Ottawa Parliamentary Precinct Renewal Competition Presentations
On Monday, April 10 from 10am to 1pm (EDT) you can view the presentations of six firms shortlisted as finalists for the above competition. From this list, you may see that it should be interesting, especially for students that endeavor to be in a similar situation someday.
The presentations will all be in English and will be held virtually via Facebook Live (with audio interpretation). A Facebook account is not required to view the event. The finalists:
- Zeidler Architecture Inc., in association with David Chipperfield Architects
- Diamond Schmitt Architects, in a joint venture with Bjarke Ingels Group, KWC Architects and ERA Architects
- Provencher Roy + Associés Architectes Inc.
- Watson MacEwen Teramura Architects, in a joint venture with Behnisch Architekten
- WilkinsonEyre, in association with IDEA Inc.
- NEUF architect(e)s, in a joint venture with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Link to Facebook Live presentation: Here is the original announcement of the competition: Sponsor: 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 |
A Church Ruin as Reconciliation Memorial  View of winning design from south ©Heninghan Peng Architects For those tourists visiting Berlin today, the sudden approach to the ruins of a 1895 church building located on the city’s downtown Breitscheidplatz would certainly arouse their curiosity. One of the few remaining relics of World War II in the city, the church has now been the subject of a competition: Redesign and renovation of the Old Tower of the Friedrich Wilhelm Memorial Church (Umgestaltung des Alten Turms der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächnis-Kirche). 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/ Architecture as a Unifying Concept  1st Place – UNStudio Image: ©Aerial image: ©die developer Projektentwicklung GmbH As attractive as some of our most famous towers might appear, they do have a serious downside according to some observers: ‘they suck the life out of the street.’ This has not gone unnoticed, as some cities have required setbacks as partial solutions. Two Mies Van Der Rohe projects, New York’s Seagram Building and the Toronto-Dominion Centre are prime examples of this concept. More recently the recognition that landscaping can provide some breathing space has become quite the fashion. Competitions are now replete with competitors who insist that the surrounding green environment does not stop at the front door. One of the most obvious in recent history is Elizabeth de Portzamparc’s competition winning entry for the Taichung Tower 2 competition in Taiwan. Read more… Belfast Looks Toward an Equitable and Sustainable Housing Model  Birdseye view of Mackie site ©Matthew Lloyd Architects If one were to look for a theme that is common to most affordable housing models, public access has been based primarily on income, or to be more precise, the very lack of it. Here it is no different, with Belfast’s homeless problem posing a major concern. But the competition also hopes to address another of Belfast’s decades-long issues—its religious divide. There is an underlying assumption here that religion will play no part in a selection process. The competition’s local sponsor was “Take Back the City,” its membership consisting mainly of social advocates. In setting priorities for the housing model, the group interviewed potential future dwellers as well as stakeholders to determine the nature of this model. Among those actions taken was the “photo- mapping of available land in Belfast, which could be used to tackle the housing crisis. Since 2020, (the group) hosted seminars that brought together international experts and homeless people with the goal of finding solutions. Surveys and workshops involving local people, housing associations and council duty-bearers have explored the potential of the Mackie’s site.” This research was the basis for the competition launched in 2022. Read more…  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. 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… |