For more information, contact Marge Fahey at 202/624-7187; E-mail:mfahey@uli.org
WASHINGTON (February 29, 2008) — Teams representing the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Michigan, and two teams from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Design have been selected as the finalists for the sixth annual ULI (Urban Land Institute) Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. The finalist teams were charged with the design of a development site in the city of Dallas.
A $50,000 prize will be awarded to the winning team; and an additional $30,000 will be split among the remaining finalist teams. The four finalists were selected from 96 teams comprised of 480 students representing 29 universities in the U.S. and Canada. Through the competition, interdisciplinary teams of students were challenged to create a design and development proposal for a portion of a 464-acre site, which is located in the undervalued Cedars neighborhood in Dallas. The competition is designed as an exercise; there is no guarantee that the students’ plans will be implemented as part of any development of the site.
The ULI Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition strives to encourage cooperation and teamwork–necessary talents in the planning, design and development of sustainable communities–among future land use professionals and allied professions, such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, historic preservation, engineering, real estate development, finance, psychology and law. The competition has been funded in perpetuity through a $3 million endowment from real estate legend Gerald D. Hines, chairman and owner of the Hines real estate organization. “Through this competition, we are raising awareness among the students of the key role high-quality urban design plays in creating sustainable living environments,” Hines commented. “Real estate development is a very exciting, imaginative field. It involves many disciplines and interaction with so many parts of our world—finance, politics, science, and psychology—it affects the lives of so many people.”
This year’s competition study area is a 464-acre site south of downtown Dallas bordered by the northern edge of the Interstate 30 right-of-way; the South Central Expressway; the railroad right-of-way between and paralleling Corinth Street and Grand Avenue; and South Austin Street. Teams had the option of choosing a 12-block site within the Cedars, or a site on 57 acres that could be reclaimed by decking over the “canyon,” which is a 1.5-mile below-grade stretch of Interstate 30 between the Convention Center and the Farmers Market. The teams’ proposals assumed that three major infrastructure initiatives to transform downtown Dallas will have been adopted: the Trinity River Corridor (recreational amenities, water management and environmental reclamation); Trinity River Parkway (a 10-mile express toll road to divert thru traffic from downtown); and Project Pegasus (the redesign of downtown interstates and interchanges).
ULI selected this site because it provides an opportunity for students to illustrate innovative ways to incorporate six aspects of urban design identified by ULI as essential components of sustainable communities. These include: 1) mixed-income housing; 2) adequate infrastructure to support growth; 3) ample public space; 4) places of commerce; 5) environmental preservation, incorporating green design principles to mitigate climate change; and 6) financial feasibility.
“This competition aims to give the next generation a better understanding of the challenges involved in urban design, and how the different elements—such as various land uses, public areas, and traffic patterns—all interact to influence how urban areas evolve over time, said competition jury chairman James J. Curtis III, principal, Bristol Group in San Francisco. “It’s a major part of ULI’s ongoing effort to draw the best and brightest young minds to our industry.”
The development schemes from the finalist teams are:
University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture: “Cedars: Reconnect, Revitalize” stitches together social, physical and economic connections from an earlier era. Medium and low-rise uses traverse the spine connecting the Cedars DART stop with Old City Park. A diverse mix of families, artists, and professionals forms the core of a neighborhood already taking root. Central to the development theme is the proposed Natural Connections network of multi-modal and sustainable, “complete streets,” greenways, and open space.
University of Michigan, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning: “Redefining the Vista” builds on current cultural and institutional assets of the Cedars with new vistas and view corridors of downtown Dallas and the Trinity River corridor. A reorientation of streets around a new central plaza–anchored by a gateway, a public fountain, and a mix of housing and retail–creates a hub for employment, entertainment, artistry, and recreation and meets the region’s unfulfilled demand for an affordable, easy-going neighborhood integrating both market-rate and affordable housing.
University of Pennsylvania, School of Design: “Desti-Station” connects the downtown, the riverfront, and surrounding neighborhoods with new development and green spaces concentrated along the existing DART line. At its northern end, a cap over the I-30 canyon will be a new park, linking downtown to a new mixed-use corridor. At its southern end, another large park, with open space corridors fanning out into the surrounding neighborhood, will provide the framework for a continuous and revitalized public realm.
University of Pennsylvania, School of Design: “Interchange” turns the word’s meaning from its car-centric, space-wasting, and neighborhood-dividing connotations to a holistic vision of cultural, economic, and ecological living and working environment. The intersecting axes of the DART line and major streets connecting downtown and the Cedars activate a new kind of interchange in which neighborhood-scale parks and pathways and commercial and residential components attract residents who value accessibility to transit and a sustainable urban lifestyle.
Three team entries were also selected for honorable mentions: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with “Cedar Core;” Massachusetts Institute of Technology with “Digital Thread;” and the University of Pennsylvania, School of Design with “Big Green.” The entries from the four finalists and the three honorable mentions can be found on the competition Web site (www.udcompetition.uli.org.)
The finalist teams were chosen by a jury of renowned real estate development, architecture, urban planning and design experts led by Curtis as jury chairman. Other jury members include: Chad Barron, principal, Pioneer Property Group, Seattle; Ray Brown, architect and designer, Self Tucker Architecture, Inc., Memphis; Donald K. Carter, president, Urban Design Associates, Pittsburgh; William D. Chilton, managing principal, Pickard Chilton, New Haven; Todd Johnson, principal, Design Workshop, Denver; Signe Nielsen, principal, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects PC, New York City; and Enrique Penalosa, former mayor of Bogota, Colombia. Financial advisers to the competition are: Kenneth H. Hughes, president, Hughes Development, L.P., Dallas; and John M. Walsh, III, president, TIG Real Estate Services, Inc., Dallas.
In the final phase of the 2008 competition, which concludes March 30, the student finalist teams will have the opportunity to expand their original schemes and respond in more detail. On March 7, a member of each finalist team will visit Dallas, all expenses paid, and will have the opportunity to tour the site and refine their presentations. On April 3, finalist team members will assemble, at ULI’s expense, to present their programs to the competition jury members during a public forum in Dallas, which will also be attended by guests from the public and private sector.
For more information on the ULI Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition, visit www.udcompetition.uli.org.
The Urban Land Institute (www.uli.org) is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has more than 40,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.