Recent Competitions

Don’t miss these on-going open competitions, now posted to the website:

 

 

• Canning Dock Competition

 

 

• Cold War Veterans Memorial

 

 

• Florenc 21 – Urban Design Competition

 

 

• WWF Observation Cabins

 

 

• Vilnius Railway Station and Public Square

 

 

 • New Mosque near Preston, Lancashire

 

 

 

 

Competition rendering of project looking south to Mies museum ©Herzog de Meuron

 

Once considered on the forefront of modern architecture in post-WWII Europe, Berlin has had its share of questionable decisions concerning important urban projects in recent history. Beginning with the rebirth of the Berlin Palace (Humboldt Forum) on the Spree by Italian architect, Franco Stella, and now followed by Herzog de Meuron’s controversial addition to Mies’s 20^th Century Art Museum, the times when one could look to Berlin as a signpost of architectural innovation can only be viewed in the rear view mirror.

 

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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/

From Anthropology to Architecture

Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Competition

 

Image: ©KPMB Architects

 

Not to be outdone by other Canadian provincial capitals, Halifax has chosen to make its own ambitious museum statement on the city’s waterfront. New museums in Vancouver, BC, Calgary and Fredericton, New Brunswick, the latter two by KPMB Architects, are either in development or already under construction. Saskatoon’s Remai Modern by KPMB and OMA’s Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in Montréal were more recently completed, and Vancouver’s new Art Museum by Herzog & de Meuron is still under development. 

 

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Modular Wood Construction in the Spotlight

Urban Adaptation Competition

 

Image ©Francesco Allaixand Julio Orduña

 

 

Recently we are beginning to see a resurgence of wood as a primary building material, not only for detached residential housing, but also for multi-family and commercial urban structures. Masonry, steel, and composite materials are still the bread and butter of the construction industry; but wood may be making serious inroads into the future of commercial buildings. Yes, we have seen the use of wood in interiors of large buildings: one of the more impressive projects being that of the Christ the Light Cathedral by SOM in Oakland, California.

 

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Uusi Kansallinen – National Finnish Museum Competition: Following a Time Honored Paradigm

 

Aerial view of site – Courtesy National Finnish Museum

 

When major cultural institutions in Finland plan a new building project, one can almost always assume that an open competition will be the vehicle by which the client settles on the building’s design. The only question is, will this be organized in a format open to local, Scandinavian, or international architects. In the case of the National Museum of Finland annex competition, it was open to architects throughout the world — resulting in 185 entries.

 

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