Finalists of AECOM’s fourth annual Urban SOS student competition have been announced! Understanding that this rapidly globalizing world is currently undergoing mass migrations, geo-political shifts and new patterns of commerce, which enhance the role of cities as the stage sets for these massive changes, Urban SOS challenges design, architecture, landscape, planning, engineering and environmental studies students to address a specific brief around urban sites in distress with an implementable architectural intervention that is grounded in a truly cross-disciplinary response.
This year, the competition identified ‘Frontiers’ as the driving theme of the Urban SOS competition. The challenge attracted hundreds of student teams representing universities in more than 60 countries. Three finalist teams have been selected after a series of internal judging sessions involving AECOM designers, planners and engineers around the world. Now, these finalists will present their ideas tomorrow, January 16, at a free event in New York’s Center for Architecture (RSVP here!). Continue reading for more details.
2013 ‘Urban SOS: Frontiers’ Finalists:
Team 1: Unslumming Kibera Project site: Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya Team Members: Adam Broidy, USA: California College of the Arts, USA, MBA Design Strategy Jack Campbell Clause, Kenya: Leeds Metropolitan University, UK, MA Landscape Architecture Jamilla Harper, USA: University of Nairobi, Kenya, MA Development Studies April Schneider, USA: University of Illinois Chicago, USA, MUPP Urban Planning
Team 2: Green Terraces Project site: Bogotá-Soacha border, Colombia Team Members: Juan Camilo Pinzon, Colombia: Universidad de los Andes, Colombia, BE Civil Engineering Guillermo Umana, Colombia: Macquarie University, Australia, BA Urban Planning
Team 3: Sewage Ecologies/Economies Project site: Riberas del Bravo, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Team Members: Sara Navrady, Canada: Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, MSc Architecture
The final three teams will present their schemes before a distinguished jury at a crit session open to the public starting at 6:00pm. An opening reception of their work in the Urban SOS: Frontiers exhibition will immediately follow, and the winners will be announced.
In addition to a ($15,000!) cash prize for the winning team, AECOM arranges a donation to a charitable, humanitarian or community organization to further develop and implement the winning scheme.
What: Jury and Exhibition Opening of Urban SOS: Frontiers When: Wednesday, January 16th at 5:00 – 8:30 PM Where: The Center for Architecture Organized by: Center for Architecture and AECOM Price: Free
2013 Jury:
- Rick Bell, FAIA, AIA New York / Center for Architecture
- Bill Hanway, AIA, AECOM
- Donna Walcavage, FASLA, AECOM
- Chris Choa, AECOM
- Alexandra Hardiman, The New York Times
- Galia Solomonoff, Solomonoff Architecture Studio, Columbia University
