Paris based firm odile decq and benoit cornette architects received a special jury prize for their proposal for the competition to design new transport solutions in LA county. The concept consists of specially designed vehicles which can be driven on freeways and bridges (each having a designated lane). the small vehicles, also have various parking stations around the city.

LA county’s transit infrastructure also known as the ‘freeway city,’ provides an ideal context for an examination of the relationship between existing infrastructures (streets, overpasses, culverts, right of ways, power lines, and disused rail lines) and new urban systems.

Designed for the Phillips Simplicity Event in 2008, the Sustainable City Light is an intelligent outdoor lighting system meant to enhance city life by providing accurate lighting on demand as needed. The LED lights feature motion sensors that are triggered once the sun sets by individuals walking in close proximity to the light. If no one is around, the lights conserve energy by remaining off.

Powered by the sun, the street light blooms open during the day to collect energy through its solar panels. The five solar panel petals generate more than enough power to keep the lights on and any extra power is fed directly into the grid for use elsewhere.

The proposed structure would also have glass passageways, letting visitors look out onto the city. If anyone has any more information about the eco-features of this center, we’d love to hear them – so share your thoughts in the comments below.

Project 2009: Lakefront Station is an international, single-stage ideas competition for a new multi-modal transportation center in Downtown Cleveland between the historic Mall and Lake Erie. Designs for this new transportation center must provide the city with a state-of-the-art rail station ready to support high speed passenger rail service, a facility capable of integrating and balancing the needs of various transportation modes, and a significant pedestrian connection from the Mall to Cleveland’s lakefront.

Linked into a High Speed Passenger Rail network, Downtown Cleveland will be an important midwest rail center among a network of connected American cities, a fitting gateway to Northeast Ohio.

Cleveland, Ohio, like urban centers throughout the United States, finds itself at the center of a variety of passenger rail planning proposals. Many of these planning initiatives have been spurred by the recent commitment and investment in rail infrastructure by the federal government. While details in these proposals vary in scope and timeline, all must appropriately consider their role in contributing to a complete national network of sustainable communities. By utilizing rail to strengthen connectivity, these new multi-modal transportation networks – and the facilities that serve them – will help reinforce the social and economic sustainability of the American City.

The 2009 Awards Jury includes an accomplished panel of architects, urban designers and planners with a breadth of transportation planning and design experience: Stanton Eckstut, Founding Principal of Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects (EEK); Vincent Chang, Principal at Grimshaw Architects; Mehrdad Yazdani, Principal at Cannon Design and Design Director of Yazdani Studio; Ann Pendleton-Jullian, Director of the Ann E. Knowlton School of Architecture, The Ohio State University; Robert Brown, Director of City of Cleveland Planning Commission. More information about each of the jurors can be found on the competition website.

The Portland Firefighters Memorial will be located on the east bank of the Willamette River adjacent to Fire Station no. 21 and directly across from downtown Portland. Whelton Architecture’s design establishes two discernable experiential zones: at the ground level, low horizontal stone benches and walls are rooted into the earth; and in the sky, tall vertical lanterns gently sway overhead. These elements are organized across the memorial field in a series of parallel lines whose overall figure is greater than any one individual mark.

The figural reading of the memorial changes depending on the distance from which it is experienced. Within the field each individual lantern is clearly identifiable and the space between them is varied to accommodate both individual visitors and larger groups. Seen from greater distances the lanterns merge into a unified line of light in the sky. This constellation-like pattern will expand the presence of the memorial into a symbol which is visible and recognizable across Portland.

The memorial intends to renew its presence within the city by establishing a changing illumination cycle that will connect the profound loss of Portland’s brave firefighters to the daily patterns of life. Each month a varying selection of memorial lanterns equal to the number of historical line-of-duty deaths during that month will be more brightly illuminated. Altering the pattern of light-levels will subtly change the constellation composed by the lanterns over the course of the year and within the memorial will provide a diversity of experiences and opportunities for inhabitation.

A preliminary cost estimate for construction is $2.4 million raised through private donations with the goal being to complete the project in time for a dedication ceremony on June 26th, 2011, the date of the annual service held in memory of Portland firefighters and the 100th anniversary of Portland Fire Chief David Campbell’s death. http://www.portlandfirefightersmemorial.org has additional information about the design competition and how donations can be made to the new memorial project.

The competition aims to ‘create a breathtaking, internationally-recognised new landmark public space for the city’. The first phase closes on 23 February; six bidders will be shortlisted by April and invited to participate in the full design competition. The successful practice will be appointed by October.

St Peter’s Square stands at the heart of the city’s Civic Quarter and is the setting for some of its finest public buildings, including the Town Hall and Central Library. However, it needs significant enhancement to provide an appropriate setting for these civic buildings, and to give a suitable first impression of the city centre for visitors arriving at its busy Metrolink stop.

The improvements are being delivered as part of the £165 million, four-year Town Hall Complex Transformation project. Councillor Bernard Priest, Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources, said: “The transformation of the Town Hall Complex is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to both preserve these historic buildings for future generations and dramatically improve their setting and the services offered from them.

“This competition is the perfect opportunity to underline Manchester’s growing international status by providing an example of the very best in civic architecture.”

The farm’s founders envision it to be a place where “people come regularly to meet and connect with each other. Friends exchange food, recipes, stories and knowledge about ways we can all live in greater harmony with our surroundings. They are surrounded by an abundant and rich forest of food that encourages connection and understanding of the vital life systems that support human kind.”

So far, they’re doing a good job — the farm offers classes, workshops, work parties, and site tours for anyone interested. Future workshops include bee keeping, composting, greenhouse propagation, SF-specific plant selection, and garden design / edible landscaping.

Unfortunately the farm won’t be around forever — it’s part of an interim use agreement with the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. After two to five years, the city will move ahead with development plans for the space. Still, it’s exciting to see San Francisco allow residents to turn temporarily abandoned lots into community-oriented spaces.

Built into the existing topography of the hilly site, the stadium bowl itself will built on grade, reducing the amount of steel needed for structural support by 40%. This reduction in virgin materials is also adding up to significant cost savings, and the proposal for the stadium came in around US$300m-$400m less than other recently proposed NFL stadiums. The Los Angeles Stadium is budgeted for $800m and will include a retail promenade, entertainment zones, VIP boxes, recreation facilities and much more. And when it isn’t football season, the stadium and facilities can be used for many other purposes like soccer games, college and high school football, and large concerts.

This will be the first LEED compliant NFL stadium when built and Aedas has included a number of eco features. Besides the significant reduction of materials, large swaths of area will be green space and help infiltrate storm water. Aedas has also included initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions and the stadium will have many recycling initiatives. The NFL, the city of Los Angeles and Aedas hope that this will be the most environmentally progressive stadium in the U.S.

For the Full list of award winners

Urban Design and Masterplanning – Winner
Ancoats Public Realm, the creation of a pedestrian-friendly public space in the east of Manchester – Camlin Lonsdale Landscape Architects, Llangadfan Judges’ comments: ‘This is a simple yet engaging idea which will encourage the public to connect with the site and uncover the area’s secrets. Overall the project provides clarity, texture and imagination in the public realm and a highly appropriate response to context.

Communications and Presentation Winner
Regener8*, a community engagement board game – Taylor Young Ltd
Judges’ comments: ‘This was work that demonstrated a particularly innovative process.’

Heritage & Conservation Winner
Queen Square, Bristol, restoration of one of the largest Georgian squares in the UK – Bristol City Council, Urban Design and Conservation Judges’ comments: ‘The term ‘highest quality’ can be used for this scheme which has resulted in clear benefits for a wide area of the city.’

Design under 1 ha Winner
St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, a major new public space in a world heritage site – Gillespies LLP
‘Judges’ comments: This scheme is notable for the public realm design and the role of the landscape architect in delivering places for people.’

Student Dissertation Winner
Contemplation-Scapes, an enquiry into contemplative landscapes – Bianca Soares Moura
Judges’ comments: ‘This is a refreshing subject, and this focus could be of great benefit to the profession. This dissertation is a beautifully-presented work, both graphically and in the quality of its prose.’

Local Landscape Planning Winner
Reculver Country Park Masterplan, proposals for green tourism-led planning – Allen:Scott
Judges’ comments: ‘The panel were thrilled by the vision presented here; full of optimism but very caring and considerate. The success of this project was assured by the thorough understanding of what made this place special.’

Landscape Policy Winner
Liverpool and Manchester City Region Green Infrastructure Prospectus, development of a landscape policy – TEP Judges’ comments: ‘A policy statement that has had a major effect on national and regional policy, and advocacy and has made a real difference.’

Design 1-5 ha Winner
Normand Park, a new park in Fulham – Kinnear Landscape Architects
Judges’ comments: ‘The judges were impressed and inspired by this fun and playful scheme, which had exceptional attention to detail and also established a distinctive sense of place.’

Research Winner
Sustainability Challenge London: Sustainable Cities Initiative, a project to identify the success factors in a sustainable city – Golder Associates (UK) Ltd Judges’ comments: ‘In the Panel’s opinion this piece of work shows the unique contribution that Landscape architects can make to the essential subject of sustainable cities –they are a well deserved winner and an inspiration to others!’

Strategic Landscape Planning Winner
Welsh Seascapes and their sensitivity to offshore developments, a study essential to the planning of the Welsh coastline – White Consultants
Judges’ comments: ‘This is a professional and timely piece of work. It places landscape architects in a critical position to help decision makers move forward on addressing critical issues associated with the provision of renewable energy.’

Student Portfolio Winner
Claire Katherine Butlin, Edinburgh College of Art Judges’ comments: ‘This was a beautiful and well-composed portfolio of projects that impressed the panel.’

Flushing Commons was designed by Perkins Eastman and is a joint venture between The Rockefeller Group and TDC Development and Construction Corporation. The project will boast up to 620 residential units, approximately 275,000 square feet of retail space, up to 234,000 square feet of office and/or hotel space, 36,000 square feet of community facility space, a 62,000 square-foot YMCA facility and parking for 1,600 cars. While details about the center’s green features have yet to be revealed, Perkins Eastman says, “As a benchmark of design excellence in urban design and sustainable architecture, the development will pursue a LEED Silver Certification.”

As a Queens native and Flushing resident, my own feelings about Flushing Commons are mixed. On one hand, I’m thrilled at the possibility of having all of the amazing amenities that the complex will offer (packaged in responsibly and sustainably constructed buildings!) just a few steps from my door. On the flip side of the coin, I am terrified at having to wade through even more crowds and the horror that I anticipate the already jam-packed 7 train commute will be like.

In terms of the traffic and parking issues that the Commons present, I am secretly tickled pink that Flushing may be even less accessible by car because it will force more people to take public transportation to get here. To be fair, though, I don’t know if I’ll be singing the same tune if my friends that drive start visiting me less because they don’t want to deal with having to sit in traffic and finding parking. Last but not least, I’m also pretty excited that Flushing may become a New York City destination of choice (and not just for food tourism). At the same time, I hope that the neighborhood can retain its diversity and very affordable prices that I currently enjoy!