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 conversation about challenging topics.”

BORDERLANDS 3D virtual exhibition preview by CBDX

This year's entries focused on "complex and unexpected spaces like the nuclear borderlands of Fukushima, gerrymandering within U.S. district borders, and protected natural spaces encroached upon by mining or logging" to name a few.

Design submissions were reviewed and voted thanks to a prestigious international jury that included seven members from MIT, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Waterloo, University of British Columbia, Oslo’s School of Architecture + Design, American University Beirut, and the University of Illinois-Chicago, chaired by University of Calgary professor Alberto de Salvatierra. 

Architecture and design are, and have always been, political. We, therefore, have a responsibility to not shy away from these complex issues. — Alberto de Salvatierra

According to de Salvatierra: “The selected entries demonstrate a bold range of sites and approaches to the question of borderlands. It is interdisciplinary designs like these — those that center the dispossessed and voiceless — that will illuminate a more grounded and compassionate take on the discipline.” He continued: “Architecture and design are, and have always been, political. We, therefore, have a responsibility to not shy away from these complex issues.” 

The three selected prize-winning entries addressed difficult topics. Below are this year's winners. 

BORDERHOOD by Sonny Meng Qi Xu

Project Description: "Sonny Meng Qi Xu created ‘Borderhood’, a design intervention for the US-Canada border that includes retiring the 8000+ border monuments and replacing them with First-Aid Beacons designed to accommodate migrants and asylum seekers. The Beacons would provide navigation and necessities such as gloves, food, jackets, and blankets. Xu’s proposal also takes advantage of existing railway tracks adjacent to the border to create movable units for temporary housing, medical care, daycare, and other amenities." 

MIND THE GAP by Joel Schülin and Charlotte Flügger

Project Description: "Joel Schülin and Charlotte Flügger from Bauhaus University Weimar deployed their design talents to address the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean Sea. Their specially designed rescue buoys offer safety and act as a memorial for the catastrophe. Located in large numbers on the main sea routes, one buoy can hold eight people and is equipped with an SOS-System and care packages."

ECOTONE by Mahla Ebrahimpour and Agnieszka Lula

Project Description: "Mahla Ebrahimpour and Agnieszka Lula designed an ‘Ecotone’ for Poland’s Murckowskil Forest, a formerly pristine ecosystem that has been significantly altered by mining. With mining operations coming to a close, the team proposed setting new boundaries and interacting with the environment in a respectful way, using woven wattle walls that readjust the border between wetland and woodland and an elevated walking platform to give humans a place to enter without harming the habitat."

In September 2020, the School launched the CBDX Series — three design ideas competitions within a two-year period — in response to the pandemic and public outcry for social justice to address historic racial inequities. BORDERLANDS is the second competition in the series. 

The 25 selected entries are on display in a virtual exhibition for the month of September.