Casting A Vote For The City Of The Future

This fall The History Channel pulled off a thought-provoking promotion by inviting an array of U.S. architects to make no small plans. Corresponding with the series Engineering an Empire, the network hosted three events in which architects competed against each other to propose a "city of the future."

New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles served as case studies for the designers. A shortlist of competitors was given just one week to conjure up a vision of their subject city 100 years from now, and realize it in renderings, models, and explanatory text. The city challenges began in late October when 10 New York teams were selected for the marathon charette, which culminated in presentations at Grand central Terminal; the first-round exercises ended December 12 with the L.A. contest. Each of the three winners was awarded $10,000, and the trio is now up for a national honor that would double the purse."

"National voting takes place online from January 2–February 2. To aid Web surfers in gauging the three finalists against competition criteria, the site will include commentary from architect Daniel Libeskind, FAIA, the national juror. The victor will be announced in mid-February."