A NEW INFRASTRUCTURE: Innovative Transit Solutions for Los Angeles
An Open Ideas Competition
Sponsored by SCIFI at SCI-Arc and The Architect’s Newspaper

Entries Due March 13, 2009; Winners Announced March 21,2009 at SCI-Arc.

Download Competition Information and Entry Form Here:
http://www.sciarc.edu/news.php?id=1376

Los Angeles, CA (January 15, 2009) – The passage in November 2008 of Measure R, a half cent sales tax in Los Angeles County, will provide as much as $40 billion for transit-related projects across the City of Los Angeles over the next 30 years. Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to make the largest investment since the 1950s to rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure.

In response to this historic opportunity, the SCIFI (Southern California Institute of Future Initiatives) program at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and The Architect’s Newspaper are sponsoring an open ideas competition for architects, engineers, urban planners and students to propose new ideas for LA County’s transit infrastructure.

The competition will encourage entrants to develop solutions that dramatically rethink the relationship between transit systems, public space and urban redevelopment. Competitors will be encouraged to work within the parameters of LA County Ballot Measure R. Their entries will focus on specific rail extension projects and also take a look at larger-scale, inter-related transit planning challenges.

The competition jury will include Thom Mayne, Principal and Founder of Morphosis Architects, Aspet Davidian, Director, Project Engineering Facilities, LA Metro, Neil Denari, Professor, UCLA; Principal, Neil M. Denari Architects, Gail Goldberg, Director of Planning, City of Los Angeles, Roland Genik, Urban Planner and Designer, Exposition Line, Cecilia V. Estolano, CEO of Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, and Eric Owen Moss, Director, SCI-Arc; Principal and Founder of Eric Owen Moss Architects as well as transit engineers from Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), developers, and local civic leaders.

Questions? Forward all questions by January 25, 2009 to: peter_zellner@sciarc.edu
A FAQ will be published on or before January 25, 2009

Awards, Jury Discussion and Exhibition Schedule
Saturday, March 21, 2009, 2–6pm
Public announcement of winners and jury discussion, 2 pm
Exhibition opening reception, 4 pm

Exhibition of selected entries will remain on view at SCI-Arc from March 21 to March 28, 2009. SCI-Arc is open daily, 10am-6pm.

About SCIFI (Southern California Institute for Future Iniatives) at SCI-Arc Led by Peter Zellner and David Bergman, SCIFI is a post-graduate program under the direction of Hsin Ming Fung and focused on promoting innovation within design, policy, and planning responses to the economic, social and environmental futures of global cities and regions. SCIFI is dedicated to supporting investigations into the impacts of urban and planning policy, transnational financial markets, real estate speculation, and socio-economic globalization on the evolution of local urban fabrics.

About The Architect’s Newspaper
Combining timeliness with authority, The Architect’s Newspaper is the most comprehensive source of information on the latest projects and commissions, unfolding politics and debate, current events and cultural developments related to architecture, with two editions focusing on the East and West Coasts. Up-front news is rounded out by a mix of topical essays, opinionated columns, project analyses, profiles, interviews, reviews of exhibitions and books, plus a complete calendar of important events and competitions.
www.archpaper.com

Institutional Partners
Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design
American Institute of Architects - Los Angeles Chapter
The American Planning Association - Los Angeles Section