VAN ALEN INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES GROUND/WORK COMPETITION WINNER

Earlier this month, we revealed three design directions presented by the finalist teams in our Ground/Work competition to design the Institute’s new street-level space. Their proposals each offer a unique vision for how Van Alen could accommodate a diverse range of programs within a flexible, accessible, and creatively-designed venue. With our partner Architizer, we called on the public to weigh in with their thoughts, and to bring the public voice to the Ground/Work competition jury. Over a thousand people participated during the voting period, and we want to thank you for sharing your viewpoint with us on this important project.

The jury has now convened, and we're excited to announce the selection of Collective–LOK as the competition winner!

The winning team, a collaboration of Jon Lott (PARA-Project), William O’Brien Jr. (WOJR), and Michael Kubo (over,under), was selected from a group of three finalists invited by the Ground/Work jury to develop full design proposals over a six-week period. Collective–LOK’s proposal, titled Screen Play, presents a highly flexible space utilizing a subtle interplay of surfaces and screens to allow for the diverse range of uses demanded by the activities of the Institute, from multimedia exhibitions and lectures to workshops and private meetings.

The members of Collective–LOK said in a statement, “We’re thrilled to participate in building a new institutional home for Van Alen. The opportunity to shape one of the major cultural spaces for architecture and design in New York City is unique, and one that we look forward to given our shared background as architects, curators, critics, and educators. The competition process was a strong reflection of the Institute’s desire to create public dialogue on the role of architecture and design in the city, and we are proud to provide a setting that will support and enable that mission."

We congratulate the other two Ground/Work finalist teams for their impressive proposals: EFGH (Hayley Eber, Frank Gesualdi, Spencer Lapp, Pat Ruggiero, and Ani Ivanova), and Of Possible Architectures (Vincent Appel, Ethan Lay-Sleeper, Jaime Magaliff, Paul Miller, Heather Murtagh, Franklin Romero Jr., and Emily Ruopp, in collaboration with Jay Atherton).

We recently spoke with all three of the finalist teams to dive deeper into the motives behind their designs, and to share a bit more of the hard work that all three teams have developed for Van Alen over the past two months. Read the full story on the Ground/Work website for more on the process behind the finalist proposals.

NOW ON VIEW: GROUND/WORK EXHIBITION

To celebrate the imaginative ideas of all three Ground/Work finalist teams, we invite you to come visit a new exhibition displaying their design proposals. The show is currently on view in Van Alen's pop-up exhibition space, directly behind Van Alen Books. Visit the exhibition during Van Alen Books hours: Tuesday–Friday, 12:00–7:00 p.m., and Saturday, 12:00–6:00 p.m.

CHANGING COURSE RELEASES REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

On September 16, the Leadership Team of Changing Course released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), which seeks multidisciplinary design teams interested in participating in an ambitious design competition to develop innovative design solutions for the Lower Mississippi River Delta. Changing Course is an independent effort led by Louisiana and national leaders, with the support and participation of the State of Louisiana and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Van Alen is pleased to be working with the Environmental Defense Fund to support this competition, along with technical advisors from Happold Consulting. Visit changingcourse.us to download the RFQ and learn more!

REBUILD BY DESIGN INVITES YOU TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Ten international teams of designers and resiliency professionals participating in Rebuild by Design, an initiative of President Obama’s Hurricane San­dy Rebuilding Task Force and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development led by Van Alen Institute, Regional Plan Association, the Municipal Art Society, and NYU IPK, are now embarking on an eight-month research and design process that will generate innovative planning and design approaches to the region’s post-Sandy challenges.

Rebuild by Design is hosting a series of public meetings in September and October held throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, where neighbors and community leaders will play a crucial role in helping shape competition priorities and outcomes. At each regional meeting, Rebuild by Design invites the public to share experiences and ideas with the participating teams. On-the-ground perspectives will help Rebuild by Design develop appropriate solutions that respond to local and regional needs.

Join us for our next regional meeting on Staten Island this Thursday, September 26 at 7:00 p.m. RSVP here.

Click here for the full list of upcoming sessions, and visit the Rebuild by Design website for more information.

OPEN CALL: SHARE YOUR ANIMAL EXPERIENCES!

This fall, Van Alen will host a public program exploring our understanding of nature in the urban environment, and the unique relationships between animals and humans in the urban realm. We're inviting artists, designers, writers, and performers to share their stories of animal encounters in the city, from the exotic to the domestic. We also invite the Van Alen community to present their stories as part of this public event, hosted in partnership with Performa 13 and co-curated by Denise Hoffman Brandt and Catherine Seavitt Nordenson. If you are interested in taking part, please submit a 200-word description of your story, as well as a brief bio, to Sarah Farwell, Program Manager, at sfarwell@vanalen.org.

A NEW SEASON STARTS AT VAN ALEN BOOKS

Fall is here, and we're ready to get going on a new season of public programs at Van Alen Books. First up on Thursday, October 3, author Ellen Shoshkes will speak on the fascinating yet often overlooked legacy of Jaqueline Tyrwhitt, a British town planner, editor, and educator who was at the center of the group of people who shaped the post-war Modern Movement. Join us to learn more about Tyrwhitt’s life as a pioneering woman at the frontier of the planning field, and the ways in which her work informed the concept of sustainable development in the 1970s, the international Healthy City Movement in the 1980s, and the revival of ecological urbanism today.

Then on Thursday, October 10, Jesse M. Keenan and Vishaan Chakrabarti head to the bookstore to celebrate the release of NYC 2040: Housing the Next One Million New Yorkers, a new publication examining the physical and equitable implications of housing future generations of New York City residents. Using simulations to measure both the quantitative and qualitative implications of development, authors Keenan and Chakrabarti test a working hypothesis that certain zones within NYC have the potential for hyper-urbanized development, with greater levels of density and intensity of use.

Author Lori Brown, facilitator of last year’s Feminist Practices series, returns on Thursday, October 17 to discuss Contested Spaces, her new book examining the ways that various political entities shape the physical landscapes of inclusion and exclusion to reproductive healthcare access and directly impact the spaces of abortion. Brown will lead an interdisciplinary conversation on how architecture's role might be redefined within social and spatial practices, and what design’s potential response might be within this spatial conflict.

And the season continues on Thursday, October 29 with Unfathomable City: New Orleans Atlas, a book that reimagines the traditional atlas to offer a complex look at the multi-faceted nature of New Orleans. The title’s more than twenty essays assemble a chorus of vibrant voices, including geographers, scholars of sugar and bananas, the city's remarkable musicians, prison activists, environmentalists, Arab and Native voices, and local experts, as well as the coauthors’ compelling contributions. Join authors and project co-directors Rebecca Solnit and Rebecca Snedeker as they walk us through their latest publication.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS

The Ed Bacon Student Design Competition is an annual competition focusing on an urban design challenge in Philadelphia that has broad implications for cities around the world. This year’s competition asks: how will driverless cars shape the Philadelphia of tomorrow? How will roadways, sidewalks, intersections, signage, traffic signals, and the relationship between buildings, roadways, pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles change? University-level students are invited to preregister as individuals or teams by October 3.

The American Academy is accepting applications for the 2014 Rome Prize, awarded to early- to mid-career artists and scholars in architecture, design, landscape architecture, and other disciplines. Apply by November 1.

Next City is now seeking a city to host and sponsor the next Vanguard Conference, an annual urban leadership gathering of the best and brightest urban advocates working to improve cities across sectors. Does your city have lessons to share and insights to offer? Is there a team of engaged local representatives who would be interested in working with Next City to plan and coordinate? Next City invites you to check out the RFP and apply.

SUPPORT A NEW CHAPTER FOR VAN ALEN INSTITUTE

As Van Alen embarks on exciting new directions—transforming our NYC headquarters and reimagining our agenda for the coming years—we invite you to become part of our community of designers, planners, policy-makers, and urban thinkers passionate about bringing the best design ideas to civic life. Our ongoing work is possible in large part due to the active participation of our members in all our programs and events. We value your support as we develop new design initiatives, competitions, and exhibitions investigating the role of architecture and design in civic life. And as you visit our bookstore this season, don't forget that members receive a 10% discount at Van Alen Books, as well as invitations to special events and other benefits. Find out more about our membership opportunities and how you can join us here.