Student + Design + Competition: Decoding the Competition Culture Richard Gamiao Rivera December 2011 Submitted towards the fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Architecture Degree School of Architecture University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Doctorate Project Committee Spencer Leineweber, Chairperson Marja Sarvimaeki Mireille Turin Student + Design + Competition: Decoding the Competition Culture Richard Gamiao Rivera December 2011 ___________________________________________________________________________ We certify that we have read this Doctorate Project and that, in our opinion, it is satisfactory in scope and quality in fulfillment as a Doctorate Project for the degree of Doctor of Architecture in the School of Architecture, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Doctorate Project Committee ________________________________________ Spencer Leineweber, Chairperson ________________________________________ Marja Sarvimaeki ________________________________________ Mireille Turin Student + Design + Competition: Decoding the Competition Culture Acknowledgements The author wishes to express sincere appreciation to his very own “competition jury,” consisting of Spencer Leineweber, Marja Sarvimaeki, Mireille Turin, and Brian Lin, for their extended long-term support and their vast, reserve of patience and knowledge. A piece of my research not only comes from past authors of design competitions, but is also a contribution from those who continue to compete in the system today. My utmost gratitude goes to the design firms of the 2010 Denmark Pavilion Competition and for the student group who participated in the Hawai‘i Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation (HLEMF) Competition, for allowing me to share your design projects. My time at the School of Architecture has been a long journey of rigor and fond memories. It would not have been the same without the valuable guidance from my professors and the moral support from my fellow friends and colleagues who overcame the obstacles of design school with me. This thesis would never have been completed without the sacrifice, encouragement and unconditional love of my family, especially to my Mom and Dad, sister Dinah, Nanang and Tatang, uncles, aunties, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. Thank you for always allowing me to strive for more, while knowing I always had your love and support. Lastly, this doctorate project is dedicated to the young and ambitious designer who wants to pursue a design competition and more. “Infinite, embodied qualities await to be discovered and shared. We are on a journey to know and to be known.” –Nate Chung TABLE OF CONTENTS DECODING THE COMPETITION CULTURE 08 ABSTRACT 09 PERSONAL STATEMENT 10 METHODOLOGY 10 LITERATURE REVIEW 11 PREFACE 11 THE ANATOMY OF COMPETITIONS 14 DEFINITION 14 PHYSIOLOGY 15 FORMAT 25 MOTIVES 31 ARGUMENTS 33 THE EXPERIMENTAL TRADITION 37 GREEK AGON 38 RENAISSANCE COMPETITION 38 ITALO-FRENCH ACADEMIC COMPETITION 40 FRENCH ACADEMIC COMPETITION SYSTEM 41 POLITICAL AND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONS 44 VICTORIAN COMPETITION SYSTEM 47 ARCHITECTURE COMPETITIONS IN AMERICA 49 4 COMPETITION CHRONOLOGY 60 RENAISSANCE 63 The Dome of Florence Cathedral, Italy NEOCLASSICISM 65 The White House, Washington, D.C., USA GOTHIC REVIVAL 68 Houses of Parliament, London, England RICHARDSONIAN ROMANESQUE 70 Boston Trinity Church, USA STRUCTURAL EXPRESSIONISM 71 The Eiffel Tower , Paris World Exhibition SESESSION 72 Vienna Post Office Savings Bank, Austria NATIONAL ROMANTICISM 73 Helsinki Station, Finland MODERNISM 75 Municipal Library Viipuri, Russia EXPRESSIONISM 76 Sydney Opera House, Australia POSTMODERNISM 78 Sainsbury Wing, National Gallery, London HIGH-TECH (TECHNOISM) 80 Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France POST STRUCTURALISM 82 Shonandai Cultural Center, Japan DECONSTRUCTIVISM 84 Jewish Museum Berlin, Germany BLOBITECTURE 86 National Library of the Czech Republic SUSTAINABLE – ADAPTIVE USE 88 The High Line Park, New York, USA A BRANCH OF THE ACADEMIC COMPETITION TRADITION 94 5 COMPETITION CASE STUDY 2010 WORLD EXPOSITION DENMARK PAVILION 101 BJARKE INGELS GROUP 106 3XN 111 ARKITEMA 115 CEBRA 120 HENNING LARSEN ARCHITECTS 125 LUNDGAARD + TRANBERG 129 DISSING + WEITLING & SPEKTRUM ARKITEKTER 132 KHR ARCHITECTS + MAPT 136 CRITIQUE OF THE DENMARK PAVILION COMPETITION 141 COMPETITION FOLIO 152 THE HAWAI‘I LAW ENFORCEMENT MEMORIAL FOUNDATION (HLEMF) COMPETITION 154 FINALIST: LANDSCAPE MEMORY 159 WINNER: HLEMF MEMORIAL 165 CRITIQUE OF THE HAWAI‘I LAW ENFORCEMENT MEMORIAL FOUNDATION COMPETITION 169 THE EVOLO 2011 SKYSCRAPER COMPETITION 177 ENTRANT: THE HABITAT: A VERTICAL + HORIZONTAL ZOO 180 WINNER: LO2P: DELHI RECYCLING CENTER 186 CRITIQUE OF THE EVOLO 2011 SKYSCRAPER COMPETITION 191 6 CONCLUSION 199 TYPE OF COMPETITION 200 PROGRAM + CONDITIONS 201 DESIGN PROCESS 201 PRESENTATION + SUBMITTAL PROCESS 202 BIBLIOGRAPHY 204 LIST OF FIGURES 206 LIST OF TABLES 209 7 DECODING THE COMPETITION CULTURE Abstract Personal Statement Methodology Literature Review Preface 8 ABSTRACT It is believed that young1 or undiscovered designers bring fresher and innovative ideas to the table of architectural competitions. For many aspiring and unrecognized young designers, a design competition is an opportunity to win public contracts and recognition through good, innovative design. Bjarke Ingels, Zaha Hadid, Alvar Aalto, Henry Hobson Richardson, Daniel Libeskind, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers are all examples of well-known architects who gained recognition by entering and winning an architectural design competition, and thus catapulting their careers into the limelight. The idea of competition is a very intriguing one. Competition brings forth passion, excitement, visionary ideas and the ambition to succeed. As an architecture student, it is very inspiring to discover the story of Maya Lin, who was a mere twenty-year-old undergraduate student at Yale University when her design for the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial triumphed over 1,420 other entries. More impressive than winning the competition as a student was that Maya Lin’s design was actually constructed. Maya Lin’s story encourages young designers to compete side-by-side with prestigious architects. Yet some architects regard young designers with a lack of respect. They equate not having the architecture license as having inadequate 1 For this investigation, the author will identify the term “young designer” as an undergraduate or graduate student studying at a university or college, an individual under forty years of age, or a newly established firm with less than five years of experience. In addition, the term “designer” replaces the identity of an “architect” as an individual cannot be given the title architect unless he or she is licensed. 9 knowledge of buildings. Maya Lin, Culture is to explore the dual field of the however, was only a student without an design competition process and the architecture license when she won. Her academic implementation of the medium in strong and clear vision for the memorial order to shed some light on the values for was enough for her to triumph.2 young designers in an early pursuit of an elevated career through design competition. PERSONAL STATEMENT There are five competition areas of Analyzing architectural competitions offers investigation. The first concerns defining a unique opportunity to investigate the the topic of design competition in contrast relationship between the architectural to its counterpart of a traditionally profession and the young designer. Two commissioned design. This first section major factors account for this: first, the also begins to fragment the structure of the significance that architectural design competition procedure. The second competition have as an institution both considers the evolution of the competition within the profession and in society; and, system in relation to historic architectural second, the fact that many built and un- styles from its inception with the Greeks built architectural works procured through and Renaissance, to a few of the most the competition process were won by once current trends practiced in design today. young and undiscovered designers. The second parameter applies the interpretive-historical research method Competitions are a unique and well- approach where architectural competitions defined arena for architectural activity and for public building projects from around expression. This study does not focus on the world help chronologize the 2,500+ the history of architectural competitions, or year history of design competitions. on the specificity of the competition regulations, though it does touch on this The third discusses the implementation of matter. Instead, this study of architectural architectural competition into the academia competitions brings together three personal setting of design studio through a interests: the interrelation of architectural collection of student opinions conducted history by studying historic competition through the survey method. The fourth works, architectural competitions as an parameter analyzes the exciting Denmark academic procedure to strengthen a Pavilion competition entries for the 2010 student’s design development, and World Exposition in Shanghai, China. The architecture from the point-of-view of a fifth parameter analyzes two design design student. competitions, in which the author took part during the interim of this research investigation and theses writing. Together METHODOLOGY these five parameters constitute a useful means to understanding the material in The objective