Competition of the Moment

MINE THE GAP is the Chicago Architectural Club's 2010 Chicago Prize Competition. Its site is one of the most instantly recognizable signs of the economic slowdown and Chicago's ambition to extend itself as a global city.

MINE THE GAP, a single-stage international design ideas competition dedicated to examining one of the most visible scars left after the collapse of the real estate market in Chicago: the massive hole along the Lake Michigan shore that was to have been—and may yet be—the foundation for a singular 150-story condominium tower designed by an internationally-renowned Spanish architect, a tower which was to have become a new icon for the city and region. What to do with the gap? Whether or not the project is resuscitated, what else can we do with this strategic and highly-charged site? Once the motor of real-estate speculation has stalled, what can we use to propel ourselves, and the discipline, forward?

Some more information:

Prizes:
First Prize: $3,500
Second Prize: $1,500
Third Prize: $750
Up to 3 Honorable Mentions will be awarded.

The results of this competition will be announced in May 2010, at a public event to be held in Chicago. All entries will be published in the forthcoming issue of the CAC Journal, alongside the results of the 2008 Burnham Prize Competition, Union Station 2020.

Deadline:
Competitors may submit material online anytime between March 22, 2010 and May 3, 2010. Registration is open, and may be completed anytime before the deadline.

Entry Fee: Register Now
CAC Members: $30
Students: $50
Professionals: $90

Jury:
Lynn Becker
Writer, Chicago Reader and Architecturechicagoplus

Preston Scott Cohen (pending confirmation)
Principal, Preston Scott Cohen, Inc.
Professor and Department Chair
Harvard University

Martin Felsen
Partner, UrbanLab; Chicago, IL
Professor, Illinois Institute of Technology
Director, Archeworks

Jeanne Gang
Patner, Studio/Gang/Architects
Professor, Illinois Institute of Technology

Robert Somol
Professor and Department Director
University of Illinois-Chicago

Antony Wood
Executive Director
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
Professor, Illinois Institute of Technology