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Can designers intervene in borders? The University of Calgary's CBDX: BORDERLANDS competition encourages 'bold, strategic thinking about global challenges'

2021-09-13T12:54:00-04:00

On September 8, the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape (SAPL) announced the three prize winners, honorable mentions, and finalists of its international design competition, CBDX: BORDERLANDS. The goal of the challenge was to develop proposals that "displayed a concern for healing the natural world and diminishing class differences by promoting equity." The competition received entries from a total of 69 cities across 22 countries. It successfully sparked global interest inquiring how the role of designers can "play in borders — whether geopolitical, environmental, or urban — and the spaces around them."

SAPL dean John Brown explained: “As a design school, we are constantly thinking about how to equip this next generation of architects, landscape architects, and urban planners to design in a way that disrupts the status quo to bring about positive change.” He continued that "international design competitions are a great way for us to broaden the co...

International design competition launched to intervene in borders

2021-06-04T13:16:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by the University of Calgary School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, an Archinect Partner School

CBDX: BORDERLANDS brings political, geological, social and other boundaries into sharp focus

The School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (SAPL) at the University of Calgary has launched its second international design ideas competition, asking: How can designers intervene in borders?

Borders are spaces of transition. Whether political and imposed through human agency, or natural and made manifest through geographical features, borders are associated with civilization’s greatest challenges. How we choose to choreograph and intersect these transitional spaces will reveal much about our priorities.

The competition offers $6,000 in prizes and the deadline for submissions is June 21, 2021. The international, interdisciplinary jury will announce the winning entries on September 8, 2021.

The competition asks entrants to consider the opportunities, cha...

International design competition launched to intervene in borders

2021-03-30T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (SAPL) at the University of Calgary, an Archinect Partner School

CBDX: BORDERLANDS brings political, geological, social and other boundaries into sharp focus.

The School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (SAPL) at the University of Calgary has launched its second international design ideas competition, asking: How can designers intervene in borders?

The competition asks entrants to consider the opportunities, challenges and complexities latent within borders and propose new paradigms. Participants can choose any type of border, define a friction that presents a programmatic opportun...

The CBDX: Cities for All competition recognizes how architects and designers 'might address underrepresented and marginalized voices'

2021-02-15T13:38:00-05:00

A design competition hosted by the School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape (SAPL) at the University of Calgary asked participants, "how might matters of equity and activism, ecology and environment, and health and wellness converge, and unfold, within our future cities?" Launched in October 2020, the CBDX: CITIES FOR ALL competition is an initiative led by the school to tackle larger issues within the design community and foster innovative changes for the future of city building.

Assistant professor Alberto de Salvatierra, inaugural faculty lead and jury chair explained, "Cities—which often ossify systemic inequities through the built environment — have become the fulcrum upon which movements for equity and justice have found increasing leverage. Solutions must come from, and be for, everyone. This competition provides a platform to highlight how architects and designers might address underrepresented and marginalized voices."

The result of the competition led to 145 design...