2012 YAF/COD Ideas Competition

In this unique design competition, submitters are asked to explore innovative design proposals for educating and encouraging Americans to live a healthier life.

Description
A growing body of research suggests that strategic architectural and urban design interventions may help to promote healthy living by prompting physical activity. In response to that commendable goal, the objective of this design competition is to create such an intervention within the urban environment; an intervention that serves to engage people in a form of physical activity that ultimately benefits their health and wellbeing.
Aside from this overarching design objective, competition participants are encouraged to look for solutions that create a visually stimulating, informative, and enjoyable experience for the general public, with the possibility of special emphasis toward capturing the attention of children.
Regarding the size and scope of proposed interventions, participants should focus their designs toward the human scale. In other words, this competition does not aim to find design solutions at the regional or macro-urban scale. As a baseline for scale, entries may use an approximate footprint of 2,500 square feet – either in a single contiguous space or divided into various components that are in relative proximity to one another.
Similarly, as a baseline for scope, entries should assume a budget of no more than $25,000 as a rough order of magnitude for their intervention’s material cost. This budget, however, is not intended to limit the potential solutions, but rather to promote interventions that can be readily realized by municipalities, developers and the like. While not a requirement, the ability to replicate a solution into a number of contexts may also be of merit.

Jury
Ted Flato, FAIA Principal at Lake|Flato
David J. Burney, FAIA Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Design and Construction
Nan Anderson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Founding Principal of Anderson Hallas Architects, PC
Anne Schopf, FAIA Past Chair, AIA Committee on Design, Partner and director of Design at Mahlum

Prize
First Prize: $1,500 plus complimentary registration for one person to the 2013 AIA National Convention including travel + hotel expenses up to $2,500
Second Prize: $1,000
Third Prize: $500

Entry Fee
Student: $50
AIA Member: $100
Nonmember: $150

Entries
Written description of design solution, 500 words maximum
Two (2) 42" x 30" boards

Timetable
Winners notification: October 2012
Winners announcement: June 20-22, 2013 at the NAC/YAF/COD Reception at the AIA National Convention and Design Exhibition in Denver, Colorado

Links
Past winners

Organizer
Young Architects Forum (YAF) and the AIA Committee on Design (COD)

Official Website
http://www.aia.org/professionals/groups/yaf/