DIA Plaza | Midtown Cultural Connections

We seek an urban and landscape design strategy and connection framework to realize the vision of a gathering place that welcomes everyone and establishes connections between our arts and cultural institutions--inspiring an inter-connectivity between our institutions and our citizens.

Category Project Competition
Type International, Project, RfQ , Restricted, Three-Stage, Onymous
Genre Landscape, Urban
Country Detroit, United States
RegDeadline 30 April 2018 GoogleCal iCal
30 April 2018 (via Online)
Eligibility Team members should have experience working with multidisciplinary teams and on projects similar in size and complexity.

Description
This design competition centers around enhancing and enlivening the DIA’s exterior campus, and seeks an outstanding integrated design team for developing an urban and landscape design strategy and connection framework. First, the team will be asked to create a strong and innovative design vision that reimagines the DIA’s grounds, making them highly visible, welcoming, flexible and functional to support year-round outdoor programming. Second, we are looking for the selected team to take elements from the DIA design and extend them beyond its grounds to physically connect to the surrounding institutions, encouraging walkability, improving wayfinding, and identifying other opportunities for public art and programming, while also considering shared parking strategies and improved design. Ultimately, this project presents an opportunity to unify the cultural district in a triple bottom line fashion: one that creates physical and organic connections between the institutions, equitably engages residents and visitors, provides opportunities for local businesses, manages stormwater, generates new or increased revenue streams for the museums, improves walkability, and adds beauty to the area.
We are aware that this project is complex. The stakeholder institutions are committed to working together and are actively engaged in the process of developing a grand vision for the district. An extensive civic engagement process will also feed into this process.

Jury
Salvador Salort-Pons, Director, President + CEO | Detroit Institute of Arts
Julie Bargmann, Associate Professor Landscape Design, University of Virginia | Founder & Principal, D.I.R.T. Studio
Maurice Cox, Urban Planning Director | City of Detroit
William Gilchrist, Planning and Building Director, City of Oakland, California
Jonathan Massey, Dean, Taubman School of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan
Cara McCarty, Curatorial Director, Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum
Dr. Juanita Moore, CEO | Charles H Wright Museum of African American History
Mario Moore, Artist
Richard Rogers, President | College for Creative Studies

Prize
Design Contract

Entry Fee
None

Timetable
Notify short-listed teams: May 18, 2018
Short-listed teams travel to Detroit to present qualifications to the DIA Public Plaza & Midtown Cultural Connections (DIA/MCC) Jury and the General Public: June 13-15, 2018
Finalists announced: August 31, 2018
Finalists travel to Detroit for a working session with the Steering Committee and the General Public: October 10 + 11, 2018
All physical competition materials, including boards and models submission: January 7, 2019
Finalists presentation to the DIA/MCC Jury and the General Public: January 23, 2019
Winner announced: March 15, 2019

Organizer
The Detroit Institute of Arts and Midtown Detroit, Inc.

Official Website