Call for Submissions for the
2008 National Urban Design Awards

Urban design and architectural excellence play an important role in maintaining and enhancing the quality of life in Canadian cities.

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in cooperation with Canadian municipalities, wishes to promote public and private awareness of that role. For this reason, an Urban Design Awards program has been established to recognize individuals, organizations, firms and projects that have contributed to the quality of life and sustainability in our Canadian cities.

The RAIC, CIP and CSLA gratefully acknowledge the endorsement and support of the National Capital Commission and Natural Resources Canada.

> Categories > Student Projects > Eligibility > Format > Electronic Illustrations > Submission Date and Receipt > Entry Fee > Jury > Notification > Questions and Answers > Amendments > For more information

Forms (MS Word format): > Participation Identification Form > Summary Sheet > Descriptive Data Sheet > Publication Release Form > Disclaimer and Declaration Form > List of Illustrations (Index)         > Checklist (MS Word format)

Categories

There are six different categories of urban design projects. One award will be bestowed for each category.

• Conceptual/Theoretical Urban Design Plans
• Approved or Adopted Urban Design Plans
• Urban Architecture
• Civic Design Projects
• Urban Fragments
• Community Improvement Projects

Conceptual/Theoretical Urban Design Plans

This category is for a plan or a study of a significant area within a Canadian municipality that provides a development or redevelopment strategy for urban transformation in the mid-term to long-term that has no official status. Urban Design studies, master plans, redevelopment strategies, and community plans of high inspirational value with the potential for significant impact on the city’s sustainability or development may be submitted.

Eligibility: The plan or study must have been completed after January 1, 2001 ; however, it should not have yet been approved or adopted.

Criteria for Award:
The primary criteria for assessing the merit of the plan will be:

• comprehensiveness – addressing a wide a range of factors affecting development including energy efficiency and other environmental factors
• innovative approach – proposals that highlight new ideas and/or approaches to interventions in the city
• clarity of presentation – understandable, readable and well-illustrated graphically

Approved or Adopted Urban Design Plans

This category is for an Urban Design Plan, or a Study that has already been approved or adopted by the Authority Having Jurisdiction and implementation has already started to occur.

Eligibility: The plan, project, or study must have been approved after January 1, 2001 ; and there should be concrete examples of changes in the built-environment.

Criteria for Award:
The primary criteria for assessing the merit of the plan will be:

• evidence of success – examples of quality improvements to the built-environment
• creative resolution – proposed solution that successfully addresses multiple objectives and competing interests
• acceptance of the plan by the community – evidence that the community supports the plan and its implementation

Urban Architecture

This category is for a building or group of buildings that contribute to, and support, an urban design initiative. The submission may be for an individual building or group of buildings, of high architectural standard, which achieves urban design excellence through its unique relationship with its immediate surroundings because of its site, massing, and pedestrian amenities. The building will also contribute to defining a special relationship with the neighbouring urban fabric.

Eligibility: A new building, a renovated building, or complex of buildings completed after January 1, 2001 within the boundaries of a Canadian municipality, and designed by an architect. Special consideration will be given to buildings that also achieve, or are capable of achieving, a green building rating (such as LEED^® or BREEAM). This category is open only to registered architects. A license number and/or proof of registration is required.

Criteria for Award:
The primary criteria for assessing the merit of the plan will be:

• compatibility with the urban initiative
• positive contribution to the public realm
• architectural excellence
• demonstration of the value of urban design – how the urban design plan directed and influenced the building

Civic Design Projects

This category is for civic improvement projects such as a park, a public space, civil engineering or environmental infrastructure, street furniture and lighting elements, etc. which have been implemented as the result of an urban design plan or initiative.

Eligibility: A construction project completed or installed after January 1, 2001 within the boundaries of a Canadian municipality, and designed by an architect, landscape architect, or an engineer. This category is open to registered design professionals (architects, engineers and landscape architects). A license number and/or proof of registration is required.

Criteria for Award:
The primary criteria for assessing the merit of the plan will be:

• compatibility with the urban plan
• positive contribution to the public realm
• design excellence
• demonstration of the value of urban design – how the urban design plan/initiative directed and influenced the space or the objects.

Urban Fragments

Urban fragments are single, small-scale pieces of a building or landscape that contributes significantly to the quality of the public realm. This category includes small and modest elements such as street furniture, lighting elements, interpretation media, memorials, public art, or other form of intervention that contributes to the beautification, sustainability, enjoyment, and/or appreciation of the urban environment. Projects can be of a temporary (but not ephemeral) or permanent nature but installed after January 1, 2001.

Criteria for Award:
The primary criteria for assessing the proposals will be:

• positive contribution to the public realm
• design excellence
• innovation and uniqueness of the element

Community Improvement Projects

This category is for any built project, however modest, initiated and implemented by a community-based organization that enhances the public realm. Streetscaping, public art, commemorative or interpretive installations, and environmental initiatives are examples of this category of submissions.

Eligibility: The improvement must have been completed after January 1, 2001.

Criteria for Award:
The primary criteria for assessing the merit of the plan will be:

• wide community involvement – demonstration of how the community-at-large was involved and supported the improvements
• positive contribution to the public realm
• conceptual clarity and execution of the improvement
• innovation and uniqueness of the built project

Special Jury Awards

In 2008, there will be two special jury awards selected from the submissions received, as noted below:

Sustainable Development: the project, from within any of the categories, that the jury deems best demonstrates the principles of urban sustainable development while also exemplifying sensitive urban design.

Small or Medium Community Urban Design Award: a project, from within any of the categories, situated in an urban centre of less than 500 000 inhabitants, that demonstrates the value of urban design in a mid size community.

Student Projects

The Student Projects category will be administered through participating Canadian Universities, programs in architecture, landscape architecture, and/or urban planning. Each School may forward one submission for each of the following categories:

• A submission from a structured Urban Design studio
• A submission as a result of an individual thesis

Eligibility

1. Municipalities with a local urban award program (tier 1) will take the necessary steps to ensure that the submissions for the winners of their 2007 local program are forwarded to the National Urban Design Program.
   
   Therefore, projects within the municipal boundaries of the following should not be submitted by individuals or firms.
   
   In the City of Hamilton, the City of Mississauga, the City of Ottawa, and the Regional Municipality of Halifax individual submissions are permitted for the categories shown below because the category was excluded from the local urban design award program:
   
   
• The City of Edmonton
• The City of Calgary
• The City of Hamilton
  • Conceptual/Theoretical Urban Design Projects
  • Approved or Adopted Urban Design Plans
  • Community Improvement Projects
• The City of Mississauga
  • Conceptual/Theoretical Urban Design Projects
  • Approved or Adopted Urban Design Plans
  • Community Improvement Projects
• The City of Toronto
• The City of Ottawa
  • Conceptual/Theoretical Urban Design Projects
  • Approved or Adopted Urban Design Plans
  • Community Improvement Projects
• The Regional Municipality of Halifax
  • Conceptual/Theoretical Urban Design Projects
  • Approved or Adopted Urban Design Plans
  • Community Improvement Projects


2. Municipalities without a local urban design awards program:
   
   Any individual or organization in any other Canadian urban municipality not listed above can submit a project. The submission must be in conformance with the submission requirements. The best submission in each category located in an urban municipality without a local Urban Design Awards program will be considered together with the winning projects from the local Urban Design Awards programs in the adjudication of the RAIC medals.
   
   The best submission in each category located in an urban municipality without a local Urban Design Awards program will receive a Certificate of Merit.

There will be only one award (medal) in each category. The award will be selected by the jury from:

• the winners in the local urban design awards program, and
• the best submisson in each category from those municipalities without an urban design awards program.

Format

Each entry is to be submitted in a standard black, three-ring binder, accepting sheets measuring 8.5" x 11". Illustrations up to 11" x 17" (folded to conform to 8.5" x 11" format) will be accepted.

A maximum of 25 (8.5" x 11") pages to fully describe the project or program that includes a statement of the problem and its goals, size, and cost, if applicable. A statement outlining the urban design issues and key urban design concepts of the project, emphasizing process and implementation, should be included to describe the merits that justify consideration of an award.

Please ensure that all forms are completed in their entirety.

Entries can be submitted either in English or in French.

The material must be included in the binder in the following order:

• Entry Fee
• Participation Identification Form
• Project Presentation (maximum of 25 pages)
• Publication Release Form
• Disclaimer and Declaration Form
• List of Illustrations (Index)
• Electronic images on compact disc or DVD

Please refer to the Checklist.

Electronic Illustrations

Illustrations must be included digitally on two (2) duplicate PC-compatible CDs or DVDs to be inserted in a plastic sleeve or sleeves at the back of the binder. CDs or DVDs must be labeled with the project name.

Each illustration must be saved in a high resolution version for publication purposes.

Electronic illustrations must comply with the following specifications:

• Only JPEG image-format saved at high-quality/low-compression setting are acceptable. Low-quality/high-compressions JPEGs will not be accepted.
• High resolution images must be 300 dpi, and approximately 10.5" x 14" (3150 x 4200 pixels).
• All illustrations should be in RGB color mode (CMYK will not be accepted).
• All file names are composed of a number followed by a title. Only single digit numbers must start with zero "0" (ex.: "01title.jpg"… "09title.jpg", "10title.jpg"). Do not use punctuation or symbols in the titles.
• Compressed archive files (.zip, .sit) will not be accepted.

Submission Date and Receipt

Entry forms and binders must be received before 4:00 PM, February 15, 2008.

All submissions must be sent to:

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
330 – 55 Murray Street
Ottawa, ON
K1N 5M3

Attention: The 2008 National Urban Design Awards

Entry Fee

An entry fee must accompany each submission that is not from a municipally administered local urban design awards program.

• $160.50 (GST included)
• $172.50 (HST included)
  for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland

A cheque payable to The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada must accompany each entry.

Jury

A Jury will adjudicate all categories of awards. The Jury members are:

• John N. Abel, MA, MArch, MCP, FRAIC, OAA
• Frank Palermo, BArch, MArch U.D., FRAIC, FCIP
• Gérald A. Lajeunesse, B.Sc., B.L.A., FCSLA
• Professional Advisor: Yves Gosselin, AP/FIRAC

Notification

Recipients will be notified the week of March 31, 2008. All submissions become the property of the RAIC. Submission materials will not be returned.

All recipients of winning submissions must produce two display panels. The panels must be delivered to the RAIC by May 1, 2008. All panels must be made from 1/2” thick gatorboard, 20” x 20” in size. Detailed specifications will be provided to all medalists.

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP), and Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) must be included in all media/newspaper releases and announcements regarding the medal by winning candidates.

Questions and Answers

Questions from individuals

Q1. This being my first year at an Architecture firm I wanted final clarification that our 2007 Award winning submission to the City of Toronto Urban Design Awards is automatically entered into the RAIC 2008 National Urban Design Awards without any further input from us. This is what I understand from the eligibility criteria but I wish to be certain.

That is correct, Municipalities with a local urban award program (tier 1) will automatically submit winners of their programs in 2007 to the National Urban Design Program. The municipality and award winner must agree on respective roles with regard to conforming to the submission requirements as described in the link above.

Q2. We are submitting our Toronto Urban Design Award winning project through to RAIC and I need clarification that the 25 page maximum would include all text and images, or as it reads on the checklist, are they separate? As well, are the required forms extra pages, or included in the 25 page maximum.

The required forms are in addition to the maximum 25 presentation pages, which include text and images. For information concerning the required format, and a Checklist, please click here.



Q3. From your website, it appears that there is no category in the urban design awards for a municipally-approved urban planning project that is still in the planning stages (in other words, no implementation to date). Am I reading this correctly?

Conceptual/Theoretical Urban Design Projects: This category is for a plan or a study of a significant area within a Canadian municipality that provides a development or redevelopment strategy for urban transformation in the mid-term to long-term that has no official status. Urban Design studies, master plans, redevelopment strategies, and community plans of high inspirational value with the potential for significant impact on the city’s sustainability or development may be submitted.

Approved or Adopted Urban Design Plans: This category is for an Urban Design Plan, or a Study that has already been approved or adopted by the Authority Having Jurisdiction and implementation has already started to occur.

If the project has received approval from an approving body or an Authority Having Jurisdiction e.g. Council or the Development Board but has not started implementation, then it falls within the first category 'Conceptual/Theoretical Urban Design Plans.

Q4. We are preparing our submission for the 2008 National Urban Design Awards and require clarification on the submission format.

Under ‘Format’, you state that ‘a maximum of 25 (8.5”x11”) pages to fully describe the project or program that includes a statement of the problem and its goals, size and cost, if applicable’. But in the word documents provided, you include a Summary Sheet (1 page) and a Descriptive Data Sheet (up to 2 pages).

We wish to clarify that you are requesting the (up to) 25 page report in addition to the Summary Sheet and Descriptive Data Sheet.

Yes, the 25 page report is in addition to the Summary Sheet and the Descriptive Data Sheet.

Q5. We are interested in submitting an application under the Urban Architecture category. I am interested in whether or not the project must be already completed in order to be eligible. The project we have in mind is mid-construction – can we still apply?

Only built/completed buildings are eligible for the Urban Architecture category.

Q6. Is it only the conceptual category that needs to be in a Canadian municipality, or is it all of the categories?

We practice in the City of Toronto, but have several projects that we would like to submit that are outside the City of Toronto and don't have awards programs (Stratford), or are in the US. Can you please confirm whether these are eligible? I know you will be putting answers on the website on Jan 28 - but that does not leave us a lot of time to prepare these packages if they are eligible. If it is possible to know before, that would be great.

Also, we have a competition winning design for a public square that has been adopted by council, but not yet built. This seems to fall in between the conceptual category that says that "if should NOT have yet been approved or adopted" and the approved category that says "there should be concrete examples of changes in the built environment". Is this project admissible, and, if so, which category would you expect it in? Or, would it be in Conceptual (although this says unbuilt)?

Any project in any Canadian city not having a local awards program is eligible – foreign projects are not eligible.

Yes there is this middle ground for certain projects. We have decided to consider these in the Conceptual/theoretical category because projects that are approved sometimes get cancelled, this explains the need to have, at a minimum, some tangible initial physical transformation of the site for the Adopted/approved category.

Q7. With regards to the format of submissions, it is understood that a "maximum of 25 (8.5" x 11") pages" are allowed. Please advise if double sided printing is allowed for these 25 pages, or if submissions are to be restricted to 25, single-sided pages.

If double sided printing is allowed, does that imply that

a) 1 sheet of paper, double sided = 2 pages? or
b) 1 sheet of paper, double-sided = 1 page?

Double-sided printing is permitted (1 sheet of paper, double sided = 2 pages), similarly one side of one 11 X 17 sheet = 2 pages, these then need to be folded to fit the binder.

Q8. I have a graduate from our M.Arch. program who is interested in submitting her thesis for an RAIC award in the Student Projects Category.

Is there a date by which the thesis must have been completed to be eligible for this year's awards? For example, our student completed her thesis in September, 2006 and graduated in October, 2006 - is it too late to submit it for an award?

It is not too late because it is within the two year cycle following the 2006 program. The work will need to be repackaged to conform to the submission requirements.

Q9. We would like to submit an area plan prepared for the Outremont campus of the Université de Montréal to your National Urban Design Award program.

This project already won an award of excellence from the Canadian Institute of Planners in 2007 (urban design category). The municipal council of the City of Montréal has approved the project, but construction has not begun. Are we eligible under the category Conceptual/Theoretical Urban Design Plans even though the project has not been constructed yet?

Your project is eligible under the category Conceptual/Theoretical Urban Design Plans.

Q10. Would you please confirm that projects and conceptual designs done in Toronto cannot be submitted. Please note that the City of Toronto Urban Design Awards do not have a conceptual category or an approved or adopted category.

In reviewing the City of Toronto categories, in our opinion there are equivalent categories.

Category 5 - Large Places or Neighbourhood Designs - is similar to the Approved/Adopted UD plans; and 6 - Visions and Master Plans - is similar to the Conceptual/theoretical category.

Questions from municipalities

Q1. In reviewing the categories for your award program it seems that some of our winners may fit easily into your Urban Architecture and Civic Design Project categories. I am not sure were a winner such as "Art Crawl" or our adaptive reuse winners would fit if at all.

The three Awards of Excellence qualify for our program. The best fit categories are Urban Architecture and Civic Design - the projects will need to be reformatted to conform to the submission requirements as described on the award website.

Q2. The forms referred to (i.e. participation identification form, publication release form etc.) are they available or do we make our own? (I can't find them on your website.)

Our forms can be found further up this page here.

Q3. Our student winners are essentially not acknowledged, i.e. the university picks their own one entry and submits to the RAIC?

It would be up to Carleton University (or any other university) to decide whether it wishes to submit these particular student projects. There are no fixed restrictions to the number of student projects a university can submit as long as each project comes from a given course. For example, two different design studios could each have one submission. In the past we have accepted "ex aequo" projects from universities because the university stated it could not choose one over the other.

Q4. I don't see a reference to our 'Award of excellence' winners as the winners that are put forward....I just see reference to 'winners'.

The National Urban Design Awards do not have an Award of Excellence category. Can you please forward details of the winner projects so that we may determine if they qualify for our program. Also, we would need to determine the best category for submission.

Q5. I assume we ask our 'Award of excellence' winners to re-number their photos as per your direction and then send us a new CD and binder with all the information as per the RAIC requirements and then we submit it to you?

Yes that is correct. The projects will need to be reformatted to conform to the submission requirements as described on this website.

Amendments

These terms and conditions may be amended from time to time by the RAIC, in its sole discretion. Notification of any amendment to these terms and conditions shall be deemed to have been given to the Applicant, by 10:00 a.m. on the first business day after publication of the amended terms and conditions on the web site of the RAIC, which is presently accessed through www.raic.org

For more information

E-mail:	awards-prix@raic.org
Tel:	(613) 241-3600 x 214
Fax:	(613) 241-5750