Architectural Competitions for Summer 2008

USA Newest to Oldest

Lifecycle Building Challenge 2
Submission Deadline: July 31 2008
LBC2 is a national competition that challenges creative minds to develop lifecycle building strategies to facilitate deconstruction and building material reuse. Student and professional contestants can submit entries in 2 categories: building and innovation. Lifecycle building reduces construction waste and conserves the embodied energy of buildings. Construction waste totals more than 100 million tons per year, and the embodied energy of building materials accounts for 12% or more of the total energy used in a building. Outstanding achievement awards will be given to Best Greenhouse Gas Reduction, Best Residential, and Best School entries.
Link

Round Building Reuse: 360 -Open Ideas Competition
Submission Deadline: August 8, 2008
Downtown Orlando is changing. The citizens of Orlando and Orange County have approved the much needed and highly anticipated 3 Venues projects, Including the Orlando Events Center, The Citrus Bowl expansion and modernization and the Dr. P. Phillips Performing Arts Center (DPPAC). The American Federal Building (The Round Building) occupies the southwest corner of the site of the DPPAC and is scheduled for complete demolition. The aim of Round Building Reuse : 360 is to promote awareness and seek the preservation of Florida's mid-century modern architecture. It is the competition objective to have the competitors develop an innovative reuse of the Round Buildings precast concrete brise soleil on another site or sites. Competition entries will provide valuable creative material to support the preservation effort of Central Florida Modern. Designs and Ideas will be used to create excitement, support, funding and a new purpose to a vestige of Central Florida's Modern heritage.
Link

Socio Design
Submission Deadline: November 21, 2008
Socio Design is a foundation that encourages social change through design-based dialog, a dialog fostered through an international student architecture competition. The competition asks students to question how prisons are used throughout today's world: what are the affects of prison design on employees, occupants and adjacent societies. Students are required to design a philosophy on what imprisonment should be, and express that philosophy architecturally.
Link


International Newest to Oldest:

Kings Cross, London, International Urban Design Competition
Submission Deadline: EOI August 1st 2008
Camden Council and Network Rail are seeking expressions of interest from architects, landscape architects and urban designers for the design of a brand new, urban square at Kings Cross, London. King's Cross Square is destined to become one of the great public places in London. Set against the magnificent backdrop of the Grade 1 listed façade of King's Cross railway station, it will be used daily by thousands of commuters, visitors and residents - a unique addition to the Capital's palette of memorable street scenes. To create this new public plaza, an international two-stage design competition has been launched. This search for a world-class exemplar design is jointly sponsored by Network Rail and the London Borough of Camden - recognising not only the Square's role as a major travel hub but also as a catalyst for wider urban regeneration.
Link

International Competition for the Development Proposals for the Olympic Village as Part of the Planning for Candidate City Madrid 2016
Submission Deadline: August 28, 2008
The object of this tender is the selection of the best architectural proposal for the development of the future Olympic Village. This tender of ideas, announced by the Empresa Municipal de la Vivienda y Suelo de Madrid, will be developed as an open single-phase competition on a draft level. The winning ideas will be ceded to the EMVS and may be used for the presentation of Madrid's candidature for the Olympic Games 2016. If Madrid succeeds in becoming the venue for the Olympic Games 2016, the EMVS undertakes to entrust the winner with the complete construction of one of the buildings contained in the proposal.
Link

Open international competition for the realisation of Mobile Floating Architecture
Submission Deadline: September 15 2008
Organiser: Internationale Bauausstellung (IBA) Fürst-Pückler-Land GmbH. The topic of the competition is the design of a mobile floating house to be used as a holiday house or dwelling house in the Lusatian Lake District. The houses should have a possibly high degree of autarky and mobility. The design should typify the life on the water
Link

Oslo Public Library - Restricted Plan and Design Competition
RFQ Deadline: September 15 2008
HAV Eiendom AS invites teams to submit requests for qualification, for the New Oslo Public library Design Competition in Björvika, Oslo. Competitors will be requested to propose urban design strategies that integrate the library's organization and programmatic requirements with the building immediate context; the overall objective is to establish a unique set of relationships between the Library, the City and the Fjord. This invitation is open to international teams and the competition languages are Scandinavian and English.
Link

Got a competition you want listed?
email me
Next competition update is October 1

Getting Ready for Opening Day

As the Art Director for the Brick Street Market, we have been feverishly preparing for the grand opening on July 4th weekend.

This shop will be located in the town of Delavan, Wisconsin (about 1 -1/2hrs north of Chicago and an hour south of Madison)

It is going to be a sweet little shop, where you can get your fix of the finest cheeses, and some other gourmet foods, from small farms around the region.

Laura Jacobs-Welch is the proprietor and she certainly knows her cheese.

If you're in the area, stop in and tell Laura, "Gary sent ya" and she will set you up with some of the finest selections of fromage you have ever had.

Microsoft "rocks"

It's really not surprising Microsoft is suffering a massive PR hemorrhage.
Particularly when you see leaked movies like this designed to educate internal operatives on techniques to force, urge, cajole, convince, beg companies to buy Vista.

How did this get produced?
Did anyone at Redmond hear the pitch? Read the script? Watch the rough cuts?
If a media company, no matter how "mom and pop," was hired by Microsoft to make this, wouldn't they feel any compunction to advise their client against it?



Well, who's to argue with "Bruce ServicePack and the Vista Street Band" when they claim that "selling optimized desktop value is a pitch that never fails"? There's a whole lotta microspeak in this 3-minute gem.

Also, although it doesn't seem possible, I have it on good authority that this movie is not a joke.

I love the CEO saying "Vista, Gotta Get Me Some!" Classic.

Architectural Competitions for Spring 2008

USA Newest to Oldest

Reinventing Grand Army Plaza
Submission Deadline: April 2008
To catalyze Grand Army Plaza's rebirth, the Design Trust for Public Space, in partnership with the Grand Army Plaza Coalition, is launching an international ideas competition, "Reinventing Grand Army Plaza," to generate new visions for every aspect of the plaza's design. Grand Army Plaza is New York City's greatest unrealized asset. Home to the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch, the elegant Bailey Fountain, the entrance to Frederick Law Olmsted's greatest park, and a major transit hub, the sum of these parts is today emphatically less than the whole. Currently an underdeveloped public amenity, the redesign of Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza will invigorate surrounding communities, just as the re-conception of Manhattan's High Line set off an explosion of activity in West Chelsea. Top submissions will be exhibited at either the Brooklyn Pubic Library or Brooklyn Museum of Art in the summer of 2008.
Link

Contrabands and Freedmen's Cemetery Memorial
Competition entries due by 5pm April 25, 2008:
This Competition seeks design submissions from architects, landscape architects, artists, students, and other interested individuals to memorialize and honor those who are buried at Contrabands and Freedmen's Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia. The site was established in 1864 as a burial ground for African Americans who fled slavery, seeking a safe haven in Union-controlled Alexandria during the Civil War. More than 1,800 people were buried there over the five years that the federal government managed the cemetery. While other physical sites that recalled the once-considerable African American presence in Alexandria have been lost, the City of Alexandria acquired the property in 2007 in order to remove the buildings, reclaim the cemetery, and create a memorial.
Link

White House Redux Competition
Registration and submissions deadline: April 20, 2008
What if the White House, the ultimate architectural symbol of political power, were to be designed today? Over two hundred years ago the winning design of an 18th century architecture competition became the residence of the president of the United States at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. To mark the election of the 44th president of the US, Storefront for Art and Architecture, in association with Control Group, has opened White House Redux, a challenge to design a new residence for the world's most powerful individual.
Link

New York Designs: Threshold
Submissions by April 16, 2008.
The Architectural League created the New York Designs juried lecture series in 2003 to provide a forum for the presentation of innovative and accomplished work built in New York City. This year's theme, 'threshold,' focuses on projects whose design mediates distinct conditions. A 'threshold' might be understood literally as a transitional space that interfaces public and private; that bridges inside and outside; that connects nature and the city ­ or as a conceptual space of overlap between materials, disciplines, cultures, the client and architect, the past and future. What limits, opportunities, and compromises shape thresholds in the city? What can thresholds tell us about the experience of building in New York City and contemporary design practice? The jury seeks portfolios that situate a project within this liminal space. Submissions should demonstrate how a space of transition and the act of mediation informed the final project.
Link

Trans-Atlantic Newest to Oldest:

Belgium: Interieur 08
Registration: deadline: 15 July 08
Interieur 08 is a biennial competition for creativity in interior design, organised by the Interieur Foundation, located in Kortrijk, Belgium. Centred on three thematic subjects, it focuses on new, functional, creative and contemporary prototypes. All entries will be on display during the 21st Interieur Biennale, where they will be seen by potential manufacturers, professional visitors and the general public.
Link

UK: Lex Walsall
Entries by 30th May 2008
Working with partners Advantage West Midlands, Walsall Council and Walsall Regeneration Company, Urban Splash are working on Phase One of the Waterfront development just near The New Art Gallery - a collection of buildings designed by SMC Alsop and shedkm which are set within a public realm designed by Grant Associates. Urban Splash has now been invited to come up with plans for Phase Two, the Lex site, and are looking for a great architect to work with them to deliver more award winning buildings. It. Aspirations for this site are typically high -they are looking for excitement, flair and imagination to be the defining piece of architecture for Walsall.
Link

Denmark: Toftegard Square South International Design Competition Copenhagen
Registration Deadline 14th May 2008
Toftegards Plads Syd (Toftegard Square South) has remained largely unused for several years. In its current form it far from reflects the fact that it is one of the most important and most distinctive gateways to Copenhagen. The City of Copenhagen has decided to launch a competition to obtain ideas for the creation of a lively, human and vibrant urban space of high architectural quality. Entrants in the competition may also include proposals for new buildings, various types of coverings and other structures in the square. The new square must be part of the ongoing development that will turn the southern part of the Valby district into one of the most interesting areas in Copenhagen.
Link

Italy: New Schools for the City of Cultures Competition, City of Prato, Italy
Dossier to arrive no later than 12 o'clock noon on April 24, 2008.
The competition's goal is to generate two distinct preliminary proposals for the construction of two new nursery schools (each housing six classes) and the organization of the outdoor spaces and the green areas for recreation on the school grounds. The first plot is located in the Galcetello zone, in via Marie Curie, and the other in the Ponzano zone, in viale Montegrappa. See the drawings for further details. The two projects will be constructed out in two functional phases, each made up of three sections, as is further specified in the preliminary document.
Link

Germany: Designer´s Workstation
Closing date: April 22nd
This competition, promoted by the Design Institution is aimed at designing the ideal work station for the designer of the XXI century. Competitors may choose the area of design of their proposal: industrial design, interior design, architectural design, fashion design, etc. The competition is aimed at professional designers and design students.
Link

Trans-Pacific Newest to Oldest:

Japan: 3rd Nitori One-House Total Coordination Competition 2008
Entries by June 30th 2008
Nitori develops products based on the concept of One-House Total Coordination Merchandising (OTCM), in which all the spaces of a house are totally coordinated. In this Competition, Nitori invites the public to propose totally coordinated designs of fabrics, furniture and interior accessories that match the idea of OTCM. This competition aims to commercialize excellent designs and sell them at Nitori stores as well as discover new designers to work with Nitori.
Link

Vietnam: Thu Thiem New Urban Area: Ho Chi Minh City.
Submissions: May 19th, 2008
The Investment & Construction Authority for the Thu Thiem New Urban Area (The Thu Thiem ICA) of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam announces an open, international Design Competition in two stages. The focus of this Competition will be on the "Central Plaza, Crescent Park, and Saigon River Pedestrian Bridge". The Thu Thiem project has an area of 740 hectares and is located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City on the east bank of the Saigon River, opposite the existing historic city center. The Central Plaza will be the largest integrated park and plaza within Ho Chi Minh City; the Crescent Park will be Ho Chi Minh City's great waterfront park and promenade; the Saigon River Pedestrian Bridge will be an impressive architectural symbol and represent the future city.
Link

Got a competition you want listed?
email me
Next competition update is July 1

Charting the Eighties

We've all been subjected to terrible powerpoint presentations,
We've all suffered data fatigue in our share of darkened conference rooms.

My colleague/co-founder at Reelpunk, and I were marveling this very afternoon at how Keynote can make even the most banal data look pretty appealing. All it takes is a little self restraint to keep the data to a minimum. As a test, we took the most abstract subject matter as a test.
We decided to create graphic representations of some of the pop-iest tunes from the eighties.
We resisted applying any fancy transitions, soundtracks, or animations, in order to just focus on what the "data" was telling us.

Click on the image below to dim the lights and begin the presentation.



There were many songs that didn't make the final cut, and we decided to withhold songs from other decades for future posts.

Truth in Advertising

We went out on a limb this week and tried the "Super Yogurt" at Wegmans.



After all, who am I to dismiss a product called Super-anything?
After a few lunches worth of these, I can say that they taste pretty good, although a bit "zingier" than their other sour milk offerings. I will leave the long-winded reviews to people who know more about yogurt than I. (yogurt-savvy, if you will)

The packaging is a welcome departure from most staid Wegman's branded products, with it's vacuum shrunk plastic casing, made popular by the revolutionary one-off milk bottles in the late nineties.

But it's what's on the top label that is a little disconcerting.

That's right....BILLION, as in three commas and ten digits.
There are 1,430,000,000 of these -whatever they are- swimming around in an 8-ounce tank. This makes sea-monkeys look like a home-school glee club.
It's ok if don't trust me, you can count them.... i'll wait.

This number seems terrifyingly specific to me. After all, once you're over a million, wouldn't it suffice to simply state: "we stopped counting, trust us though, there's a crap-load!"

Not only do six of these containers contain more wigglies than the human race, they only counted the "Live and Active" cultures. So all of the cultures that were too lazy to get up from their recliners and turn off their X-boxes are not on the list.

In fact, I just recently got ahold of the recent micro-biotic census form that was used to calculate this cess-pool. Here are some interesting excerpts:

Question #245:
How long have you been a culture?
Question #654:
Have you recently relocated from another 8-ounce container?
Question #689:
How long have you been in yogurt?
Question #750:
Are you pro-biotic or anti-biotic?
Question #904:
How many thousands of children do you have?
Question #904b:
Are they all in yogurt? (this could really save us alot of time)
Question #1042:
Do you consider yourself "active"?
Question #1042b:
If yes, when was the last time you touched your toes?
Question #1042c:
If no, do you even have toes?

Upon closer inspection, I think that I have traced the source of the afore mentioned "zingy-ness". It can in all likely-hood be attributed to the "beef gelatin" and "fish oil" additives. That sure is "Super!"

omg - fxfowle gets pwn3d @ lvhrd ;-p

400 hipsters (the kind who would have no trouble understanding that post title) from a variety of design trades, dressed as lumberjacks, watched in stunned silence at the Music Hall of Williamsburg as four architects representing two firms in Pink-Foam Battle Royale.

Here's the teaser for the event:


Here's the resulting model from Konyk:


Here's the resulting model from FXFOWLE:


The online and in-person voting results were as follows:
Konyk. . . . . . . . . 765
FXFOWLE . . . . . . 623

Konyk "Brung It" and "Drank FXFOWLES Milkshake"

Staff Changes

We lost a dear member of our staff last Autumn. Sadie was as good an office manager as one could hope for.


Frank was brought in to fill her sizable paws as office manager. As a ten year old Beagle, he comes with a breadth of experience in office management and human resources. Although he will be traveling occasionally as special envoy to my wife's place of work, the rest of the staff will probably avail themselves to his expertise in conflict resolution.


Henry, meanwhile, has proven his trustworthiness and unflappable work ethic over the past 2 years with us. We are delighted to announce that he has been promoted to Head of Accounts Receivable. Those of you who have had the unfortunate experience of calling the studio during mail delivery time, will undoubtedly recognize his voice. Take our word for it, you will not want to get a phone call from him.


Maggie is the newest addition to the staff. She will be starting out in shipping and receiving, for her probationary period, as Henry trains her to replace his duties as file clerk.

Annual Prognistication

As many of you know, Groundhogs Day is a big tradition here, for many reasons. Not the least of which is that it's a testament to the indomitable American spirit that for one day we ignore all empirical weather data and rely solely on the intelligence and apparent pupil dilation of a small marmot.

Here is this years prediction:

Here Ye! Here Ye! Here Ye!

On Gobbler's Knob on this fabulous Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2008
Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators,
Rose to the call of President Bill Cooper and greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths.

After casting a weathered eye toward thousands of his faithful followers,
Phil consulted with President Cooper and directed him to the appropriate scroll, which proclaimed:

"As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me.
Six more weeks of winter it will be!"

....and here are some photos from this years event in Punxatawney.

Crazy Fans



Crazy Crowds


Crazy Marmot


As a Penn State Alumn, I must insist that you accept no substitutes. Punxatawney Phil is THE only furry four legged creature with this divine meteorological intuition.

Who Has The Time?

I am a movie buff. I love old movies and have a pretty good collection.*
But let's all be honest... who can sit through a 110 minute movie these days?
What, with all that Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) going around.

Here are some brilliant 5 second versions of movies. There's a whole list of them. I'll just post my favorites below:

Princess Bride


Harry Potter (All of them)


Titanic


Fargo


Monty Python and the Holy Grail


Rocky 1,2,3,4,5,6...


Warning: The following clip contains a few descriptive words which may not be cubicle safe.
Although, If you've already scrolled down this far, it's far more likely that the concept of employment escapes you anyway, so go ahead... click away.

The Big Lebowski


Each of these clips is probably 1 second longer than the pitch was to the producers.

*Anyone willing to challenge in TCM Scene It or Trivial Pursuit Silver Screen Edition... Bring it!

Our New Album

Here's is a pre-release of the cover art of our band's new album.




Ok I'm joking. I don't have a sitar band named "Silat Bongsu", and we don't have an album called "Oppression Can Only Survive Through Silence", and I don't even know who this guy is. (although he seems like an interesting bloke)

But, if you ever wondered how artists come up with album covers, here's a good example:

Get the name of your band here.

Get the name of your album here.

And get the album cover art here.

(Edit) Clarification: Every time you click on one of these links you get a random wiki, quote, or photo set. No, I'm not sending you to some obscure wikipedia page.

Life with Rem.... wait, where's Rem?

I can't tell if this movie was a recruitment tool for prospective (...) or what.
It's still kind of interesting to watch.

The first young woman that they interview is speaking in Dutch.
(I think, although it sounds alot like my attempt at conversational German)



"Ok people! I want everyone to look busy while the camera crew is here! Everybody- look REALLY interested in your jobs."

Don't worry, I'm sure Rem is just camera shy... right?

Besides, I'm sure they don't want to raise a young hipster's hopes by allowing them to think that working for Rem means working with Rem.
I applaud their honesty.

Webernet - "What Hath God Wrought" Edition

With all of the crazy wind and rain across the country in the past few days, I thought I'd post some other strange finds, in hopes that it might keep your minds off that tree laying across your front yard:

Disclaimer: all of these links are "Cubical Safe" and shouldn't open to screaming zombies (unless specifically noted)

Moscow's Crystal Island

These people are kidding, right? This is a big hoax... haha, funny renderings of the worlds largest building, has it's own ecosystem... yuk-yuk.... no?
The program of this behemoth has been trimmed down to a lean 27 million square feet, or four-times the size of the pentagon

Plush Toys That Look Like Road Kill

Honestly, this is what happens to most plush toys that our hound dogs get ahold of anyway.
Only instead of intestines, it's a steady spray of polyester fiber all over the house.

Nastiest Fish in The World

I think we hold fish to too high of a standard these days, in this world where we promote skinny, lean fish, free of lesions, and with only two eyes. They grow up aspiring to an unhealthy body image. Not every fish can be a rainbow fish. It's what's on the inside that counts.
Ok, I just grossed myself out.

Tokyo Traffic Control Center

All of that back-lit, flashy, LED goodness, just to say:
"Uhh, yeah, you can't get there from here."


19th Century Neurosurgical Tool Set

Let me just remind you, that means "brain surgery" as you peruse the various saws, augers, pry-bars and ball-peen hammers in this carefully maintained set.

Trajan at the Movies

A funny movie about what happens when a good typeset goes bad.

Xerox and the Ubiquitous Web 2.0 Logo

Well, it was inevitable.
It was exactly two years ago that Kodak announced changes to it's logo at the CES show.


I'm sure the marketing executives will give you plenty of new speak about "restructuring", and "minimizing footprints", and "synergizing backward overflow", but the fact remains, this is what has come of the old photo-repro business:




Yesterday Xerox announced it's new logo, complete with the shiny reflection and transparency of a freshly licked lollipop. This is, after all, a brave new web 2.0 world, where everything is shiny and glossy, and pushed to your blackberry, or trio (yes and your iPhone, Richy Rich).



The Times has an article about the history of the Xerox Logo.

Is your marketing department feeling a foreboding sense that it's getting harder to keep up with the kids these days?

Does your company look in it's proverbial mirror and count the liver spots?

What you need is a web 2.0 upgrade!

A little glossy logo always helps to stave off the infection of creeping irrelevance.

And it is easier to manage than you might think!

Here is a tutorial, complete with a downloadable plugin, which allows you to "lick" your logo into the 21st century.

Here are some funny mash-ups of old-century logos given a new-century treatment. Designers originally submitted these to the YayHooray forums, and they were salvaged before the website was shut down.


The old Philip Morris Logo


The new and improved Philip Morris logo.

Some others:






Again, these are not real, no calls please.

Building a brand is an arduous and long-term process, and redesigning an identity is usually seen as a last ditch effort on the part of an aging corporation to cling to the walls of Fortune's top (insert number here). Just ask any Detroit automobile manufacturer.

Who knows, maybe these print companies, like the music industry, aren't simply "glossing over" their dismal situation, (ehem) and maybe they are just that genuinely optimistic about their futures.

I for one still like the old Haloid logo

My Contribution to Annual Top-Ten Lists

I didn't want to be left out of all the list-making going at the end of one year and the beginning of the next.

The year of 2007 brought us some unbelievably inane objects, which blended technology, entertainment, and good old fashioned kitsch. I need to clarify that all of these products are real, and available to purchase. I make no assertions as to their market value or ability to improve your "quality of life".
I'm going to put the links to the products below, but be aware, many of them are not in english and are subject to redirection.

Without further ado, here's my list of

The Worst Tech Gadgets of 2007

#10 Celular Jewelry


Because having a cel phone that cries out your affinity for Fergie's "lovely lady lumps" whenever someone beckons, just isn't annoying enough. Now there is jewelry that will flash and light up letting the world know you are important enough to have a phone call.


#9 Touch-less Paper Towel Dispener


Yes, we are just THAT lazy.


#8 Weather Forecasting Umbrella


I'm going way out on a limb here, but I'm guessing that if you have your umbrella open, you probably already know what the weather is like.


#7 USB Putt Returner


There really is no end to what we can power with the 5 volts that comes out of the USB ports of our computers.


#6 Toshiba Wearable Home Theatre


If you don't have the neck and shoulder muscles of Hulk Hogan, you WILL after watching a movie under this monstrosity. Imagine spending enough time under this thing to watch, say... Lord of the Rings, whew. And yes, I do think that is Jeff Goldblum under that thing.


#5a Toilet Tunes




#5b iPod Toilet Paper Dispenser


This is really a two-way tie. Both of these products will ensure that you don't go a spare minute without your Lynyrd Skynard.


#4 Potty Putter


I was so amazed at this offer, I had to force myself to stop dialing and put the phone down. I mean, it comes with a free "Do Not Disturb" sign!


#3 USB Humping Dogs


All good taste aside, I'm really disappointed that the designers of this gem missed such an incredible opportunity. These could have been designed as flash drives that acted upon the data being transferred over the USB. Talk about "Special Delivery"! Instead, they really serve no purpose other than to defile your laptop through it's USB port.


#2 Virtual Bubble Wrap


I am a huge fan of bubble-wrap. I squish it, step on it, roll on it... wrap myself in it and jump off tall buildings... but the best is simply to pop one bubble every 45 seconds or so, while in the vicinity of someone with a nervous tick. This might be just the device to cure that craving. Imagine being able to pop-pop-pop without ever having to ship or receive any packages.


And the award for the most intrusive use of technology goes to.....



#1 Nabaztag
This creepy little appliance has jumped straight out of an incomprehensible japanese kids cartoon and onto your desktop. It's the perfect loud-mouth accessory for the privacy-optional generation. It Moves! It Lights Up! It Wiggles Its Ears! All to tell you that you have email, or someone "dugg" your Myspace.


USB Humping Dog
iPod Toilet Paper Dispenser
USB Put Returner
Cellular Jewelry
Touchless Paper Towel Dispenser
Weather Forecasting Umbrella
Puchi Puchi
Potty Putter
Toilet Tunes
Nabaztag

Architectural Competitions for Winter 2008

USA Newest to Oldest

Flip A Strip
Competition submission deadline: March 31, 2008
Launches Jan 5th. An architectural design competition and exhibition at The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art which will challenge architects to dream up ways in which to adapt, re-vamp and/or renovate small-scale strip shopping plazas that seem to be dotting all of our metro & suburban landscapes these days. Open to all architects in the U.S. who have been practicing professionally for at least 5 years.
Link

Temporary Outdoor Gallery Space - Art City Austin 2008
Deadline for Registration is February 22, 2008
Art Alliance Austin in collaboration with the Austin Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, AIA-Austin, is launching an ideas competition to design Temporary Outdoor Gallery Spaces (TOGS). Any architecture or interior design professional/student who has completed their education within 10 years of the competition announcement is eligible. Student applicants must be in their final year of architecture/interior design school or enrolled in an architecture/interior design graduate program. A two-person team collaboration is allowed however, one member of the team must meet the above criteria. Limit of one entry per person or team.
Link

Young Architects Forum 2008: Resonance
Competition Deadline February 11, 2008
Young architects and designers are invited to submit work to the Architectural League's annual Young Architects Competition. This year's theme, Resonance, posits that architecture is a profession of ideas. Choice, agenda, and a means both to respond to problems and project solutions are key to professional vitality and progress. But how do architectural ideas resonate beyond professional boundaries? What are the means by which an architect's ideas/acts take effect? The committee calls not for demonstrations of instrumental capacity, but for ideas, implemented or not, that leverage that capacity creatively and proactively in the world.
Link

2008 Steedman Traveling Fellowship Competition
The registration deadline is Jan. 29, 2008.
Granted since 1925, the biennial Steedman Fellowship is open to citizens of all countries with not more than eight years of experience following receipt of a professional degree in architecture. The competition carries a $30,000 first place award to support study and research abroad - the largest such award in the United States.
Link

The 99k House Competition for an Affordable, Sustainable House Prototype
Deadline for submissions is January 14, 2008.
The Rice Design Alliance (RDA) and AIA Houston announce a two-stage national competition to design a sustainable, affordable house that addresses the needs of the low-income family in the Gulf Coast region. The competition objectives are to
* Broaden awareness of green building strategies applicable to affordable housing,
* Generate and publicize buildable examples of sustainable, affordable houses, and
* Construct an exemplary sustainable, affordable house prototype.
The competition challenges designers and architects to design a sustainable, affordable house. Special consideration should be given to affordability, longevity, energy savings benefits, and appropriateness for the hot, humid climate of Houston. The City of Houston has donated a site for the house through the Land Assemblage Redevelopment Authority (LARA) initiative. The lot is located in Houston's historic Fifth Ward, a residential area east of downtown. The competition is a two-stage project to be completed in 2008
Link

International Newest to Oldest

Espoo City Hall Ideas Competition
Competition runs to end March 2008
To commemorate the 550th anniversary of Espoo, an international architecture competition is being held for the renovation of City Hall and an adjoining office complex. The languages of the competition are Finnish and English. The competition area is City Hall and its environs, but the entire adjoining office complex and its border areas will be studied. The results of the competition will be published in the summer of 2008.
Link

International Spatial Design Competition for the Mobility Centre Project in Ferizaj/Urosevac
Competition period ends 17 March 2008
In Ferizaj/Urosevac Municipality, is an urgent need for stimulating economic development and attracting investors/businesses, commercial and industrial activities generating opportunities for employment and above all re-exploiting the railway as a catalyst for economic growth. In the Municipality, the concept of a "Mobility Centre Project" which integrates the railway station and inter-city/international bus terminal was raised and discussed with a view of creating a main transport hub. The Municipality of Ferizaj/Urosevac has proposed an "International Spatial Design Competition" as a means to achieving the Mobility Centre Project. UN-HABITAT Kosovo is co-funding the project and will support the competition throughout the process. The competition is organized with a view to explore pragmatic and sustainable improvement measures to be reflected in the "Urban Charter of Ferizaj/Urosevac City Centre".
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New Library and Theatre/Concert Hall in the City of Bodo
Registration Deadline 22nd Feb 2008
Open idea competition for a new library, concert hall and theatre etc. in the centre of Bodø. The total floor area is approx. 11,700 m2. The building volume is approx. 70,000 m3. There are three alternative locations for the arts buildings. The idea competition aims to clarify the location, the main idea for the building form and volumes, and the design of the outside areas.
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10th Arquine International Architecture Competition -The bicentennial towers
Registration Period to February 4th, 2008.
Thirty years on from the publication of Delirious New York, Rem Koolhaas's manifesto celebrating congestion culture, at the peak of the high building craze in most of the world, and moving on from post 9-11 panic, Arquine announces its 10th International Competition, proposing the design of two skyscrapers, with 100 floors each, to celebrate the bicentenary of Mexico's independence in 2010. The project consists in setting each tower in two strategic areas of Mexico City: the Azcapotzalco Technology Park and the Xochimilco Ecology Park, establishing a dialectic between content and void; between built object and urban landscape. The competition invites you to embark on the projects with two relevant discourses in mind: ecology and technology, true paradigms of early 21st-century culture.
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Architectural competition for the extension of the Kunsthaus Zürich
The application deadline is 1 February 2008
The Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft, the Stiftung Zürcher Kunsthaus and the City of Zurich announce an international architectural competition for the Kunsthaus extension. Architects are invited to apply for the pre-qualification round. The project, of signal importance to Zurich's urban planning in this area, will be located between Heimplatz and the old Cantonal School, both immediately adjacient to Zurich's old town. The project is part of Zurich's University District master plan, which aims to create an appealing "education and culture zone". Its starting point, the square known as Heimplatz, will in the process be better defined and upgraded. A public "art garden" forms an additional element of the competition brief; from there, a series of park-like areas will evolve along the edge of the slope below the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich).
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Next competition update is April 1