Plan B: City Above the City Competition, Extending Skyscrapers Design Contest, Architecture, High-rise building prize

Plan B: City Above the City Competition

Metsä Wood Urbanization Designs Architectural Contest – open to architects + designers.

11 Jun 2016

The City Above the City – new international design competition

€30k prize fund

Metsä Wood’s next Plan B initiative to explore possibilities of wood in solving the problems of urbanization

Cities all over the world are in dire need of new ways to house a rapidly growing urban population. The City Above the City international wood design competition invites architects and students from all over the world to solve the challenges of urbanization in both sustainable and humane ways.

Plan B architecture competition

Plan B: City Above the City Competition News

The world’s increasing urbanization is one of the most significant issues facing humanity today. By 2050, 2/3 of the world’s population will live in cities. Consequently, urban growth is fast outpacing the ability to build affordable and sustainable living space.

“We need to start building up, and stop tearing down. We have an alternative. A building extension constructed with a timber frame can be a fast, sustainable and inexpensive solution “, says Michael Green of Vancouver-based Michael Green Architects.

Research shows that approximately 1/4th of existing buildings are strong enough to carry additional floors made of wood. Moreover, it is the only material light enough to build quickly on to existing structures. This makes wood a highly promising building material for providing living space for billions of people – while also preserving the architectural heritage of our cities.

Wanted: a more livable and sustainable solution

The City Above the City competition is a continuation of Metsä Wood’s project Plan B, started in 2015 as an ambitious project to explore the possibilities of using wood in urban construction. This year’s design competition is looking for bold and ambitious plans that connect wood construction processes to an existing urban context – in a way that is friendly to both people and nature.

The entrants are encouraged to select a centrally-located building in one of the world’s most populated cities and develop an innovative wood design solution that adds density through additional floors. Building additional floors with Kerto® LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) as the primary material is a central requirement for the design work. Preferred cities include London, Berlin, Paris, Washington, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Istanbul and Shanghai.

The design work itself must either integrate with an existing structure or knit itself into the urban fabric of the city. Entrants are challenged to propose construction systems that draw on the performance characteristics of a variety of wood technologies.

Plan B: City Above the City Competition

Winner chosen by an internationally accomplished jury

The competition will be judged by an international jury with extensive in-depth expertise in wood structure architecture and sustainable design.

Michael Green founded his architecture firm MGA and his not for profit school DBR | Design Build Research to focus on progressive architecture, research, education and innovation. From offices in Vancouver and Portland, he and his team of 25 designers work on international projects that are diverse in their scale, building type and location. Michael is vested in helping build healthier communities through innovative architecture, interiors, landscape, and urban design. Michael is particularly known for his research, leadership and advocacy in promoting the use of wood in the built environment with extensive international talks on the subject, including 3 TED events culminating in his 2013 TED talk which has been viewed over a million times.

Mike Kane is a British senior lecturer at London South Bank University in architecture, and a director of KMK Architects. Kane focuses on the ways in which cities can prepare for the climate, resources limitation and increasing urbanization. He has regularly contributed to the Energy & Resource efficiency module and has a keen interest in low-carbon and resource efficient architecture.

Stefan Winter is a professor at the Chair of Timber Construction and Structural at the Technical University of Munich. His main research interests include energy-efficient multi-story timber structures, building modernization with prefabricated components, and adhesives for load-bearing timber structures.

Metsä Wood invites participants to submit their work for the City Above the City design competition by September 30th 2016 5 pm CET. The prizes of the competition include one grand prize of 10,000 €, two second prizes of 5,000 € and five third prizes of 2,000 €. The top 10 entries will be published.

Website: Metsä Wood Plan B: City Above the City Competition

Deadline: September 30, 2016

Read more about the competition: planb.metsawood.com

Contact: competition2016@metsagroup.com

Location: Revontulenpuisto 2, 02100 Espoo, Finland

Latest Non Architecture Competition on e-architect

Making – Alternative designs for Factories

Architecture Competitions

‘San Francisco 2016 – Tenderloin System Update Design Competition, USA
San Francisco 2016 - Tenderloin System Update Design Competition
San Francisco 2016 Architecture Competition

AIA North Carolina Urban Housing Design Competition, Charlotte, North Carolina
AIA North Carolina Housing Design Competition

NYC Aquarium & Public Waterfront Design Competition, NY
NYC Aquarium & Public Waterfront Architecture Competition
NYC Aquarium & Public Waterfront Architecture Competition

Arquideas Central Park Summer Pavilion (CPSP) New York competition, NY
Central Park Summer Pavilion Design Competition
Central Park Summer Pavilion Architecture Competition

SixtyNine-Seventy, The Spaces Between: An Urban Ideas Competition, Utah
SixtyNine-Seventy Architecture Competition

AIA Utah Design Competition, Utah

Boulder Civic Area Ideas Competition, Colorado

Design Competitions – Selection

Venice Re-Creation Centre Competition
Venice Re-Creation Centre Competition 2016
Venice Re-Creation Centre Design Competition

International Popular Culture Laboratory in Tokyo Competition
International Popular Culture Laboratory in Tokyo Contest
International Popular Culture Laboratory in Tokyo Design Competition

IsArch Awards 2016 for Architecture Students
IS ARCH Awards Architecture Prize
IsArch awards for architecture students

Syria: Post-War Housing Competition
Syria: Post-War Housing Design Competition

Mud House Design Competition 2016
Mud House Architecture Competition

Shivaji Competition: Islands, Deltas and Rising Seas
Shivaji Architectural Competition

INNATUR 5 Architectural Ideas Competition
INNATUR 5 Architectural Ideas Competition

Symbolic World Cup Structure Competition

Architecture Design

Contemporary Building Designs – recent architectural selection from e-architect below:

Design Competitions

Architects

Architectural News

Hotel Architecture Designs

Comments / photos for the Plan B: City Above the City Competition page welcome.