Changing Course Competition

Changing Course Competition Seeks Innovative Design Solutions for the Lower Mississippi River Delta

RFQ calls for multidisciplinary teams to provide new concepts for a sustainable Delta

A “Request for Qualifications” for Changing Course, a paid design competition aimed at creating innovative solutions for the Lower Mississippi River Delta, was issued today by its Leadership Team comprised of key local and national stakeholders.

The Delta, one of America’s great natural resources, supports the country’s economy, wildlife and cultural heritage. But after decades of abuse and narrowly defined management, the Delta is disappearing rapidly, virtually melting into the Gulf of Mexico. This land loss is endangering New Orleans and the area’s many smaller communities, and threatening a national economy dependent upon the River and its Delta for shipping, natural resources, and energy infrastructure.

The Changing Course competition, with the support and participation of the State of Louisiana and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, seeks to develop approaches that demonstrate how, over time, the Mississippi River’s water and sediment can be used to maximize rebuilding of Delta wetlands in areas adjacent to the River below New Orleans and continue to meet the needs of navigation, flood protection and coastal industries and communities.

This development of new approaches for the River, which may include suggestions for new alignments for the lower River, is directly responsive to needs identified in Louisiana’s 2012 Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast. An independent effort led by local and national leaders, Changing Course will contribute additional innovation, competition and private sector engagement to the exploration of these needs, and do so in time for consideration during the next iteration of the coastal Master Plan in 2017.

Changing Course invites teams of prominent engineers, coastal scientists, planners, and designers to register to the competition by October 4, 2013. Request for Qualifications are due October 25, 2013.

Successful entrants will be invited to a Request for Proposals Forum, held in New Orleans in January 2014. The design competition will consist of two phases, Framework Design and Concept Design, and will run through 2014.

Resulting visions from the competition will be vetted by technical experts, stakeholder and community interests, and the public.

For more information and to download the RFQ visit: http://www.changingcourse.us