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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Next competition update is July 1