Design Competitions

ARIZONA RESERVOIR

Design Competition Tasked With Finding New Development Life for Dry Phoenix Riverbed

The passing of Senator John McCain has reinvigorated the Rio Reimagined project.

September 16, 2018 - Arizona Republic

Chicago Airport

Chicago Launches Design Competition to Redesign O'Hare International Airport

This isn’t a speculative, unfunded design competition. The city has already promised to borrow $4 billion toward the $8.5 billion O'Hare 21 expansion plan.

July 3, 2018 - The Architect's Newspaper

Detroit

Community-Driven Designs Proposed for Detroit's West Riverfront Park

Following a plan to line the city's waterfront with redeveloped parkland, Detroit's 22-acre West Riverfront Park will incorporate concepts from a community-led design process.

April 3, 2018 - ArchDaily

The Architecture at Zero Competition Imagines the Future of Net Zero Energy

The winners of the 2016 Architecture at Zero competition took a case study located in the fog-locked city of San Francisco and delivered a net-zero site plan for a mixed-use academic facility.

December 7, 2016 - The Architect's Newspaper

Burning Man

Designing the Black Rock City of Burning Man's Dreams

An unofficial, international competition for the Black Rock City master plan applies the imagination inherent to its setting.

September 1, 2016 - Black Rock City Ministry of Urban Planning

Design Team Selected for the Obama Presidential Library in Chicago

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners (TWBTA) will design the Obama Presidential Center—selected from a group of seven finalists.

June 30, 2016 - Obama Foundation

Revealed: The Winners of AIA Chicago's Tiny Homes Competition

Tiny homes have captured new attention as a potential response to the homelessness and housing supply limitations gripping many U.S. cities. An AIA Chicago design competition recently called on architects to design new prototypes of the tiny home.

March 23, 2016 - The Architect's Newspaper

7 Finalists Chosen for Obama Presidential Center Design

Now we know who will compete for one of the most coveted design contracts in the country: the presidential library that will bear Barack Obama's name.

December 23, 2015 - Chicago Tribune

Pershing Square

Los Angeles to Redesign Its 'Worst Public Space'

Josh Stephens reports on the Pershing Square Renew Design Challenge, an effort to redo one of the "world's worst squares and plazas." The new Pershing Square may hearken back to the years before its misguided 1992 redesign.

December 22, 2015 - Next City

Port Authority Clears Major Hurdle for Bus Terminal Redesign

An expensive, contentious project to redesign and possibly relocate the Port Authority Terminal finally has a way forward: an international design competition to be concluded a year from now.

October 28, 2015 - New York Post

'Great Green Living Room' Proposed for Toronto's Central Waterfront

The winners of a design competition to overhaul a popular tourist destination in Toronto have been announced. Now comes the hard part.

April 16, 2015 - National Post

New Round of Design Proposals for St. Petersburg's Off-Shore Park

After an initial failure of public approval, St. Petersburg went back to the drawing board to design new plans for an off-shore park on the historic St. Petersburg Pier.

December 30, 2014 - CityLab

How D.C.'s 11th Street Bridge Will Transform Infrastructure into Civic Space

Across the US, cities increasingly view waterfronts as opportunities for green space. Once tied to industrial uses, river fronts now offer a chance to repurpose existing infrastructure for public use.

October 17, 2014 - The Planning Report

Grand Park Designs for Washington D.C.'s 11th Street Bridge

Jared Green shares news of the finalists in a design competition for a $40 million park on the 11th Street Bridge spanning the Anacostia River in Washington D.C.

September 17, 2014 - ASLA The Dirt

Testing the Many Aspects of Waterfront Resilience—In New York City

Principals from the Rebuild by Design competition, focusing on Red Hook in Brooklyn and Hunts Point in the South Bronx, discussed their designs and philosophies regarding New York City's resilience at the Center for Architecture.

August 14, 2014 - ASLA The Dirt

Rebuild By Design: Building Resilience along the Atlantic Coast

Rebuild By Design, a design competition under the purview of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, released ten final proposals for projects that could protect and strengthen the Atlantic Coast in the event of another Hurricane Sandy.

April 7, 2014 - New York Magazine

Big Decisions Looming for Crissy Field in S.F.'s Presidio

Pressure is mounting for a decision regarding the future of Crissy Field, an iconic site in the Presidio of San Francisco currently in the final stages of a design competition.

January 9, 2014 - Huffington Post

Design Competition for Bordeaux Puts Nature First

As the city of Bordeaux, France, makes plans to move up the list of major European cities, it's calling on a multidisciplinary design competition for ways to revitalize its city from the top down by integrating "natural areas."

August 30, 2012 - The Design Observer Group

A Facelift for the Nation's Front Lawn

Kaid Benfield laments the capital's "blah"-inspiring National Mall, and discusses three design competitions underway that could give it a second life.

April 20, 2012 - Switchboard

Seeking a New Life for Miami's Marine Stadium

A recent design competition aimed at reviving Miami's waterfront Marine Stadium has breathed new life into the area and offered innovative ideas for reusing the site.

May 26, 2011 - The Miami Herald

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

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Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.