Art Basel Miami Beach Contest, United States of America

11 Dec 2009 DAWNTOWN ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION WINNERS ANNOUNCED Downtown Miami Ceremony Also Features World-Famous Landscape Architect Winners of the 2009 DawnTown architecture competition were announced at an award ceremony in downtown Miami that also featured captivating remarks from world-famous landscape architect Adriaan Geuze. Winning designs: 1st Prize: Team "Office 24/7" from Melbourne, Australia: Rosalea Monacella, Craig Douglas, and Armando Suinaga 2nd Prize: Team "See You Sunday" from Bangkok, Thailand: Saran Chaiyasuta and Prachaya Vanagul 3rd Prize: Team "Double Katya" from St. Petersburg, Russia: Ekaterina Mikhaylova and Ekaterina Vasilieva Honorable Mention: Team "Weston Williamson" from London, England: Chris Williamson Winners of the competition - which is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Miami Downtown Development Authority, and Akerman Senterfitt, and hosted at the Marquis tower in downtown Miami - appeared during the award ceremony by video from their homes around the world to explain their designs and offer thanks. First-prize winner Mr. Suinaga emphasized that his team's project "becomes an interior landscape where the station is more than just a station, a place where you can watch interesting videos and installations." Mr. Suinaga credited architecture competitions as "the most interesting way of addressing the challenges of city areas…and also learn from a wide variety of proposals." Second-prize winner Mr. Chaiyasuta summarized his team's design as "pure form and simple mass to contain life and activity" but from which passengers can still have a "variety of visual perceptions." Mr. Chaiyasuta said that he and his teammate had hoped that their design would not simply take home a prize, but also "express our idea for a better life." Ms. Mikhaylova, accepting third prize in her first international competition, explained of her team's design: "When you approach the station…you see unexpected dynamic space with sharp angles." Honorable-mention designer Chris Williamson, who attended the award ceremony in person from London, said that his team "wanted to do something practical that could be built [but] we hope it reflects the glamour, the energy, and the vibrancy" of Miami. The jury selected winners using a "double blind" process by which jurors saw only entrants' drawings and no other identifying information, such as name or address. According to DawnTown co-creator and Executive Director Andrew Frey, "The geographic diversity of the winners reflects the growing global awareness of the downtown Miami community's support for innovative architecture." After the winning designs were unveiled, ceremony attendees were treated to brilliant and entertaining remarks by Adriaan Geuze, the world-famous landscape architect and founder of West 8, which was recently selected by the New World Symphony to design a park next to its new building in Miami Beach. Mr. Geuze began by exhorting that "We have to design today in a full understanding of social interaction [and] we have to be more respectful to nature. But even beyond that, we have to take nature on board." Mr. Geuze went on to present several West 8 projects that embody this merger of culture and ecology, including a vast streetscape, park, and bridge project in Madrid; a Toronto waterfront and bridge project that injects elements of Canadian wilderness into the city; and, in London, an office development with central garden inspired by the phrase "Thank God it's Monday." Mr. Geuze concluded by turning his attention to Miami and his latest project. "The city of Miami [had] sort of a remarkable urban renaissance the last 10 years." Mr. Geuze described his preliminary concept for the park next to the New World Symphony as a soft network of grass and stone paths and a "veil" of palm trees, through which one will view the massive video screen on the exterior of the New World Symphony building, all surrounded by an iconic trellis. The award ceremony also featured an exhibit of all competition entries, as well as welcoming remarks from Bernardo Fort-Brescia, founder of Arquitectonica and architect of the ceremony venue, the Marquis luxury residential and hotel tower on Biscayne Boulevard. Looking back on this year's competition and award ceremony, Mr. Frey said "DawnTown 2009 has been a great success, especially the geographic diversity of the winners and the high quality of all entries. We have funding already for next year's prizes, so get ready for more innovative architecture showcasing downtown Miami's urban renaissance." DawnTown Architecture Competition Miami images / information received 111209 DawnTown Architecture Competition During Art Basel Miami Beach DawnTown Architecture Competition - further information from Nov 2009