Line of Site 2009 Case Study by Push Creative

Line of site Architectural Competition Case Study 2009

ACO 4X4 Design by Push Creative 01952 2501

LOS Competition Introduction, statistics and sponsors

Line of Site is now recognised as the world’s largest architectural competition both in terms of numbers participating and geographic spread.

Statistics from the 2007 competition: 75 participating countries Viewed by 120 countries 2900 practices registered Over 5000 registrations Average 10,000 unique visits per day 7,000,000 + hits for the duration of competition

Line of Site looks to break away from the mundane and offers three unique design briefs, which ran through the period July 2008 to October 2009. The second Line of Site competition, sponsored by ACO and Google included two exciting new Geo based briefs where competitors are able to select their own geographical locations to design their buildings - though the buildings are not intended be built. We were looking for the ‘quick’ initial ideas that capture the essence of creativity and mark the point when those ideas take shape. Submissions can be either electronically generated or drawn by hand - sketch designs, not fully developed designs.

330 competition entries

Source: Google Analytics

The competition was lucky enough to engage high profile sponsors More text needed here... of Site competition, sponsored by ACO and Google included two exciting new Geo based briefs where competitors are able to select their own geographical locations to design their buildings - buildings that are not intended to actually be built. More text needed here... for the ‘quick’ initial ideas that capture the essence of creativity and mark the point when those ideas take shape. Submissions can be either electronically generated or drawn by hand - sketch designs, not fully developed designs.

Competition Website homepage and gallery

The new website offered boasted a lot of new features and functionality. The website followed the progress of the competition every step of the way One of the main advantages of the website was the ability for a participant to upload their entry and description to the gallery section automatically.

Competition Website features and functionality

Gallery Extra facilities were added to the website to promote more of a community feel to the competition. • A score could be given by a viewer, which was shown as an overall average. This was purely for fun and had no inﬂuence on the judges decision • Competitors were allowed to communicate with each other, through private email • An entry could be reviewed • A blog could be written in association with an entry or just for fun • The location of the entry could be plotted with the aid of Google maps Blog Directory A blog directory was added to the site allowing any user of LOS to point us towards any blog they submit. The blogs can be shown in any language from any country and could be searched using various criteria.

Brief documents Three competition briefs

The 3 brief documents could be downloaded from the website once the brief was live.

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BD Website Dedicated LOS pages

BD online had a section had pages of their website designated to LOS. They were continually updated as the competition progressed through the briefs to the ďŹ nal judging. These pages gave the sponsors an opportunity to advertising with digital banners.

Digital Banners MPU adverts and link buttons

MPU animated banners were used to promote the launch of the competition, and also through the duration to advertise the current stage. Right BD magazine ensured that Line of Site was high proďŹ le by featuring editorials and adverts throughout the competition.

Full page advert BD publication

2008

ESTABLISHED ON THE WORLD STAGE, THIS UNIQUE DESIGN COMPETITION WILL ONCE AGAIN CHALLENGE YOU TO GO BEYOND THE CONVENTIONAL... Three inspirational briefs will take you on an architectural adventure unlike any other, giving you the opportunity to put your vision before a truly global audience. The Line of Site community now embraces talented designers of all ages and from every discipline in over 100 countries. Through new features on Line of Site you will now be able to engage more closely with peers around the world, sharing your views on issues that drive, inspire and motivate. 2008 Registration You will be able to register on the Line of Site website when the first brief goes live on 6th June 2008. If you visit the website today you will be able to review the live final of last year’s competition. In advance of the first brief, if you have any queries regarding any aspect of the competition email us at: support@lineofsite.info

Brief One

Northern Lights Observatory

Brief Two

City Transportation Interchange 1st Aug to 29th Aug

Brief Three The Meeting Place

6th June to 4th July

26th Sept to 24th Oct

Registrations and first brief available 6th June 2008

Line of Site 2007 “Line of Site was a great competition to be involved in. It was a chance to freely push around ideas and test them out against architects and designers from around the world.” Alastair Parvin, winner Line of Site 2007

“The simplicity of the Line of Site proposition is its success. The scope of imaginative designs the competition attracted was truly inspiring and a pleasure to judge.” Matthew Wells, Techniker, judge Line of Site 2007

“This year we have broadened the scope of the Line of Site challenge. We want to take the competition to a new level where creative thinking is placed firmly in a contemporary context.” Peter Ridgway, ACO Technologies, creator of Line of Site

www.lineofsite.info

Half page adverts BD publication

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DOWNLOAD FIRST BRIEF

NORTHERN LIGHTS OBSERVATORY Line of Site Competition Witnessing the Northern Lights is an awe-inspiring experience. The sweeping green and red displays that fill the night sky leave those who see them deeply moved. To capture this experience is the challenge set by the first Line of Site brief. One of the best places to see the northern

lights is an island off the north of Norway. Far into the Arctic Circle, the location selected is remote and inhospitable. Here we would like you to envisage a unique observatory where visitors will be able to view the full majesty of this natural phenomenon....Full brief at: www.lineofsite.info

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CLOSING DATE FIRST DATE: 4TH JULY 2008

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DOWNLOAD SECOND BRIEF

CITY TRANSPORTATION INTERCHANGE MAP YOUR SITE LOCATION

Line of Site Competition There is no city in the world that does not suffer from road congestion and pollution. One solution to what is a growing problem is to encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport such as the bicycle. Many view the bicycle as incompatible with the commercial needs of a city, but with the correct infrastructure this can change. This is the driver behind our second Line of Site brief.

Can you design a transportation concept that can alter the perception of sustainable transport? We are challenging you to conceptualise a City Cycle Interchange where people/commuters entering your chosen city – be it by car, rail, bus – can efficiently access a bicycle to complete their onward journey…..Full brief at: www.lineofsite.info

GLOBAL AUDIENCE - OVER 60 COUNTRIES

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CLOSING DATE (2ND BRIEF): 29TH AUGUST 2008

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BRIEF THREE: THE FINAL BRIEF FROM LINE OF SITE 2008

MEETING POINT

MAP YOUR SITE LOCATION

There can be no more important building serving a community than its ‘meeting point’. It is the place that defines the people that use it, where they come together to socialise, integrate, exchange ideas, discuss issues and, above all, relax in the company of others. This third and final Line of Site brief takes us in a new direction: we want you to decide

where your Meeting Point is to be constructed. We would like you to propose a new building that will lie at the heart of your community, a new building that will draw people to it, be familiar - in the way that it reflects the values of the community and the directions in which it is developing – and impart sense of belonging.

GLOBAL AUDIENCE - OVER 60 COUNTRIES

CLOSING DATE (3RD BRIEF): 24TH OCTOBER 2008

Half page adverts BD publication

JUDGING SESSION

Left: Dirk Krolikowski Right: Nevan Sidor

The full shortlisted galleries are viewable, together with further pictures and comments from judges Nevan Sidor and Dirk Krolikowsk can be found at: www.lineofsite.info

NORTHERN LIGHTS OBSERVATORY

O W F T OW IE N BRLIVE

The Judging of the first Line of Site brief - the Northern Lights Observatory, took place in London last Friday. Nevan Sidor (Grimshaw) and Dirk Krolikowski (Rodgers Stirk Harbour + Partners) 1 worked through submissions from more than 60 countries to select the two category winners - Ian Pieterse (Scotland) for his work 'Artic Sanctuary' 2 and last year's overall winner Alastair Parvin (England) for his submission 'Inverted Sky' 3 . The two 'Runners up' were Timothy Unsworth (England)

and Scott Crawford (USA)

Both Judges were impressed by this year's submissions and made specific mention of Matt Davis (Australia) 6 who 'produced a particularly evocative perspective sketch which communicated so much, but on this occasion, despite the intriguing architectural idea, it was not quite as strong as others'. Peter Ridgway from main sponsor ACO said 'we are delighted by the quality of response to the Northern Lights Observatory and are now very keen to see how the entrants for Briefs 2 and 3 deal with what might be termed the less conventional brief. It is the winners of these two stages that will compete with Ian and Alastair for the title 'Line of Site Champion 2008/9' in February'.

Shortlist: Debashree Karnik - USA Nikolay Vyatkin - Russia Ruwab Fernando - New Zealand Jian Zhu - Germany Mathieu Collos - France Richard Andrews - England Hector Allier - Mexico Bhavana Gulaty - India Abre Etteh - Scotland Anders Lendager - Denmark Diego Villar - Argentina Sean Lemuel Su - Phillipines Brendan Whelan - Ireland Agalakov Natalia Canada Enrique Ramirez - Greece Audrey Kuleshov - Bulgaria Frisly Colop - Guatamala Vu Le - Vietnam Paul Emmerson England Ian Pieterse - Scotland Daniel Stewart - UK Mark Foxworth - USA Guillermo Vezzosi - Argentina Nadia Melennaya Russia Kevin Abraham - England Matias Franco - Argentina Richard Campbell - Scotland Michael Spooner - UK Margot Krasojevic - UK Jose Marco Anaciano - USA Luke Andritsos - Canada Robert Eyles - UK Stuart Baxter - Scotland Ignacio Iriarte - Argentina Mariano Tellechea - Argentina Lam Nguyen - UK Jordan Kessler - USA Matt Davis - Australia Hatch - UK Greg Bowler - UK Kai Lu - USA Sanjit Roy - USA

All entries submitted via the website: www.lineofsite.info

Left: Edward Jones Right: Mike Tonkin

The full shortlisted galleries are viewable, together with further pictures and comments from judges Edward Jones and Mike Tonkin can be found at: www.lineofsite.info

JUDGING SESSION

MEETING POINT AND MEETING OF MINDS

ON TI D TI SE PE LO M C CO OW N

Edward Jones (Dixon Jones) was joined by Mike Tonkin (Tonkin Liu) 1 at the Building Design HQ in London on Tuesday 11th November where together they judged all the submissions for Line of Site Brief 3. The Meeting Point Brief invited contestants to submit entries designed for specific locations of their own choice. It was particularly impressive to see how many participants chose to maximise the effectiveness of their work by posting their entries on Google Earth and it is definitely worth spending time to take a look at the Google Earth submissions. Line of Site entrants for Brief 3 could have expected no easy ride with Edward Jones (a previous member of both the RIBA Gold Medal and RIBA Stirling Prize juries) accompanied by Mike Tonkin of Tonkin Liu (a practice that has won a number of international awards). As was expected, judging was tough, but two entries eventually stood out as winners. Congratulations to David Adar of Israel for The Temple Bar 2 and Richard Jones of the UK for Selva Oscura 3 . The three runners up were Paul Bower (UK) 4 , Mr Vincent (USA) 5 and Luhki Heranisvari (Indonesia) 6 .

Winners David and Richard will now participate in the Line of Site Grand Final 2009, to be held in London in February. The final will include 7 winners from the 3 briefs from 5 different countries. It promises to be a fascinating contest.

Shortlist: Debashree Karnik - USA Martin Angelov - Bulgaria Michael Suriano - USA Victor Eduardo Martinez Cabrera Chile Abre Etteh - Scotland Studio 5 - UK Terrence Seah - USA Suleiman Alhadidi - Jordan Francisco Garrido - Argentina Sebastian Lee - Malaysia Alex Kaiser - UK Mohamed Nouh - Egypt Infitar Erfin - China Lisa Sauve - USA Kousik Kar - UK All entries submitted via the website: www.lineofsite.info

Full page advert BD publication

Adverts summarising the grand ﬁnal, giving a general feel for the day and displaying the winners and their work.

02/02/09 lineofsite.info

The Line of Site Final 2009 The Line of Site Final was an occasion which had an exciting backdrop of 75 participating countries, 330 entries, 5 top judges and a view of the Thames, St Pauls and a snow bound London. The 7 finalists represented a breadth of countries and cultures – India, Israel, Bulgaria, England, Canada, Scotland and USA.

Who made it through?

Judges and contestants had arrived by Plane, train, car and foot – City Transportation Interchanges did not play a part as the snow had paralysed London, however it did not deter a single contestant. 3

One of the judges had walked 4 miles to be there while another had sat on a tube train buried in snow for 3 hours – the commitment to the Line of Site competition has been extraordinary.

1. George Dimov (ACO Bulgaria) 2. Animish Kudalkar (Finalist) 3. Neven Sidor (Grimshaw, Judge) 4. Edward Jones (Dixon Jones, Chair/Judge) 5. Amanda Baillieu (Building Design) 6. Ian Pieterse (Finalist) 7. Anna Grancharova (ACO Bulgaria) Stirk Harbour + 8. Dirk Krolikowski (Rogers Partners, Judge) 9. Wolf Mangelsdorf (Buro Happold, Judge) 10. Matthew Wells (Techniker, Judge) 11. Martin Angelov (Finalist) 12. David Adar (Finalist) 13. Richard James (Finalist) 14. Stewart Kearney (Finalist) 15. Alastair Parvin (Finalist) 16. Peter Ridgway (ACO UK, Sponsor)

The final

The winners Richard James Winner, brief three: The Meeting Place

Winner: Overall Selva oscura ‘under the shadow of the darkling forest’

“The quality of the entries to this year’s Line of Site has been very impressive. ACO is proud to be involved.”

Richard receives the Line of Site Trophy from Peter Ridgway of ACO Technologies

Richard Hill Managing Director, ACO UK

Alastair Parvin

aco.co.uk

Inverted Sky

Martin Angelov

LineOfBike

Winner, brief one: Northern Lights Observatory

Winner, brief two: City Transportation Interchange

Brief 1 Winner: Alastair Parvin presented by Edward Jones of Dixon Jones

Brief 2 Winner: Martin Angelov presented by Edward Jones of Dixon Jones

Summary publication 8pp document

The competition was followed up by a review document, which gives details of each brief, the judges and the finalists. It includes the judges’ statements about the finalists’ work and photos of the final, held at the BD offices in London.

Review 2008/2009