PARKS FOR THE PEOPLE WINNERS HONORED IN D.C. CEREMONY

Studio teams, leaders from the U.S. National Park Service, and competition partners gathered in an award ceremony, exhibition opening, and reception on September 19 at the Octagon Museum in Washington, D.C., to celebrate eight bold submissions to the Parks for the People student design competition.

Congratulations to Award of Excellence winners City College of New York and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and to Finalists of the competition’s second stage: Cornell University, Florida International University, Kansas State University, Pratt Institute, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Washington. Winning submissions are on view at the Octagon Museum, and in our online gallery.

National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis, the Parks for the People advisory committee, and competition partners were impressed and energized by the students’ visions. As Director Jarvis noted in his remarks, “I came to this exhibit wondering ‘Did they get it?’ and the answer is yes, they got it. These sophisticated, creative, insightful proposals push us to reassess many of our long-held assumptions of how national parks are managed.”

As the latest effort to advance the Designing the Parks initiative—a collaboration to cultivate design principles for the twenty-first century national park—Parks for the People tapped the next generation of park stewards to reimagine how parks can engage new audiences, connect with communities, enhance the park experience, and sustainably fulfill the mission of the national parks to balance conservation and recreation.

Park superintendents are already working to put the studios’ new perspectives and fresh ideas into action. Beyond their studio work, the competition also provided a unique opportunity for young designers to gain hands-on experience through eight summer internships at national park sites, where they built new partnerships, developed park infrastructure, researched how new technology can help make parks more accessible, and explored how to best preserve and interpret the parks’ historic treasures.

We look forward to continuing this conversation about the future of the national parks through our partnership with the AIA Legacy Foundation this fall—stay tuned!

JOIN US FOR UPCOMING RIVER CITY PROGRAMS

We hope to see you at our October public programs as part of Immensity + Intimacy: Brooklyn Bridge Park, the current exhibition in Van Alen’s series River City: Waterfront Design for Civic Life.

On Wednesday, October 10 at 7:00 p.m., we explore The Urban Polder: What New York’s Waterfront Can Learn from the Dutch. Long a pioneer in keeping the rising seas at bay, the Netherlands is rewriting its centuries-old strategy of self-defense—and letting the water back in. Join Susannah Drake (dlandstudio), Klaus Jacob (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory), Tracy Metz (Sweet & Salt: Water and the Dutch), Michael Marrella (New York City Department of City Planning), and moderator James S. Russell (Bloomberg News and The Agile City) for a panel discussion on strategies for living in harmony with water, and what New York City can learn from Dutch techniques.

And on Monday, October 15 at 6:30 p.m., we host a panel on Redefining the River: Challenges in Urban Waterfront Design. Join Alex Washburn of the New York City Department of City Planning as he leads this discussion on the challenges of integrating design into New York’s most complex landscape: the waterfront. Participants include Regina Myer (Brooklyn Bridge Park), Matthew Urbanski (Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates), Jonathan Marvel (Rogers Marvel Architects), Claire Weisz (WXY Architecture + Urban Design), Roland Lewis (Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance), and Michael Fishman (Stantec).

Please RSVP to rsvp@vanalen.org. River City events are presented in association with Archtober, NYC’s month-long festival of architecture activities, programs, and exhibitions.

Van Alen and the New York Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects are joining forces for two Archtober events exploring the fast-evolving field of landscape architecture. On Saturday, October 13, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m., join us for Landscape Architecture Design Speed Dating, a special edition of Van Alen’s seasonal portfolio review series. In this round, four emerging landscape architecture professionals will present their portfolios to four esteemed critics from the landscape community in ten-minute, round-robin sessions. Submit now for your chance to be one of the four speed-daters: send your portfolio as a PDF attachment, 5MB maximum, to vai@vanalen.org by Monday, October 1, at 6:00 p.m.

And on Thursday, October 18 at 7:00 p.m., we present Change Agents: Landscape Architects on the Innovation Forefront, a lively Pecha Kucha night featuring landscape architects who are advancing new directions in the profession. The format: 12 presenters, 20 slides each, 20 seconds per slide. If you’re a change agent or know someone who is, submit your presentation ideas: send 5 to 7 slides, a proposed title, and a brief (300-400 word max) description by Monday, October 1 at 6:00 p.m. to vai@vanalen.org.

TWO SPECIAL EVENTS AT VAN ALEN BOOKS

With our fall program series in full swing at Van Alen Books, here are two upcoming evenings you won’t want to miss: On Wednesday, September 26 at 7:00 p.m., we feature Revolution of Forms: Cuba’s Forgotten Art Schools, an examination of the convergence of architecture, ideology, and culture in 1960s Cuba through the design of the famed Escuelas Nacionales de Arte. Author John Loomis will be joined by Unfinished Spaces co-directors Benjamin Murray and Alysa Nahmias for a conversation on the history of these vaulted monuments to the Cuban Revolution and their rediscovery. And on Friday, September 28 at 7:00 p.m., we celebrate the thought-provoking collection Latin American Modern Architectures: Ambiguous Territories with editors Patricio del Real and Helen Gyger, along with contributors Luis Castañeda, María González Pendás, Jorge Nudelman, and Daniel Talesnik, for a conversation to be led by distinguished historians Kenneth Frampton and Jorge Francisco Liernur.

WHAT’S OUT THERE WEEKEND

On October 6 and 7, the Cultural Landscape Foundation presents What’s Out There Weekend NYC, a two-day extravaganza of free tours in all five boroughs of New York City, featuring innovative landscape designs from Wave Hill in the Bronx to Staten Island’s Snug Harbor, with Manhattan’s modernist gems in between. A related conference on October 5 focuses on the complex challenges involved in the Stewardship of Central Park’s Woodlands.

AWARDS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DESIGNERS

Future Prentice is a design ideas competition that seeks to spark public debate about the future of Bertrand Goldberg’s Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago. Submit by October 15.

The 60th Annual P/A Awards seek submissions of unbuilt, client-commissioned projects demonstrating overall design excellence and innovation. Submit by October 26.

The American Academy is accepting applications for the 2013 Rome Prize from designers in fields including architecture, design, and landscape architecture. Apply by November 1.

The Detroit by Design 2012: Detroit Riverfront Competition seeks to turn a desolate stretch of waterfront at the heart of the city into a vibrant public space. Submit by November 30.

FALL INTO VAN ALEN MEMBERSHIP

We hope you’ll stop by for our action-packed season of fall events. And if you’re energized and inspired by what you find, we invite you to support our mission to reimagine public life through design competitions, fellowships, exhibitions, and public programs by joining us today. Your membership provides essential support in sustaining all the work we do to bring the best design ideas to civic life through innovative programs, inclusive dialogue, and visionary public architecture. Find out more about our membership opportunities and how you can join our diverse network of supporters here.