Intersections: Grand Concourse Beyond 100

What does the Bronx of the future need its grandest boulevard to be? How can the Grand Concourse help inspire harmony and community through design? Is the Grand Concourse of today obsolete? Can the Grand Concourse of tomorrow be a force that catalyzes the Bronx’s positive evolution?

Description
The Grand Concourse was conceived during the height of the City Beautiful Movement as the residential Champs Élysées of the Bronx, a broad promenade intended to inspire harmonious social order through grand design. Designed as a wide, tree-lined thoroughfare with carriage drives, bridle paths and sunken cross-streets, it was conceived in 1870 by engineer Louis Risse as a means to connect Manhattan to the parks of the Northern Bronx.
Built in 1909, the Concourse stretches 4 miles in length and measures 180 feet across, with tree-lined dividers separating it into three distinct roadways. Today, the Grand Concourse hosts the largest collection of Art Deco and Art Moderne style buildings in America. The buildings were—and still are—grand, with elaborate ornamentation, large lobbies, landscaped courtyards, elevators, large windows and many amenities that older Manhattan apartments lacked.
Mirroring the tumultuous history of the Bronx itself, the Concourse has survived the ravages of arson, dramatic shifts in population, and an overall decline in the quality of life since the 1970s. Today, however, the Bronx is improving with increased development and investment. Bronx communities are thriving, alive with the art, music, and cultural and social vibrancy that has defied decades of depression.

Jury
Stan Allen (Stan Allen Architect; Dean, Princeton University School of Architecture)
Carlos Brillembourg (Brillembourg Architects )
Monty Freedman (Belmont Freeman Architects)
Galia Solomonoff (Solomonoff Architecture Studio)
Susan Szenasy (Editor-in-Chief, Metropolis magazine)
James Corner (Field Operations)
Shaun Donovan (NYC Dept. of Housing, Preservation and Development)
Anthony Greene (The Bronx County Historical Society)
Steven Holl (Steven Holl Architects)
Dr. Clara Rodriguez (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Fordham University)
Wilhelm Ronda (Director of Planning, Bronx Borough President’s Office)
Alexie Torres-Fleming (Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice)
Fred Wilson (Artist)

Prize
Finalists (up to 7): a cash stipend to further develop their proposal for inclusion in the exhibition
Honorable Mentions (up to 50): the exhibition in an online gallery on this website

Entry Fee
$30

Entries
Any medium may be employed to produce your proposal.
We look forward to the submission of architectural renderings and urban plans from architects and designers; illustrative and descriptive text from writers; and paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography, collage, and more from artists.

Timetable
Finalists Contacted: July 2009
Exhibition Opening + Winners Announced: Nov. 1, 2009

Organizer
The Bronx Museum

Official Website
http://grandconcourse100.org/