BIS Site Development – Basel Aerial view of BIS site Client: Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Location: Basel, Switzerland Type: International, Invited with RfQ Eligibility: Foreign and domestic architecture firms Language: English Fees: None Timetable: 21 June 2021 – Competition launch 26 July 2021 – Deadline for Questions 6 August 2021 – Prequalification registration deadline 14 September 2021 – Notice of results of prequalification 18/19 January 2022 – Intermediate presentation 24/25 May 2022 – Final presentation July 2022 – Announcement of results Awards: 80,000 CHF for each participant who submitted a valid project study and made all presentations Jury: • Sacha Menz (chairperson) – architect based in Zurich and professor at ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) - Beat Aeberhard – Head of Urban Development and Architecture of the Canton of Basel-Stadt
- Christophe Girot – landscape architect based in Zurich and professor at ETH Zurich
- Louisa Hutton – architect based in Berlin and former lecturer/visiting professor at Architectural Association in London and Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Vittorio Lampugnani – architect based in Milan and professor emeritus at ETH Zurich
- Débora Mesa Molina – architect based in Madrid and Boston and lecturer at the School of Architecture of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta
Design Challenge: The Bank for International Settlements, situated in the heart of Basel and in the centre of Europe, acts as a regular forum for meetings of its constituency of central bankers, financial regulators and supervisory authorities. Over the last decades, the BIS has extended its presence in Basel as its activities have grown. This expansion has been accommodated over the last decades through the acquisition of premises in close proximity to the Tower. The current facilities are concentrated in two major locations in Basel, the Tower site and the site of the Botta building. With the exception of the Tower building, the buildings on the Tower site are aging and inefficient or cannot be used at all, requiring the Bank to rebuild at some stage. Therefore, to ensure sufficient flexibility to meet demands over the coming decades, the Bank is looking to modernise its current facilities to support new ways of working and bring all its Basel-based staff into one location to foster collaboration. The project study will consider two different phases with the main focus on the first stage in the development of the future building extension, the “New Development”. The BIS envisages a possible further building extension at a later stage, the “Second-stage Development”. The masterplan, which was approved in 2015, enables the BIS to realize on the site around and including the existing Tower building an overall of 68,000 m² gross floor area (BGF) above ground in order to consolidate the entire BIS staff from all facilities in Basel in one place. Within both the constraints regarding the extension of the facilities and the implementation of the new masterplan in two stages, the BIS has initiated this project study in order to seek the most suitable project for the future home of the BIS in Basel. Documents download link: www.bis-campus.org Contact person: new.development@bis.org |
 Perkins & Will Carrying the label, “Artistic Ideas Competition,” five firms vied for a commission to design a new National Museum of the U.S. Navy. Household names, the five were Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) Copenhagen/ New York Gehry Partners (Los Angeles) DLR Group (Columbus, OH) Perkins&Will (Chicago) Winner! Quinn Evans (Ann Arbor) With a site not yet identified, it is possible that a final design will look quite different from the present submission. the Navy has expressed a preference for M Street SE and 6th Street SE, near the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. 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/ Six Firms Competed to Rethink the Future of a Major Museum  Aerial view of winning design ©Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos (courtesy Malcolm Reading Consultants) The history of the Dallas Museum of Art’s expansion has been punctuated by several moves, culminating in a new building designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes in 1984. The importance of this move to a new, somewhat desolate location in the city cannot be underestimated: it has led to the revitalization of what is now called the “Arts District,” with the relocation of various arts institutions to new facilities: the opera house (Foster and Partners), Dee and Charles Wyly Performing Arts Theater (REX/OMA), Nasher Sculpture Center (Renzo Piano), and I.M. Pei’s Meyerson Symphony Center being among the most significant. Read more…  Courtesy Malcolm Reading Consultants, ©Kengo Kuma & Associates A UNESCO World Heritage Site Again on the World Stage How does one approach a challenge when creating a design worthy of a park with a history dating back to antiquity? This was what four design teams faced when shortlisted for the design of a Visitor Center for the Butrint National Park in Albania. The park’s history is illuminating in this regard.
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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… 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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