Who is we? What will you do with the images?

"We" is Bustler, and we would like to publish more of the entries that did not get recognized as winners.

it seems fernando donis (the winner) is a senior designer at OMA! hmm...rigged?

We are extremely deceived by the absence of Madam Zaha Hadid in the Jury who for us and we presume also for many participants was essential. The choice done by the impoverished Jury was obviously affected by her absence because we have noticed that the winning ideas have been already presented in the International Idea Competition for Cheongna CITY TOWER Design in Incheon KOREA in 2008.
What becomes serious and more important is that these ideas you may find among the winning submissions of this Korean competition. Please find enclosed herewith images from these submissions presented in Korea 2008.
It is really pity for THYSSENKRUPP AWARD that the jury members, who’s quality is certainly indubitable, but however has demonstrated such flagrant lack of general knowledge of what happened in the last most important international competitions. The Jury who has been charged by such important mission which is to determine which idea will represent the best and become emblematic for the City of Dubai has failed choosing the ideas in another place for another culture and country.
We consider that DUBAI merits more than an idea already chosen as a symbol for the City of the Future – CHEONGNA.
Who may explain us why Madam Zaha Hadid has not been assisting the Jury works?

Links to projects he has taken part in:
http://www.designscene.net/2008/12/dubai-renaissance-by-oma.html
http://www.dezeen.com/2007/07/19/jeddah-international-airport-by-oma/
http://www.oma.eu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=6

One lecture in Mexico:
http://www.monterreyforum2007.org/index.php?contentID=354

I am surprised because I thought the winner would be a more detailed project, showing the plans with drawings of the spaces with the required surface in m2 of the programmes indicated in the conditions, and also showing more technical issues about the structure and the construction, at least a conceptual scheme to build it (materials, loads, dimensions of the required structure, process for building it).

I would have prefered the winner was a nice idea, but more developed in a technical way, at least conceptually, to make it more real, in the entry for the competition.

If it shows a beam of 5 m of height for a distance of about 100-120m, I would like to know what material this beam is made of. If he is thinking about steel or a more resistant material...
If he has calculated the height of the beam with the weigtht of the own beam and of the people on it...

I would like to know the geometry of these long beams. I would like to know how the fachades are, if you can see through the beams when you are in top space...

I would like how the inclination of the pillars is calculated for the wind load or earthquakes. It´s clear the two pillars are not absolutly in the same plane as if it was a football goal, but I would like to know more about the real estability of this geometry of three "posts".

In conclusion, I thouht the winner would show or give more information about the concepts of structure and construction.

One thing is the form and another thing is how you think to build it. It is very important to show or give information about these ideas of construction.

i just hope that bustler will do something to reach the organizers and jurors of this competition with all this comments and sentiments. its really a big disappointment that this is happening in architecture world, this is an insult to a noble profession, a slap to the face who took part and put their intellect to this international competition. i agree with Spanish Architect, the concept or schematic design must be presented with LOGICAL AND TECHNICAL know how of structure, materials and construction and not just a plain concept in which the jurors tend to neglect and ignore. this is even states and define in the competition brief but i think the jurors never realize all these things, they simple set their own rules in choosing the winners. if you carefully read and studied the design brief, no one among the selected winners had complied.

THESE JURORS SHOULD BE A BRIGHT RED FLAG FOR ANYONE CONSIDERING ENTERING A COMPETITION IN THE FUTURE. THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY THAT A JURY COMPOSED OF A NUMBER OF KNOWN ARCHITECTS COULD COME TO THIS RIDICULOUS CONCLUSION, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY PARTICIPATED IN A FRAUD AND SHOULD BE ASHAMED. LETS HEAR FROM THE 3 MISSING JURORS, HOW EXACTLY DID THIS HAPPEN?
WHERE WAS THYSSENKRUPP? WHERE WERE THE UNESCO RULES?

I won't do the Drogba thing yelling "this is a f***ing disgrace", but the truth is that it is... For more reasons than what we can initially think...

Jurors should have a bit more of self-respect, considering that they are gonna face the shame of being part of such a bad joke.

If Dubai owes something to Mr. Donis, there are more fair ways to solve that. If Thyssen-Krupp owes something to OMA, there are more fair ways to solve that... If Rem, dear Rem Koolhaas is still trying to show to the world how unfair the architectural competitions are... I think he should demonstrate it without spitting in the eye of almost 1.000 teams...

Considering the works by Mr Donis at Dubai, and the OMA influence in the region, it's not rare at all that Zaha suddenly evaporates from the jury... I repeat, it's not rare at all.

Further beyond all the outrageous irony this result could bring to us, there are possible legal actions to be taken, considering that there were a legal contract between the teams participating and the jury… that contract is the briefing which has been absolutely ignored in each one of its points. I repeat; IGNORED, resulting in an adulterated competition. That simple fact, if pushed by all together in a legal sense (this is, with lawyers), can quash the jury result.

This is not a joke, or let’s say, we cannot leave it this way. We cannot allow them to be a joke. This is SO SERIOUS.

How can we tell the world that architecture is a serious, respectful and trusty profession when even in a so advertised international competition the result is faked? Untill the day that we (all the profession) stop permitting this kind of bad jokes, we won’t be respectful at all.

We are not going to discuss the obvious, which is the absurd, insanely disgraceful level of the awarded proposals… some of them constitute a reasonable background for the winner…
But we cannot let this cowards named “jury” to tell the world that these pile of brainless proposals are the best of architecture nowadays…

N O W A Y

...You should have designed a 500m X 500m square dirt field next time, plant one cactus, build everything underground, and call it “the sublime”…

Sorry lads,

Thank God for UIA Unesco guidlines and oversight. There mandate is to prevent this type of competition fraud, so their complicity is outrageous. Are they SERIOUS?
Drawn up jointly by UNESCO and the UIA and approved by the General Conference
of UNESCO, The UNESCO-UIA Rules for International Competitions lay down the
conditions required to launch and run an international architectural competition, and
it sets forth the respective rights and obligations of competitors and promoters. The
UIA is mandated exclusively by UNESCO to see to it that these regulations are
applied, and to approve competitions organized according to them.
In this framework, the International Union of Architects guarantees the exemplariness
of international competitions that preceded, for example, the construction of
contemporary landmark buildings such as the Sydney Opera House, the Georges
Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Tokyo International Forum and the Alexandria Library
in Egypt.

ThyssenCRAP is more appropriate! If the primary requirement was to produce a frame that could be dipped in soap to produce enormous rectangular or circular bubbles, the jury proved to be enlightened beyond our expectations.
This is a travesty.

UIA can be contacted at
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
if enough people write and complain the UIA will be obligated to look into the matter.

from construction week online:

Was ThyssenKrupp award a wasted opportunity?
by Jeff Roberts May 12, 2009

Fernando Donis’ Dubai Frame chosen as winner of the ThyssenKrupp Elevator Architecture Award 2009.

One could have heard a pin drop as the award-winning proposals were read out to a room of journalists and officials from Dubai Municipality (DM). It seemed clear to the critical thinkers in the room that the jury wasn’t dissuaded by entries that seemed to only add to Dubai’s architectural hodgepodge.

“The jury’s decision was disappointing. This was a lost opportunity,” said Dubai architect, Misha Stefan. “The winning projects were all very gimmicky. The jury clearly wasn’t asked to look for something that was contextual or appropriate for Dubai.” In fact, several people in the room questioned whether the jury chose the winning projects for their architectural merit or to massage egos.

As ‘Contemporary Gulf’ architecture becomes more and more popular in cities throughout the region, the idea of modernity coexisting alongside Arabian tradition, history and culture once again seems to have stopped at Dubai’s city limits.

While the Dubai Frame is clearly modern, nothing about it says ‘Gulf’, which begs a host of questions: “What about the Dubai Frame is site-specific?” asked an incredulous Stefan. “What about it is locally appropriate? What has it got to do with Dubai? What has it got to do with the Gulf?”

In a strange twist, a surprise came out of the press conference. The entire process was turned on its head when H.E. Hussein Nasser Lootah, director general of DM, announced that despite the rigour of the jury process, an “internal committee” would ultimately choose the form of the final project.

When asked directly whether another project would be chosen, His Excellency explained that the jury’s 13 months of scrutiny and decision-making will be considered, but that the final decision will rest with those inside Dubai Municipality.

“It’s just a shame,” reiterated Stefan. “This process is a disappointing illustration of what could have been achieved, but wasn’t.”

more from Lootah on the Dubai Frame..........He said a committee would be set up to discuss the designs and decide which one should be built.

“The committee would study these models. Despite the jury selecting winners, we may go for any model that we think is suitable. All entries were designed for Dubai and there are many great designs among them.”

It gets better...

He said: “I wasn’t part of the judging panel but what they have said is that this is a special design for a special city.”

A committee featuring officials and engineers from the municipality will be formed shortly to consider the design along with the runner-up entry from Lou Siwei of China for a 160 metre tall “twisted ring” building called Magic Mirror.

The three third placed designs will also be considered.

He said: “The committee will have a look at all these designs to see how feasible they are.

“It may be that they choose the frame or something else. We don’t know at this stage. “There were so many amazing designs sent in during the competition that it might be the case that something else gets built.

“If it were up to me I would build 10 of these around the city but we have to work within the resources we have.”

The committee is expected to have completed its study by the end of the year.

At present no budget has been finalized for the project.

As all the others competitors who have lost, i am very disappointed by the results of this competition, but I can see in this forum that i am not the only one who thinks this was a complete Joke and this ridiculous joke might cost a lot for the organizers of the competition.
Well, I think they will lose all their credibility in the future and certainly this will not give credits and good reputation for Thyssenkrupp.
So I wonder whether because of the economic crisis that has occurred and I personally think that Dubai and its economy was directly affected, the jury and the authorities of Dubai fake the results and award on purpose a scheme that is not feasible and does not challenge any architectural debate. A frame for Dubai, as if world's attention was not focused enough on this city... I think it is ridiculous and definitely outrageous to propose this insane and stupid sculpture. I think that there is nothing more ridiculous to frame a city so ugly and which does not have any architectural or urban soul... In brief, it is pointless to give a real good project or symbol to this place that really needs some soul but I do not think that Dubai's authorities have a clue of what they're creating in Dubai... By burning all that money in superficial and ugly urban icons, they should have shown a new path for the city's future. For sure modesty and lucidity do not seem to have a place in this place where money and artificiality lead sometimes to non-sense...

Thank god we in Portugal are used to fake competitions and bad architecture.
As far as i could see, there where some really good works in contest, i don't think the winners were among them, but after all, it's they're call.
They've asked for the best international design and i'm convinced they've had it and they've wasted it.
It's simply a pity, but what can we do about it?
Our applause to the winners, but among all, our respect to the non-winners.