Death by Architecture / Competitions

Competition / Safe Trestles / Architecture for Humanity

Death by Architecture — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:28:32 GMT

Access to Trestles, one of North America's most celebrated waves, is under threat due to safety and environmental concerns. Currently, over 100,000 people each year follow informal trails through wetlands and over active train tracks to gain access to the surf breaks at Trestles. These impromptu man-made paths present a safety hazard with passing trains and threaten the fragile ecosystem of Trestles.

In response, a coalition of concerned groups organized by the volunteer non-profit organization Architecture for Humanity, are launching "Safe Trestles," an open-to-all, two-stage design competition to create a safe pathway to serve surfers, the local coastal community and day visitors to San Onofre State Beach. This coalition is looking for cohesive designs that eliminate the danger of crossing active train tracks, help to restore wetlands that have been damaged by the present path, preserve and improve vistas, and offer education about the history of the site and the beach marsh environment. The new path should ensure continued access to the resources by all members of our community and adhere to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.

While placing no limitations on the originality or imaginativeness of design ideas, we are looking for tangible low-impact solutions that can actually be built at a future date. Ideally, the winning entry will be sensitive to the remote and undisturbed nature of the area?providing safe access without compromising the pristine environment and views of this rare example of natural Southern California coast.

Competition / Northern Design Competition 2010 / Leeds Metropolitan University

Death by Architecture — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:03:48 GMT

The Northern Design Competition was developed to raise the profile of design talent in the North, by highlighting opportunities to employers and students. It is a competition that rewards talented students across the north of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for their work in the creative arts.

After finishing degrees in the North many graduates move south to the Capital in search of work in the creative industries. These awards act a mechanism to promote the aptitude of northern students at all levels of post 16 education and seek to demonstrate the value of the northern design industry. The awards started just five years ago and since then the Northern Design Competition has expanded at an astonishing rate. The 2009 competition welcomed some 3000 entries, all of which were of an exceptionally high standard.

Use this website to find out more about the competition. Read about the categories you can enter and what is expected from your entry. Take some time to find out about the judges and the evaluation process before glancing through the archive section to find out about previous winners. The rules pages have information on how to format your work for entry.

Competition / Architects for Health Student Design Award 2010 / Architects For Health and Brookfield

Death by Architecture — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:40:42 GMT

Architects for Health invite architectural students to submit projects to be considered for the third annual Student Healthcare Design Award 2010. As in previous years any* project relating to the design of a healthcare building can be submitted, however the 2010 competition introduces a greater emphasis on the sample brief - Designing for Death: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise and a specific prize will be awarded for the most successful response to the sample brief we have prepared.

Competition / Daylight Spaces International Architectural and Design Competition / Department for Building and Environment / Danube University Krems

Death by Architecture — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:26:24 GMT

The merging of different aspects of high quality architecture in sustainable building structures is the primary goal of teaching and research activities at the Department for Building and Environment. A key component is the skillful use of natural light. The competition "Daylight Spaces" provides a platform upon which to raise awareness of planning with natural light.

Submitted projects and design concepts should show a sensitive, unusual, new or unexpected use of natural light and highlight its influence on structures of architectural space. Sustainability, design quality, user needs and positive effects on the environment should also be considered. Both realized projects and realizable design concepts can be submitted to the competition.

Competition / Mine the Gap : 2010 Chicago Prize Competition / Chicago Architectural Club

Death by Architecture — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Chicago Architectural Club is pleased to announce the 2010 Chicago Prize Competition: MINE THE GAP, a single-stage international design ideas competition dedicated to examining one of the most visible scars left after the collapse of the real estate market in Chicago: the massive hole along the Lake Michigan shore that was to have been?and may yet be?the foundation for a singular 150-story condominium tower designed by an internationally-renowned Spanish architect, a tower which was to have become a new icon for the city and region. What to do with the gap? Whether or not the project is resuscitated, what else can we do with this strategic and highly-charged site? Once the motor of real-estate speculation has stalled, what can we use to propel ourselves, and the discipline, forward?

Competition / Architectural Book Giveaway / talkitect.com

Death by Architecture — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:39:36 GMT

We are happy to announce that Talkitect.com along with Princeton Architectural Press are giving away five free architecture books to our readers.

The Prizes
Princeton Architectural Press has agreed to donate 5 books to give away. The five winners of the contest get to chose one of the following three titles:

Urbanisms: Working with Doubt, by Steven Holl

Provisional : Emerging Modes of Architectural Practice USA, by Elite Kedan, F. Jonathan Dreyfous, Craig Mutter

Kuth/Ranieri Architects, by Byron Kuth, Elizabeth Ranieri, and Ila Berman

How To Win
You are eligible to win after subscribing to Talkitect.com by email (follow the steps in the left hand column of the site) or to their RSS feed and then leaving a comment below the contest post on talkitect.com (please include your name). We will randomly pick five winners and announce them on talkitect.com. Entertaining or informative comments will get preference.

We will chose and announce the winners on Monday April 5th. Winners names will be posted on www.talkitect.com. The winners then have one week to claim their prize by emailing us with their mailing address and chosen book title. If the prize is not claimed by the Monday following the announcement we will pick a replacement winner.

Competition / Designing Absence / Masterproject

Death by Architecture — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:31:38 GMT

Designing absence aims to create an international brainstorm generated by an absence. There are cash prizes, exhibitions and a publication to win. The assignment: Design a new tower for the Cathedral of Antwerp.

'By playing with the idea of the absence, we generate a focus.'

Keeping this in mind, every participant comes up with an idea for the unfinished tower. The competition can be seen as an international brainstorm, which means everybody can join. The result doesn't need to be functional, it can be an inflatable tower or a high tech amusement park attraction. Your entry can be a 3d render, a paper model, a collage, a black marker drawing or anything else you think fits your concept the best. On the website (http://designingabsence.com) you can find a picture of the Cathedral with the missing tower. Your tower must be placed on this picture, the way how is completely free. Together with the picture of the Cathedral completed with your 'new tower', you should write a short explanation about your concept and submit it on the 'Submit entry' page.

Competition / Re-Cladding Scheme for Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital / RIBA & Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Death by Architecture — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:27:30 GMT

Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust is seeking expressions of interest for the re-cladding of a 13-storey tower building on the St Thomas' Hospital site in central London. The East Wing building has a significant urban presence on the London skyline, being situated on the south side of the River Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament.

The competition seeks a re-cladding design of exemplary quality befitting its location, that will at the same time provide a long-term solution to improved weatherproofing and energy efficiency. The Trust has aspirations that the re-cladding scheme should be of the highest architectural quality hence the decision to proceed down the RIBA competition route. A challenge to design teams will be to achieve a solution that can be delivered with the minimum of disruption and interference to the existing building, without the need for decanting. The internal refurbishment of the building will be carried out separately, at a later date.

The Trust wishes to ensure that the full design team is committed to both the design and delivery of the re-cladding scheme and the competition therefore seeks expressions of interest from contractor/architect teams with the capacity and imagination to deliver the project. The successful consortia will need to strike a balance that considers cost, long term value and architecture, to generate an outstanding vision that will symbolically enhance the Trust’s reputation for healthcare provision and its landmark status in London.

Competition / Recording Memories, December Vignette Competition / Socio Design Competition

Death by Architecture — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:32:05 GMT