The 5th Annual Ed Bacon Student Competition: Designing the Fair of the Future

To all who are interested:

We are excited to announce the launch of the 5th annual Ed Bacon Student Design Competition! Over the past several years this competition has given students the opportunity to focus on real-life urban design problems that embody challenges facing cities across the developed world.

This year’s competition, “Designing the Fair of the Future,” is a chance for students to dream big! With the 250th birthday of America in 2026, students are asked to imagine an international World’s Fair style celebration in Philadelphia. Ed Bacon himself proposed a 1976 World’s Fair in Philadelphia as a way to lay infrastructure for future urban development. While that project fell apart for reasons both financial and political, it may yet be possible to successfully pursue this model for urban development.

Philadelphia’s southern tip is an under-planned section of the city that would benefit from infrastructure and other investments. It already includes stadiums, waterfront, industrial sites, oil refineries, corporate headquarters, shipping terminals, residential neighborhoods, and parks but has yet to be fully activated by a compelling and cohesive design plan. How could a grand international celebration of America’s birth help spark better use of this land?

This competition is open to US and international students of any discipline at the college or university-level. The program launches online today and entries are due at the Center for Architecture by 6pm on November 02, 2010. First prize is $2,000, with total prize money of $6,000.

We welcome individual and team submissions, and encourage you to promote this program to your students. Please feel free to incorporate this program into your curriculum or fall-semester studios. For more information, please visit www.edbacon.org/USA250 or email [email protected].