National Urban Design Awards — Call for Submissions | Royal Architectural Institute of Canada

National Urban Design Awards — Call for Submissions

 

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP), and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) are pleased to announce the Call for Submissions for the 2018 National Urban Design Awards

Submissions deadline: 4:00 p.m. EST, August 15, 2018

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

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects in cooperation with Canadian municipalities, wish 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 located in Canada that have contributed to the quality of life in our Canadian cities and their sustainability.

>  Categories

>  Notification

>  Eligibility

>  Admendments

>  Jury

>  Checklist

>  Procedures for Entry

>  For More Information

Categories

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

 

Urban Design Plans

Urban Fragments

 
 

Urban Architecture

Community Initiatives Award

 
 

Civic Design Projects

Student Projects

 

Urban Design Plans

This category of Award will recognize 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. 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, 2011.

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

Urban Architecture

This category of Award will recognize 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 achieve urban design excellence through their unique relationship with their immediate surroundings because of siting, massing, and pedestrian amenities. The building(s) 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, 2011 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 of Award will recognize a civic improvement project 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, 2011 within the boundaries of a Canadian municipality, and designed by an architect, landscape architect, a registered planner, or an engineer. This category is open to registered design professionals (architects, engineers, registered planners, 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 contribute 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 forms of intervention that contribute 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, 2011.

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 Initiatives Award

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.

Eligibility: The improvement must have been completed after January 1, 2011.

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

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 submissions for each of the following categories:

  • A submission from a structured Urban Design studio;
  • A submission as a result of a final project or an individual thesis.

Note: The entry fee does not apply to Students Projects.

Special Jury Awards

In 2018, there will be two special jury awards selected from the submissions received.

  • Sustainable Development Award: 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, and situated in an urban centre of less than 500 000 inhabitants, that demonstrates the value of urban design in a mid size community.

Eligibility

1.     Municipalities with a local urban awards program (tier 1) will automatically submit winners of their programs in 2017/2018 to the National Urban Design Awards Program.

Any project within the municipal boundaries of a municipality that has a local urban design awards program may be submitted in its appropriate category. Such a project will be adjudicated as part of the process described in article 2.

2.     Submissions at large:

Any individual or organization in any Canadian urban municipality can submit a project subject to the proviso described in article (1) of Eligibility. The submission must be in conformance with the submission requirements. The best submission in each category will be considered together with the winning projects from the local Urban Design Awards programs in the adjudication of the medals. Certificates of Merit will be awarded at the jury‘s discretion.

There will be only one award (medal) in each category except the “Urban Design Plans” in which the Jury may select two projects having significantly different characteristics. The award will be selected by the jury from:

  • the winners in the local urban design awards program, and
  • the category winners selected from all other submissions.

Jury

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

Diane Matichuk, OALA, AAPQ

Diane is Principal Landscape Architect at Civitas Group, an integrated architecture and landscape architecture practice based in Ottawa.  Diane is also a CAHP Landscape Heritage Professional. 

Her career spans over 30 years beginning in the municipal sector, planning and designing parks and open spaces, followed by collaboration and leadership in the private sector realizing a diversity of built projects.   Her work has ranged from heritage conservation studies and trail development along waterways to public parks and plazas, school grounds, and green roofs.  Drawing on her creativity and the creative skills of her colleagues, Diane advocates for the bold, cohesive solution in each project, whether it is to re-work evolving landscapes or build new public places. 

In 2017, Diane was recognized by her peers, receiving the OALA Carl Borgstrom Award for Service to the Environment.  In 2018, the firm’s Parliament Hill Escarpment Stairway and Site Rehabilitation Project was recognized nationally with a CSLA Award of Excellence.

Doug Leighton, RPP MCIP

Doug has over thirty-five years’ international experience as a planner, architect, urban designer, consultant and development industry executive. A proponent of urban design and sustainable development, he has a record of successful projects, awards, innovation and leadership.

As VP Sustainability for Brookfield Residential Properties, Doug created and executed the company’s strategy for North American leadership in sustainable homebuilding and land development. As Principal of a leading New Zealand consultancy he built its urban design practice and led major waterfront, airport, housing, community and resort projects. As founding Planning Director for Banff he led initiatives such as Banff’s downtown redevelopment, and as Whistler Senior Planner the creation of Village North and redevelopment of Whistler Creek.

Doug holds undergraduate (BA Hons - Geography) and Masters (ME Des - Architecture) degrees from the University of Calgary with post-graduate studies at Harvard and Queens.

A co-founder of Urban Design Forum New Zealand, Doug helped develop that country’s national urban design policy. He has served on the Whistler, Banff, Auckland, Victoria and Calgary design panels; and as a Director of the New Zealand, Alberta and British Columbia Planning Institutes.

He currently teaches urban design at the University of Calgary, serves on several boards and advises clients on urban design, planning and sustainable development.

Taymoore Balbaa, M.Arch, B.E.S, OAA, MRAIC, NCIDQ, TEE, LEED™ AP

Taymoore Balbaa is the recipient of 2 national awards, the Prix de Rome for Emerging Practitioners and the Young Architect Award (awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts and the RAIC respectively).  He received his Masters of Architecture from the University of Waterloo and won the 2004 RAIC Medal for his graduate thesis.  He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from Waterloo, and also studied architecture at Universitá Gabrielle D’Annunzio in Pescara, Italy.  A licensed architect in Canada (OAA) and in the European Union with the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE), he co-founded AXIA Design Associates (formerly Atelier3AM) in 2010, and is building a body of work that includes cultural centres, libraries, housing, and performance spaces.  Prior to this he worked in established firms in Italy, Spain, Greece, Canada, and the USA.  Taymoore has taught at the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, and at Ryerson University, where he was appointed Associate Professor at the School of Interior Design (RSID) in the Faculty of Communication and Design (FCAD).

Procedures for Entry

Submission Date

Submissions must be received before 4 p.m. EST, Wednesday, August 15, 2018. Entrants are solely responsible for timely submissions. This date and time are firm without exceptions.

Submissions must be sent to:

The Royal Arcitectural Institute of Canada
2018 National Urban Design Awards
Suite 330, 55 Murray Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 5M3

Entry Fee

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

Base fee of $350.00

  • GST included (MB, AB, SK, YK, NWT, BC, NU) -  $367.50
  • QST/GST included (QC) -  $402.41
  • HST included (ON) -  $395.50
  • HST included (NB, NF, NS, PEI) -  $402.50

Payment by credit card or a cheque payable to The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada must accompany each entry.

Instructions

Please note that binders, including hardcopies of project images, are no longer accepted.

The following items must be provided and combined in this order into a single PDF document saved as the project name:

  1. Participant Identification Form
  2. Summary Sheet
  3. Project Descriptions
  4. Descriptive Data Sheet
  5. Project Proposal Report
  6. Publication Release Form
  7. Disclaimer and Declaration Form
  8. Key List of Images

Additionally, all images used in the Project Proposal Report must be provided as individual image files in a folder entitled “Images”. Please refer to item 9. Images for details.

For each entry, a cheque, a CD/DVD-ROM or USB key as well as a printed copy of the Participant Identification Form must be submitted.

For reproduction clarity, the form must be printed in black ink on one-sided 8 ½” x 11” white sheet of regular photocopy paper (portrait orientation). This same document must also be included in electronic format (PDF).

Entries can be submitted either in English or in French.

1.   Participation Identification Form

>  Download

All credits on certificates, medals and publicity will be based on this information. Any errors or omissions will be the responsibility of the entrant. All information must be typed.

Full credit must be given. If more than one individual is credited for a single project, the order in which names are listed will be the official sequence.

2.   Summary Sheet

A one page description of the project or program that includes a statement of the problem and its goals, size, and cost, if applicable.

3.   Project Descriptions

Two descriptions are required:

1)     A 500 word maximum statement on one page outlining the objectives and significance of the project and summarizing for the jury why the project or program is considered worthy of a medal. This text should be conceived to be accessible to the general public.

2)     A 100 word maximum media statement crafted for website postings and media campaigns.

4.   Descriptive Data Sheet

Including the Completion or adoption date, provide a brief (maximum two pages) statement outlining urban design issues and key urban design concepts that emphasize process and implementation with a description of the merits.

5.   Project Proposal Report

This is the opportunity for the team to provide a narrative and tell the "story" of the project. In other words the genesis of the project, how did it come to be what it is in the submission. The team can combine text, sketches, drawings and photos in a report format of no more than 15 pages.

6.   Publication Release Form

Download

7.   Disclaimer and Declaration Form

Download

8.   Key List of Images

As per item 9. Images described below, the Key List of Images should include image file name, a brief description and photographer credits where applicable for each image provided.

9.   Images

All images (photos, drawings, graphics, diagrams, plans, etc.) used in the Project Proposal Report must be provided in a folder entitled “Images”. All images used in a composite image (image composed of several images) must be provided as individual image files.

Electronic images must comply with the following specifications:

  • Only JPEG image-format saved at high-quality/low-compression setting are acceptable. Low-quality/high-compression JPEGs will not be accepted.
  • Images must be provided in high resolution and at the original size (no resampling).
  • All images should be in RGB color mode (CMYK will not be accepted).
  • All file names are composed of a number followed by a title. Single digit numbers must start with zero "0" (ex.: "01title.jpg"… "09title.jpg", "10title.jpg"). Do not use punctuation or symbols.
  • Compressed archive files (.zip, .sit) will not be accepted.

Notification

Recipients will be notified privately immediately following adjudication. All submissions become the property of the RAIC/CIP/CSLA. Submission materials will not be returned.

The public announcement and an awards ceremony will be held later in 2018. Travel to the ceremony for the recipients is at their own expense. Entrants who are not selected will be notified by letter. Results will not be released over the telephone or by e-mail.

All recipients of winning submissions must produce two display panels. All panels must be made from 1/2” thick gatorboard, 20” x 20” in size. Detailed specifications will be provided.

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

Amendments

These terms and conditions may be amended from time to time by the RAIC/CIP/CSLA, in their 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/CIP/CSLA, which is presently accessed through www.raic.org

Checklist

Submission package should contain:

  1. One printed copy of the Participant Identification Form
  2. Entry Fee
  3. One CD/DVD- ROM or USB key containing:
  • A single PDF which includes:
  1. Participant Identification Form
  2. Summary Sheet
  3. Project Descriptions
  4. Descriptive Data Sheet
  5. Project Proposal Report
  6. Publication Release Form
  7. Disclaimer and Declaration Form
  8. Key List of Images
  • A folder containing all images used in the Project Proposal Report

For more information

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