Out in Arch Daily: the 2013 AIA Institute Honor Awards for Regional & Urban Design.
They include the September 11 Memorial in New York City and massive redevelopment projects, like ParkMerced in San Francisco and Burnham Place at Union Station in Washington, D.C., as well as smaller innovations like the Rock Street Pocket Housing in Little Rock, Arkansas.*
And there’s a Canadian project too – or at least a project in Canada designed by U.S. and Canadian architects:
Coal Harbour Convention District; Vancouver, Canada / LMN Architects + MCM/DA
This CAN$883 million civic district succeeds by connecting Vancouver’s expanded convention center with the public realm, acting as the city’s “front porch to the world.” The urban design
integrates many layers of built and natural components –landscape and marine ecosystems, transportation modes, retail activity, and civic gathering spaces – into a holistic, ecologically productive whole.
The excitement of major civic events mixes with the daily life of the city, while architectural landforms and living systems link with the harbor ecology to create a regenerative ecotone of the region.
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Other projects here – including this one by BIG, the Bjarke Ingels Group that will be doing a twisting tower at the north end of the Granville Bridge.
Superkilen; Copenhagen, Denmark / BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group
At almost a mile long, this urban park is positioned through one of the most ethnically diverse and socially challenged neighborhoods in Denmark.
The project possesses all that typically makes up a modern park with trails for pedestrians and cyclists, outdoor recreation spaces, a market space and games areas. Superkilen is divided into three zones: the red square, the black market and the green park and is conceived as a giant exhibition of urban best practice – a collection of global objects from the 60+ home countries of the local inhabitants.
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* Ross Chapin, who influenced the design of Rock Street, will be in Vancouver to speak on pocket neighbourhoods on January 23. Details here.
