2015 COMPETITIONS Annual ebook
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Of the scores of competitions which take place every year, narrowing down the number which can appear on the pages of this publication turns into a difficult selection process. There are a few parameters: including projects that will ultimately be built is definitely a high priority; interesting programs and public interest in the international architectural community are also factors. But we do draw a line where ideas competitions are mainly theoretical, not related to any specific site, and, although well intended, produce little in the arena of new knowledge.
Unfortunately, several of the major competitions featured on these pages were in the invited category and not open to all architects. In spite of the reduction in the number of entries, we still find some interesting ideas and approaches that would not have occurred had these projects been the direct result of a normal search or commission. There was no guarantee that the international ideas Helsinki Guggenheim competition would be built, and the winning design, which drew much controversy, has been abandoned. But the organization and composition of the competition jury made the publication of this event a no-brainer.
Selecting competitions for inclusion in this work is arbitrary on our part, as to why some got in and others got left out. But they all had their specific challenges, and how they dealt with these will always be the subject of debates for years to come.
This year’s selection:
- Taiwan Taoyuoang Airport Terminal 3 (I)
- Mesa’s Answer to Urban Sprawl (I)
- Helsinki Guggenheim Museum Competition (O)
- UNO/WHO Headquarters Extension Competition (O)
- CAC Obama Library Ideas Competition (O)
- Dessau Bauhaus Museum Competition (O)
- Technology Expansion at Carnegie Mellon University (I)
- Sydney’s Green Square Library Competition (O)
- Expansion of the Vienna Museum of History (O)
- Chicago’s Biennial Lakefront Competition (O)
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A Flawed Plan Leads to Budget Issues

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 20th 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/
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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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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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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