Livable Communities Design Competition

INTRODUCTION

The U.S. Census reports that by the year 2011, a citizen will turn 65 every 8 seconds. By the year 2030, more than half of all Americans will be over the age of 50 and one in every five persons will be age 65 or older. At the same time 2010 marked the fist time in modern history that more people lived inside city limits than in suburbs and rural neighborhoods.

Designers must begin planning now for this dramatic demographic shift. It is equally important to note that as the population continues to get older, many Americans are faced with a new set of circumstances. Therefore, it is necessary to develop urban communities that are adaptable or "universally designed" to meet the needs and abilities of multiple generations.

AARP has defined a Livable Community to be "one that has affordable and appropriate housing, supportive community features and services, and adequate mobility options. Together these facilitate personal independence and the engagement of residents in civic and social life."

Phase One of the three year Creating Community Competition, "Planning" asks students to investigate how a mixed-use, multi-generational community can not only fit within a city but how it can improve the lives of all people that live, work and play in the surrounding area. While open to any student, the competition is designed for advanced young designers.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

Competition Objectives

To develop a community master plan that accommodates the needs of the surrounding people and neighborhood.
To research, respond to and highlight the unique aspects of planning a mixed-use development that promotes a livable community for users of all generations and abilities.
To analyze how the creation of a master plan within the larger surrounding neighborhood helps to create a more livable community
To build knowledge of design principles related to universal design and design for all.
To encourage designers to utilize sustainable and universal design principles at all levels of their planning.*

*While AIAS design competitions include specific building products and services like rating and credentialing programs, this should not necessarily be construed as an endorsement by the AIAS.

Site Selection

This is an open competition and designers may chose any site to develop their master plan. When selecting an appropriate site, designers should select a site that is:

within a city with a 100,000 population or greater,
approximately 25 acres (1,000,000 sqft) of land for development,
connected to the city through some form of public transportation or in a location expected to receive public transit service in the near future,
located in an neighborhood that would benefit from the new project and the added revenue, and
would account for use/preservation of any historically significant/occupied building(s)

For any site that does not offer all nessecary services (grocery stores, transportation, general stores, medical care, schooling, recreation), these services should be located within a .5 mile radius of the site to ensure persons of all ages and abilities would have access.

The design for the master plan should take into account not only residents but also occupants of the site. "Occupants" refers to the total number of persons using the community to live, work or shop. "Residents" refers to the total number of persons who live within the community in one of the residential units.

Evaluation Criteria

In addressing the specific issues of the design challenge, submissions will be evaluated on the following:

Cleverness and appropriate use of universal design and design for aging principles.
Demonstration that they have met the competition objectives (see above tab).
Clear and easily comprehensible design.
Originality

Awards

On June 4, 2010, the award winners and honorable mentions will be announced via the AIAS Web site. The award winning entries will be displayed at the 2010 AIA Convention and Design Exposition in Miami, June 10-12, 2010 and at the AIAS FORUM 2010 in Toronto, Ontario December 29, 2010 - January 1, 2011. A press release listing the winning projects will be sent to the schools of all participating students as well as posted on both the AIAS and AARP Web sites.

Winning students/teams and their AIAS chapters* will receive cash prizes totaling $16,000, with the distribution as follows:

First Place $6,000
(AIAS Chapter: $1,000)
Second Place $4,250
(AIAS Chapter: $500)
Third Place $2,150
(AIAS Chapter: $300)
Three Honorable Mentions:
$500 each
Four Merit Awards: $75 each

The top 10 submissions as selected by the jury will also be utilized as case study sites for next year’s Phase Two: Building. Additionally, winning entries will be published in the Fall 2010 issue of Crit, Journal of the AIAS. AARP and the AIAS reserve the right to publish photographs of all entries and names of student entrants without compensation.

*If there is not an AIAS chapter at the student’s school, the chapter prize money will go towards development of a new chapter there

Important Notes

All decisions of AIAS and AARP regarding the eligibility of participants and the validity of entries shall be final and binding. All submissions will be judged by AARP whose decisions and determinations as to the administration of the sponsorship and selection of sponsorship recipients are final. All submissions are the sole property of AIAS and AARP and none will be returned.

AIAS and AARP reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to cancel, or suspend the Competition. Except where prohibited by law, participation in the Competition constitutes the Applicant’s consent to AIAS’ and AARP’s and use of his/her name, street address, city, state, zip code, county, likeness, photograph, video and image, statements made by the Applicants regarding the Competition for promotional purposes in any media without further permission, consent, payment or other consideration.

AARP and AIAS and its respective affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, agents and employees are not responsible for late, lost, illegible, incomplete, stolen, misdirected, illegitimate, or impermissible submissions or mail; postage due mail; or any other error whether human, mechanical or electronic.