A national design competition judged by Australia’s creative directors for the 2010 Venice Architecture Biennale opens tomorrow, which invites architects to design part of Australia’s exhibition in Venice next year.
John Gollings and Ivan Rijavec are looking for visions of Australian cities in the year 2050 to form part of their NOW + WHEN Australian Urbanism exhibition.
Rijavec and Gollings see urban transformation in Australia 2050 and beyond being driven by as much political and economic imperatives as by technology and design.
The judges are therefore keen to see designs that reflect these circumstances. “We’re especially interested in really imaginative designs with a strong theoretical basis which both integrate cultural influences and exploit the creative potential of architecture,” Rijavec said.
The directors will be looking for designs that apply to the city as a whole rather than infill or minor precincts, and address fundamental issues of Australian Urbanism such as density, sustainability and the effects of global warming.
“Ultimately we want participants to show us what we are likely to become and how our cities will accommodate us as they develop in the matrix of world urbanism and what will be the nature of our inevitable cultural transformation,” Rijavec said.
A shortlist of entrants will be selected to develop their designs further, from which a group of finalists will be announced and whose work will be exhibited at the Australian Pavilion in Venice next year.
All competition information is available at architecture.com.au/nowandwhen
