Archinect - News2024-05-17T21:09:53-04:00https://archinect.com/news/article/150256861/smar-architecture-studio-s-design-proposal-wins-silicon-valley-landmark-competition
SMAR Architecture Studio's design proposal wins Silicon Valley landmark competition Katherine Guimapang2021-03-26T20:40:00-04:00>2024-03-15T01:45:58-04:00
<img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/56/567776a57d04983e26a81d4f7771aeae.png?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>After several rounds of jury reviews, Silicon Valley may have found its new landmark. The winning proposal is said to "symbolize people standing and working together." On March 25th, Fernando Jerez and Belén Pérez de Juan of <a href="https://archinect.com/firms/cover/150256867/smar-architecture-studio" target="_blank">SMAR Architecture Studio</a> were announced as winners of the competition for their proposal "<em>Breeze of Innovation.</em>" </p>
<p>In 2019 the San José Light Tower Corporation launched the <a href="https://www.urbanconfluencesiliconvalley.org/mission-statement" target="_blank">Urban Confluence Silicon Valley competition</a>. The international competition invited artists, architects, urban planners, landscape architects, students, designers, and anyone with a passion for place-making to submit ideas for creating an iconic landmark project to enhance community life in San José, California. In September 2020, t<a href="https://archinect.com/news/article/150230706/3-competition-finalists-propose-designs-for-a-new-landmark-in-silicon-valley" target="_blank">he competition's jury announced its three finalists</a>: "Breeze of Innovation" by SMAR Architecture Studio, "Welcome to Wonderland" by <a href="https://archinect.com/sciarc" target="_blank">SCI-Arc</a> M.Arch I student Rish Saito and the "Nebula Tower" by Qinrong Lui and Ruize Li.</p>
<figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/09/09172367f1214a0f5b576f0b50a88771.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&w=1028" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/09/09172367f1214a0f5b576f0b50a88771.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&w=514"></a></p><figcaption>Breeze of Innovation - "The Structure has big ...</figcaption></figure>
https://archinect.com/news/article/150230706/3-competition-finalists-propose-designs-for-a-new-landmark-in-silicon-valley
3 competition finalists propose designs for a new landmark in Silicon Valley Katherine Guimapang2020-09-29T19:26:00-04:00>2024-03-15T01:45:58-04:00
<img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/31/318327e535bcc44a20f196ac411526ac.png?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>As the largest city in the Silicon Valley, San Jose yearned for a physical structure that would help "define the identity and spirit of this extraordinary region" as explained in the <a href="https://bustler.net/news/search/urban%20confluence/7424/submit-your-ideas-to-design-a-new-landmark-in-the-silicon-valley-for-the-urban-confluence-silicon-valley-ideas-competition" target="_blank">competition's brief</a>. Inspired by the original San Jose Electric Light Tower that stood 1881 to 1915, the <a href="https://www.urbanconfluencesiliconvalley.org/mission-statement" target="_blank">San José Light Tower Corporation</a> led an open call inviting architects, landscape architects, urban planners, artists, students, etc. to submit proposal ideas for the city.</p>
<p>Part of the competition brief asked for a creative landmark design that encapsulates a net-zero approach, "dramatic lighting" incorporated into the design, and an "impressive physical presence." The competition's jury consisted of architects, planners, landscape architects such as Walter Hood of Hood Design Studio, Julia Czerniak, Associate Dean, and architecture professor <a href="https://archinect.com/syracuse" target="_blank">Syracuse University</a>, <a href="https://archinect.com/firms/cover/39890614/melk-urban-design-landscape-architecture" target="_blank">Jerry Van Eyck of !melk</a>, among others. After launching the competition in 2019, 963 design ideas from 72 countries were submitted. </p>
<p>The jury...</p>