Griffintown Interrupted: An unsolicited competition brings global participants and local stakeholders to the table over a district in limbo

by Ya’el Santopinto Catapulted suddenly into the public eye, Griffintown has become one of Montreal’s most contentious urban treasures. Once an unknown industrial district, the past five years have seen Griffintown evolve into the subject of a media frenzy. This motley fabric of row houses and ruins, warehouses and empty lots, in situ art and ghost ...
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Steel and Spirituality Revisited: ACSA’s 10th Annual Steel Design Student Competition

by LeeAviv Over the last century, architects have aimed at incorporating spirituality into the economical advantages of using steel as a structural material in building. From the patterned ornamentation of structural members in the work of Louis Sullivan to the poetic expression of technological advance in the work of Mies van der Rohe to the tectonic ...
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Embarcation as the Ultimate Experience: The Kaohsiung Port and Cruise Terminal Competition

by Stanley Collyer

 


Image: ©Reiser+Umemoto RUR with Fei & Cheng Associates' winning design (model perspective)


Many buildings in close proximity to bodies of water seem to have that joie de vivre about them. Whether it is Sea Ranch, The Bilbao Guggenheim, Oslo Opera House or summer residences in the Hamptons, the proximity of water somehow manages to stimulate designers to produce excitement in a relaxed atmosphere. From the Greek temples to Spas in England, construction of major structures on oceans and rivers was always more likely to reflect modern trends in architecture, rather than simply replicating a style from the past. Recent waterfront projects such as the Yokohama International Port Terminal—a competition won by Foreign Office Architects—and Canada Place in Vancouver are examples of cities recognizing the need to push the envelope when redesigning port terminal facilities. So it was with the results of the
Kaohsiung Port and Cruise Service Center competition .

Not only is Kaohsiung a major port facility on the island, it is seen as a major terminal for future water transit to the Chinese mainland. The goal of the competition was to identify a design that will enhance the travel experience of passengers, make it a principal departure destination for cruise ships, and provide recreational opportunities for the local populace. Moreover, it is understood that the new facility should add to the urban vitality of the immediate vicinity.

 


Aerial view of site

The Site

The entire Harbor site consists of an area measuring 6+ hectares, of which only 2.6 hectares was designated as the competition site for the project’s first phase. As might be expected, the site included two berths for ocean liners. Since the program was quite extensive, the major challenge was to design a facility which would fit well into a rather limited site, but present a friendly face both to the city and from the water.

Similar to many recent international competitions in Taiwan administered by competition adviser, Barry Cheng, this one was conducted in two stages, with five finalists advancing to the second stage for the ultimate prize—an $80M commission. The seven-member jury did have an international flavor, most notably Maximiliano Fuksas (Italy), Hisao Kohyama (Japan), and Hitoshi Abe (USA). During stage two, only six jurors provided comments, as Maximiliano Fuksas could not attend the final session. The five premiated finalists chosen by the first-stage panel and their final rankings after the second stage were:

 

First Prize
Reiser+Umemoto RUR Architecture PC, New York, NY
with Fei & Cheng Associates/Philip T.C. Fei, Taiwan

• Second Prize
Asymptote Architecture, New York, NY
with Artech Architects/Kris Yao, Taiwan

• Third Prize
Ricky Liu & Associates Architects+Planners, Taiwan
with Takenaka Corporation/Masahiro Morita, Japan

Honorable Mention-1
JET Architecture Inc./Edward Kim. Canada
with CXT Architects Inc./Dan Teh, Canada and Archasia Design Group/Sao-You, Taiwan

Honorable Mention-2
HMC Group Inc. / Raymond Pan, Los Angeles, California
with HOY Architects & Associates/Charles Hsueh, Taiwan


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St. Francis High School Louisville, KY

St. Francis High School Louisville, KY (volume 10, number 1 — Spring 2000)     click image to enlarge click image to enlarge click image to enlarge Winning Entry submitted by: Jon Witte (WW) Cambridge, MA Bartner, Burdick, Bauer-Nilson Lexington, KY click to view larger image click to view larger image This finalist entry submitted by: James Cheng/KZF Cincinnati, OH click to view larger image This finalist entry submitted ...
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Wheeling Millennium Plaza Competition

Wheeling Millennium Plaza Competition (volume 10, number 1 — Spring 2000) click to view larger image 1st Prize Fabian Llonch with Gisela Vidalle Manuel Lamboy Thasitt Ruangeck click to view larger image 2nd Prize Lisa Diane Tejeda Carlos Tejeda Vincente Garcia Etchegaray click to view larger image 3rd Prize Tomasz M. Rybak Eric Kiellar Robert Puzio Yvonne Debski  
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Salt Lake City Library Competition

Salt Lake City Library Competition (volume 10, number 2 — Summer 2000) click here to view larger image Winning Entry Moshe Safdie and Associates with Valentiner Crane Brunjes Onyon Architects Somerville, Massachusetts/ Salt Lake City click here to view larger image Finalist Moore Ruble Yudell with Gruen Associates Eaton Mahoney Associates Santa Monica, California/ Los Angeles/ Salt Lake City click ...
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San Francisco State University Gateway Competition

San Francisco State University Gateway Competition (volume 10, number 2 — Summer 2000) click to view larger image 1st Prize Julio Cristian Rocha Portland, Oregon click to view larger image 2nd Prize Roberto Gomez New York, New York click to view larger image Honorable Mention Hugh Hynes New York, New York click to view larger image Honorable Mention Romano Nickerson Marcus Webb Faribault, Minnesota click to view larger image Honorable Mention Michael Eichorn Riverwoods, Illinois click to view ...
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United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) – Geneva, Switzerland

United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) – Geneva, Switzerland (volume 10, number 2 — Summer 2000) Click here to view larger image 1st Place Behnisch, Behnisch & Partners Stuttgart, Germany Click here to view larger image 2nd Place Massimiliano Fuksas Architecte Rome, Italy Click here to view larger image 3rd Place Bernard Tschumi Architects New York, NY
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Denver Civic Center Competition

Denver Civic Center Competition (volume 10, number 3– Fall 2000) click to view larger image 1st Place John Owen Tryba RNL Design Denver, Colorado click to view larger image Finalist Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Humphries-Poli Toronto/Denver click to view larger image Finalist Gwathmey Siegel Associates Gensler New York/Denver
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Central California History Museum

Central California History Museum – Fresno, California (volume 10, number 3– Fall 2000) click to view larger image Winning Design Predock Frane Architects Venice, California click to view larger image Finalists Stewart Binger Dhaddey San Francisco, California click to view larger image Finalists Studio E Atelier 23 San Diego/Paris click to view larger image Finalists MBT Architecture San Francisco, California click to view larger image Finalists Design Collaborative Ithaca, New York  
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