Here is the winning design from Robert Kane, Florence, Italy.

We felt his design really captured a strong meeting of an immortal, monumental architecture with a timeless human necessity. The structures he describes in his entry are significant throughout time, from the impact they have every time it rains, every season and harvest, and over hundreds of years as they become landmarks more and more melded with the landscape. The drawing is particularly crisp and attractive, and although we may never know if it could work it’s a great example of designing to consider a span of significance far vaster than our own lives.

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The idea came from the program, where it mentioned to consider how your building would decay over time. I had a strong impulse to design something huge and monumental, an architecture that would become more like a geologic formation. And then I thought about how to exaggerate the natural processes; in this case, erosion and accumulation of runoff; and make them into something that people could benefit from. I had a hard time thinking of a better way to alleviate social problems than to ensure that everyone is well fed.

Honourable Mentions

Here are the honourable mentions, which we thought were too good to be missed. Both are very different and very intriguing ideas…

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Ruben Caldwell and Leigh Salem of Studio TACK, Brooklyn, NY. (www.tack-design.com)

Some of the greatest monuments to past civilizations are infrastructural.   We wanted to continue this tradition while including an additional layer of community service.  By providing a place to find clean drinking water, we hoped to allow members of the community to free up time during their days for educational pursuits.  We were also inspired by Homeric notions of immortality, that somehow if our stories survive we do as well.  To this end the wall is intended as a repository for the stories of the generations of community members who have collected water, worked and been educated there. Their stories become a cross-section through time, revealing to the hopes and aspirations of successive generations.

 

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Simon Hicks and Holly Lang, from London.

Sealed within a limestone structure a time-lapse camera preserves a record of the growing city. Viewed from a specific perspective steel studs embedded within the limestone align to mirror the view across the city at the time of construction, forming a window into the past. Over time as the body of recorded images grows conversely the structure erodes until a time capsule is released to future generations.

Here are the honourable mentions, which we thought were too good to be missed. If you want to see all of the entries, head over to our facebook page

Joana Torres, from Portugal ( www.joanatorres.com )

WIN_Wash It Now

Hygiene is extremely important in society. Hygiene routines are basic measures to reduce diseases and elevate the sense of well being and social acceptance.

A network of Community Cleaning Centers throughout the city allows the homeless to take regular hygiene habits, receive hygiene provisions and get informed. Access to basic hygienic facilities is one step forward in re-integration with the society.

Tane and Taylor Um; siblings from Toronto Canada, currently in Seoul South Korea.  Tane studied architecture at Carleton University and Taylor studied philosophy at the University of Western Ontario.

After reading the competition brief, we were reminded of a sociological study by Annette Lareau where she coined the term “concerted cultivation”.  This study focused on the childrearing of lower and middle class families, and we suspected that there were relevant elements in this line of thought that may have an influence on the successful rehabilitation of the homeless as well as those who lived below the poverty line.

Concerted cultivation refers to a parenting technique Lareau observed in middle and upper class parents.  Specifically, it involved a continuous intervention in the child’s education and social life.  Although the results were not black and white, she concluded that there was an overall effect that this style of parenting had on the child’s social prowess in social situations involving formality and structure. We were concerned that the homeless therefore, would be uncomfortable with interacting with power structures as well as bureaucracy.  If the homeless were engendered to be intimidated by the process of discovering the opportunities and the full range of services available to them, then these are the disadvantages we wanted to address in our project.

There is a burgeoning movement in Toronto that advocates free public transportation, or a ‘zero-fare’ transit system, and it occurred to us that this might be the solution.  Those that live below the poverty line can not afford public transit fare, so we decided a zero-fare monorail would accomplish two critical objectives: giving the homeless the mobility they desperately need as well as raising the homeless issue above the street level, moving what was once invisible into plain view.  From this perspective, the millions spent on outreach programs are misguided.  We can simply speed these disadvantaged populations to the services they require to achieve rehabilitation.

David Sharp, Anuar Azahari from A Workshop, working out Perth, Australia. ( http://site.aworkshop.com.au/ )

We live in a very superficial society, one that can fail to see past the visible signs of homelessness. This creates tremendous disadvantage to those who already have the fewest opportunities. The problem of providing essential modern amenities to the homeless must be addressed. While homeless people in Perth can’t have a shower, treat a cut or communicate in the digital age, every attempt at re-integration will be hindered.

Our initial approach was to consult representatives of homeless support groups, who explained that while they are able to provide some necessities to the homeless, they simply don’t have the people-power to effectively distribute them when and where they are needed. We saw automation as the solution to this problem. Once we identified the need for exclusivity across this infrastructure, the Street-Aid database and card were logical conclusions.  We focused on the potential for this card to empower the homeless to take positive steps in their life as part of community.

The brief spoke of re-integration as a process, asking how design can act as a catalyst. Our understanding is that the day to day struggles of sleeping rough must be overcome before processes such as government policy/funding etc. can be truly effective. Hopefully our concept will encourage others to explore new ways in which we can streamline the distribution of resources to the homeless.

Homeless can affect anyone. Some group of people are more likely to become homeless due to their support need or particular barriers they facing getting accommodation.

So,this project explores a long term solution to housing and rehabilitating homeless  individual and families. Homeless doesn’t mean people who don’t have shelter or house. Their house are around the world. They appropriate under used spaces and empty spaces.Link to concept moveable and sustainable design that will remain useful and significant in cities.We design moveable shelter that easy to setting and keeping. Green space in shelter can useful for themselves and have a profound effect on people. If they integrate shelter to temporary community,they can live together,sharing facility,talking with each other,this is the main idea that make them re-integrate with society.

Below is the winning design from Sarah Crowley in Melbourne, Australia (http://sararchitecture.blogspot.com). We really like the wide and multi faceted approach to rehabilitation which she has manifested in her design, through creating a strip of community buildings, housing, and facilities all the way along a strip of railway in her city. It’s architecturally a very strong solution, and although the capital cost would be high it has a wider outlook and attitude towards the entire city, stitching over a scar created in the urban landscape by the train line. The rehabilitation solution she presents is sustainable and even profitable with the inclusion of markets and ‘big issue’ offices, and although the graphic takes a while to read it is convincing and clear.

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Here is what Sarah had to say about her design, and if you would like to see more of her work visit her blog at http://sararchitecture.blogspot.com, or get in touch with her via  sfcd@live.com.au.

 This project explores a long-term solution to housing and rehabilitating homeless individuals & families. Homeless people often congregate in cities because of the infrastructure & resources available. They tend to appropriate under-used & empty spaces for living. To link in with this concept, it seemed logical to design a long-term solution to homelessness using vacant plots of land in cities. There is a lot of neglected land in & around cities throughout the world, so… let’s use these sites to re-integrate the homeless!!
The site explored in this project is a 1km strip of currently neglected land abutting the city grid of Melbourne, Australia. A train line runs through the site, making it problematic for housing, so I designed a bridge that covers the train line, which effectively reduces the noise and vibration of the trains, but also helps to increase porosity and permeability of the site.

The project will create a new ‘neighbourhood’ with a mixed demographic: 30-40% residents will be ‘formerly homeless,’ the rest will not. The idea here is to further encourage integration with others and develop a sense of community.

The neighbourhood will have a series of public programs as well as being residential. These programs will activate the neighbourhood and provide activities & jobs for the homeless,  enabling them to develop a sense of responsibility & self-worth within their new community. They will also provide a source of income to maintain and potentially help fund the development. The ‘development’ would be funded both publicly and privately.

There are innumerable vacant strips of land created by train and tram lines – obstacles that can be readily ‘bridged’ to form vibrant neighbourhoods that re-integrate the homeless. So take a look around your city… how many sites would be suitable for a project like this?

It’s a bleak outlook, and a bleak story, which tells of a man who accidentally achieves immortality on his journey to find the “Immortal City”, and then after a long a weary life begins to write about his experiences. The city when he finds it, is a labyrinth of senseless passages and staircases, twisting and turning into themselves and dead ends- created by immortal men driven senseless by the monotony of their existence.

But what if we can create an architecture that is free from monotony, yet immortal in itself? Where each generation can find new meaning and significance, and be touched by its presence in a new and significant way? Is it possible, in an age where buildings are given lifespans shorter than our own, to envisage an architecture which will span through generations and remain useful and effective?

Our new competition “Immortal Architecture” asks these questions and more. Architecture can facilitate so much, which makes it an incredible humanitarian tool, and surely that tool is all the more effective if it can be our legacy to the future, beyond just a few decades. The ultimate sustainability can be achieved through a building which can fare the future, and continue to be relevant and valuable.

So what is your vision for immortal architecture, and how can it possibly work and serve humanity?

Over the duration of the competition we have some articles planned to inspire you and explore with you this idea, so keep an eye on our Website and Facebook pages for more!

Wieża Babel IV, by Krzysztof Skórczewski

Winter is fast approaching, the nights are drawing in, and it feels great to come home out of the cold. This winter we are revisiting what was one of the most exciting competitions we have held, and inviting you again to design for the homeless.

Last year we had almost 100 entries to our “Let it Snow” competition which came in surprisingly not only from the UK, but all over the world, and it was amazing and challenging to see what people came up with. We hope that this year can build on that success and bring more amazing and thoughtful entries than ever!

There is a bit of a twist this year however…. after being in touch with several homeless charities we have heard something important- these organisations on the whole don’t simply exist to try and alleviate the suffering of homeless people, but instead fight to get them off the streets and rehabilitated. It’s a temptation as designers to just think of clever ways to make homeless people more comfortable and safe, and last year we saw some great and provocative entries along that theme, but that’s not what the aim is this year, which makes things a little harder! The solutions for rehabilitation are very often down to good government policy making, funding, and the hard work of lots of caring people. But maybe good and intelligent design can stimulate this rehabilitation process too?

This competition will be a bit harder, but don’t let that put you off! Think outside the box, feel free to be provocative, explore ideas of community, the meaning of rehabilitation, how we can reach out to help homeless people, and the way that architectural or product design can play a part in the process.

Check out the Current Competition Page for all the details you will need, and take some time to look through Last Year’s Shortlist.

Good luck!

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Congratulations to Sarah Crowley (http://sararchitecture.blogspot.com/)

Her concept of recycling toilet parts was original, witty, versatile and fully considered- please take time to look carefully at the extra boards she has provided us with below to get an even fuller idea of the project. And perhaps someday we will all be living in porcelain cities!

Here is what Sarah has to say about the concept.…

For centuries, the American Indian’s form of sustainability has been to use every single part of the buffalo. In the same way, I have chosen to use every part of the toilet… effectively creating no waste from… waste!!

Upon many visits to demolition yards I noticed that the countless discarded sanitary fittings could be something of an untapped building resource. They are white and shiny, with inherent designerly curves and a non-porous surface (once disinfected of course). These everyday sculpted modules can be applied to sustainable building in a plethora of ways; from petal-like “loo-ver” facade systems, planter box cisterns (excellent for thermal mass and growing your vegetables in), and water-filtering toilet bowl walls that resemble water-droplets.

Once the toilet has been broken down into its separate components, they take on a new life. I was surprised to discover that toilets (of all things) can serve as remarkably functional and surprisingly attractive building materials that are appropriate for varying climates.

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Honourable mentions

From amongst the great entries we received we have chosen two projects as honourable mentions, for their creativity, innovation, and positive attitude towards reusing materials.

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Design Team:

Vance Fok, M.Arch Carleton University, currently in Ottawa.

And, Lisa Jones, graduate of Carleton University B.Arch. and currently living/working in Berlin.

Here is the brief again, just to give you a quick idea of what we were looking for when we chose these 7 entries:

We are asking you to design something beautiful and useful that uses material that are otherwise thrown away. How can your design change people’s attitude towards what is rubbish, and what we waste? We are looking for a creative and imaginative response, where new and innovative uses are found for items which are considered worthless. Being able to design using wasted materials can transform communities who have barely anything, so we would love to see your ideas, however crazy they might be.

The winner will be announced shortly, in the meantime please feel free to comment on the proposals, these competitions are all about generating thoughts and discussion, so go for it!

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Congratulations to Grant Erskine Architects (www.granterskinearchitects.com) , who sent us the panel above, and who we have selected as our winner.

Here is what Grant Erskine of Grant Erskine Architects has to say about it.…

Some of the most interesting and influential books we have read in recent memory are the Shrinking Cities: Complete Works 1+2 and The Atlas of Shrinking Cities. These books, as part of the greater Shrinking Cities movement, have illustrated not only the causes and impact of decay in the modern city, but more importantly the resilience and ingenuity of humanity. They offer a pessimistic view of the future, but an optimistic view of mans ability to adapt and survive.

It is often suggested that society will decay into some form of a dystopia, such as those reflected in the movies that we all enjoy: Metropolis (1927) Bladerunner (1982), Brazil (1985), I am legend (2007). However, what these movies often fail to reflect upon is the strength and resilience of man and society. Looking back through history, humanity has endured several eras of adversity both natural and man-made – but has always survived. It is for this reason that we approached this project from an optimistic position. With rising fuel costs caused by dwindling supply and international social and economic unrest, it is obvious to us that we are quickly approaching the end of an era. Humanity’s dependence on the car and van will have to be readdressed. It will raise several interesting questions. How do we travel? How far can we travel? How far can we transport perishable foods? How do we handle waste? If you think of everything that is transported into and out of a city, and imagine a future where this is no longer possible, you begin to imagine the problems we will have to address. How will we survive? How will we re-interpret our surroundings in order to live? How will we reimagine the city and adapt it to our needs?

Honourable mentions

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The initial interest of dealing with such a complex urban structure as New York came about from reading the work of Ada Louise Huxtable and Marshall Berman. Both have strong opinions and insights into the urban planing that went on in New York in the latter half of the 20th Century. Their opinions mostly surround the plans that were in place to build giant 10-lane expressways through New York City such as the “South Bronx Expressway” and the “Lower-Manhattan Expressway”. The plans for these never came into realisation but the very notion of the plans were so detrimental to the neighbourhoods that nobody wanted to live or work in the areas affected My vision of New York is a positive response that moves away from these anti-social ideas of transport and urban planning.

My vision for the city is that developments in ideas on transport, public space, and green space all meld into one scheme that hopefully means people enjoy the infrastructure that the city is built on, instead of being slaves to it.

Tommy McCaughan, Kent, England. This entry is accompanied by a poem which is also by Tommy-

Years have blurred

Third Reich visions

Eagles scour

Sunken prisons

Flown from icon

Reanimated life

European wide

Dubrovnik’s strife

Don’t lose your mind

Go out late

Beneath the ground

Those awaiting fate

Clocks don’t move

Coz prisoners don’t look

Clawed to death

By eagle hook

No time to improve

Or gain release

Hide your religion

Search out inner peace

Speech in whispers

Avoid other eyes

Look out for the murderers

Look out for the spies

Erode your morals

Feeding attempt

Fight the rules

Make self exempt

Protect your young

Encase in ice

Transport by car

Do nothing twice

Let no others visit

And hug your son

Speak of the positives

Don’t let tears come

Totalitarian rule

Quietly wait your turn

There is no future

Europe will not learn

The winner will be announced shortly.

In the meantime, please feel free to comment on the proposals, these competitions are all about generating thoughts and discussion, so go for it!

A couple of weeks ago we held the “Facing the Floods” exhibition, which featured architectural responses to the floods from students all over the world, and in particular a large group of students from Queensland University of Technology in Australia, many of whom experienced the floods first hand.

It has taken much longer than we anticipated to finally announce the winner from among the great entries from Australia with all of our recent events, but a massive thanks to all of the students at QUT who participated and have been patient- it has been a powerful insight into the flooding for us at our University, and we have enjoyed discussing your entries. The work has been talked about and reviewed by scores of students and tutors in the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture, and our second exhibition next week will allow so many more people to see the contributions in detail.

We will be posting several honourable mentions soon because it was so hard to narrow down the entries, but for now we would like to show you the project that rose above the rest…

So without further to do….

First Place

Massive congratulations to Group 19, who came up with this fantastically holistic approach which seeks to provide low tech emergency shelter for people and belongings, and also facilitate the clean-up effort after the floods have receded. By identifying a key area of higher ground and good accessibility the skip houses can create temporary streets, while still allowing vehicles and access. This piece will be up among other projects from Thursday 14th April in the Academy, Aberdeen, as part of our “Beyond Bricks” exhibition.