With 235 U.S. military sites around the world set to be realigned or closed over the next ten years, Michael J. Coren asks whether the end of military bases will lead to the start of new public spaces.
Coren reports on the Open Architecture Challenge competition being hosted by Architecture for Humanity (AFH) to solicit ideas for how to transform military sites into pubic amenities. The six-month competition is asking entrants to develop recommendations for bases in, and with, their own communities, or from a list of five recommended sites planned for closure including Cuba's Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, Flak Towers in Vienna, Austria, and the Johnston Atoll (United States Minor Outlying Islands).
According to Coren, "They're raising some tough questions in the process: 'Can we re-envision the more than 750,000 abandoned bunkers that pepper the Albanian landscape? Is there a second life for the recently bombed Libyan military strongholds? Can we use environmental diplomacy to re-imagine Guantanamo Bay Detention Center? Is there a way to turn vacated bases in Afghanistan into places of learning?'"
The competition is open to design related professional and non-professional multi-disciplinary teams, with registration ending April 15th.
Read the full story: Can The End Of Military Bases Mean The Start Of New Public Spaces?
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University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
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