Edinburgh’s Ross Pavilion in Danger

 

Image: ©wHY Architecture

 

Earlier this year, an article in the Architects’ Journal described what almost sounded like a death knell for wHY Architecture’s winning competition design for Edinburgh’s Ross Pavilion site. When the competition took place, some observers may have regarded wHY as a wild card, in the company of such high-profile

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Edinburgh’s Ross Pavilion Competition



Winning entry by wHY (Image © wHY Architecture)

 

By winning the Ross Pavilion International competition, Los Angeles-based wHY Architecture’s efforts as a competitor in several recent high-profile invited competitions has finally borne fruit. Among the seven shortlisted finalists from the 125 teams that submitted EOIs from around the world, wHY’s design separated itself from the others by featuring their pavilion as an integral part of the landscape, rather than a pavilion as activities structure representing a central focal point of the site.

 


Winning entry by wHY (Image © wHY Architecture)

 

 

Even while concentrating on the landscape, wHY’s sustainability concept revealed an interesting tactic, using one of its favorite curvilinear ideas as a principal design element. To anyone who remembered the wHY design for the Mumbai City Museum extension, this was combining architecture with landscape in their representation of a “butterfly” motif. By doing so, a garden is transformed into something almost magical, while lower key on an intellectual level. According to the jury, “The team’s concept design as ‘a beautiful and intensely appealing proposal that complemented, but did not compete with, the skyline of the City and the Castle.’ They liked the concept of the activated community space with a democratic spirit, potentially creating a new and welcoming focus for the City’s festivals while appreciating that the team’s design balanced this with a strong approach to the smaller, intimate spaces within the wider Gardens.” Finally, the performance function did not simply turn into a high-profile icon, but became a logical extension of the landscape.

 


Winning entry by wHY (Images © wHY Architecture)

 

 

The shortlisted finalists were:

• wHY, GRAS, Groves-Raines Architects, Arup, Studio Yann Kersalé, O Street, Stuco, Creative Concern, Noel Kingsbury, Atelier Ten and Lawrence Barth (Winner)

• Adjaye Associates with Morgan McDonnell, BuroHappold Engineering, Plan A Consultants, JLL, Turley, Arup, Sandy Brown, Charcoalblue, AOC Archaeology, Studio LR, FMDC, Interserve and Thomas & Adamson

• Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) with JM Architects, WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, GROSS.MAX., Charcoalblue, Speirs + Major, JLL, Alan Baxter and People Friendly

• Flanagan Lawrence with Gillespies, Expedition Engineering, JLL, Arup and Alan Baxter

• Page \ Park Architects, West 8 Landscape Architects and BuroHappold Engineering with Charcoalblue and Muir Smith Evans

• Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter with GROSS.MAX., AECOM, Charcoalblue, Groves-Raines Architects and Forbes Massie Studio

• William Matthews Associates and Sou Fujimoto Architects with BuroHappold Engineering, GROSS.MAX., Purcell, Scott Hobbs Planning and Filippo Bolognese

 

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Ross Pavilion Design Competition

 

Image: © wHY Architecture

 

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

 

Type: RfQ with shortlist of seven (7) teams

 

Site: The site for the new Pavilion is a nationally-important space, perfectly positioned below Edinburgh Castle and adjoining the city’s most famous shopping street. Currently occupied by the Ross Bandstand, this is a true

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Ross Pavilion International Competition Shortlist

 

The seven-strong shortlist that reached the second stage of the Ross Pavilion International Design Competition was selected from the 125 teams (made up of 400 individual firms) who entered the competition. The Pavilion, which will provide a flexible platform for the imaginative arts and cultural programming that Edinburgh excels in, will allow visitors and

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35 years of COMPETITIONS – Recalling Some of the Most Memorable, Both Built and Unbuilt

 

 

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

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An Ultimate Destination for Naturalists

 

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Competition

 

Aerial view ©Snøhetta

 

Until now, the establishment of presidential libraries at the conclusion of their terms has followed the founding of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library after World War II. The first exception to this was the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, established in 1962.* Now a

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2017 COMPETITIONS Annual ebook

pdfs (delivered as two files, medium and high resolution versions) Look Inside

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ARCHITECT SELECTION

 

Clients should seriously consider selecting a qualified competition adviser before initiating even the planning stages of a competition. This usually helps clients avoid many of the pitfalls and surprises which can occur during that process. One may assume, with full participation of a competition adviser, that an efficiently administered competition will lead to a

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Archive 5

MOST RECENT LISTED AT TOP Canberra Central Parklands Competition REC World Headquarters, Gurgaon / REC Township, Gurgaon / Central Institute for Rural Electrification (CIRE) upgrade, Hyderabad Masterplan for Grangegorman The Remodeling of the Stadium of Futbol Club Barcelona Facade of El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe Singapore: National Gallery Design Competition LOS

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