to a competition for the design of a new Architecture and Design Museum to be located in Helsinki’s South Harbor, the City of Finland staged an open competition to establish a roadmap for the future redevelopment of the Makasiiniranta harbor area, the last old harbor area to be transformed for public use in Helsinki. The competition for the museum is scheduled to take place later this year; but the entire surrounding area has come up with a plan to review improvements for the entire harbor environment.
Read more… Vltava Philharmonic Hall Design Competition  View to Concert Hall from bridge ©BIG Classical music is still part of a vibrant musical scene in Prague, with at least four principal venues hosting concerts, ballet and opera. As a modern European city, the only missing venue from these choices is a state of the art concert hall. Other European neighbors have also recently staged competitions for such projects: Munich, won by Cukrowicz Nachbaur Architekten of Bregenz, Austria; Belgrade, won by AL_A of London; and Vilnius, Lithuania, won by Arquivio Architects of Spain. It should be noted, however, that one of the most important competitions for a concert hall, not only in Europe, but the world, was the 1961 Berlin Philharmonic hall competition, won by Hans Scharoun (below). It was the interior of that building, in particular, that served as a model for many others that followed, one of the first being Los Angeles’ Disney Hall by Frank Gehry. Read more… |