THE JURY
TODD DEGARMO
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ANNA PIETRZAK
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JURY COMMENTS
SELECTION PROCESS:
The selections are focused on projects that challenge the relationship between city and waterfront, using the aquarium program as an opportunity to bring the city and its people close to the water in a new way compared to traditional parks and aquariums. Another critical element is that most of these have a certain simplicity and that their design communicates their intent rather clearly- but not bluntly-, a critical trait for a project geared towards public use. These proposals go beyond the iconic to start constructing a story, or a fairytale that gets embedded in the life of the city. They emphasize the building of the atmosphere and the experience and in that they are more in tune with our times and the way people try to live life- a life they broadcast, a life in which experiences are more valuable than possessions, a life where we start to understand the consequences that human evolution and pollution have had in the world and try to redefine our relationship with our planet.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
- provocative projects. those that question the actual program of the aquarium as a building typology.
- projects that show a strong desire to invent!
- projects that demonstrate a strong position towards ecology. an aquarium is, above anything a place occupied by a certain fauna, which should be a driving vector.
- projects that use water as a main material in the design, organization and functioning of the project.
- Submissions that create simple, legible buildings that are relatively well resolved.
- Projects that explore greater complexity, creating more unique expression.
- Projects that take a more landscape based, “non-building’ approach and develop a poetic response.
- Projects that establish truly engaging human experiences
- Projects thinking 'outside the tank'
- Projects considering the edu-tainment value of the experience.
- Projects considering the connection to the water as it heightens the visitors experience & expectation.
The selections are focused on projects that challenge the relationship between city and waterfront, using the aquarium program as an opportunity to bring the city and its people close to the water in a new way compared to traditional parks and aquariums. Another critical element is that most of these have a certain simplicity and that their design communicates their intent rather clearly- but not bluntly-, a critical trait for a project geared towards public use. These proposals go beyond the iconic to start constructing a story, or a fairytale that gets embedded in the life of the city. They emphasize the building of the atmosphere and the experience and in that they are more in tune with our times and the way people try to live life- a life they broadcast, a life in which experiences are more valuable than possessions, a life where we start to understand the consequences that human evolution and pollution have had in the world and try to redefine our relationship with our planet.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
- provocative projects. those that question the actual program of the aquarium as a building typology.
- projects that show a strong desire to invent!
- projects that demonstrate a strong position towards ecology. an aquarium is, above anything a place occupied by a certain fauna, which should be a driving vector.
- projects that use water as a main material in the design, organization and functioning of the project.
- Submissions that create simple, legible buildings that are relatively well resolved.
- Projects that explore greater complexity, creating more unique expression.
- Projects that take a more landscape based, “non-building’ approach and develop a poetic response.
- Projects that establish truly engaging human experiences
- Projects thinking 'outside the tank'
- Projects considering the edu-tainment value of the experience.
- Projects considering the connection to the water as it heightens the visitors experience & expectation.
WINNING PROJECTS:
All three are simple, powerful designs that work to bring their core concept to the foreground and make it easily communicable and ultimately iconic. They are thoroughly, effectively and concisely explained through images, diagrams, plans and texts. The merits of these proposals are self evident and make them rise above all other proposals within the finalists.
1. NYC Aquatrium
The Building concept is intriguing and alluring; it plays with subtleties rather than with huge or hulking impact that contrasts and plays against the density and grain of NYC in a very poetic manner. The multiple level sectional design is also good and allows for beautifully depicted sensations in the presentation that will encourage a very immersive phenomenological experience.
The experience of being underwater is often compared to being in outer space, and this entry embodies such otherworldly qualities. The boundaries within the project are also interesting, especially how water from the river is contained within the site. The simple geometry is powerful and dynamic creating memorable, transportive spaces.
2. Vers Le Mer
The concept is very poetic. There's tension within the idea that the buildings are floating on the water, yet their program demands that they also be filled with water. They seem more like boats than buildings. There is also a strong sense of exploration as one meanders on the boardwalk paths between pavilions.
A floating maze configuration over water that meanders through glowing cubes and expresses a symbolic will to sustain life is admirable. One would stand on one side of the floating deck and see layers of people and cubes and appreciate the harmony of nature and manmade. It's an urban park over water that let you and others be the facade of the project as visitors participate in moments of wonder.
3. Merroir
Merroir questions what architecture and our built environment is. It questions what an experience of nature should be and it gives a non-conventional answer to the question of an aquarium. It questions taking animals away from their natural habitat, and therefore avoids the creation of spaces that try to recreate a ”natural environment”. The project is in the line of evolution of what a zoo or an aquarium is: a place for research and pedagogy. The proposal challenges the old centralized model to provide a distributed answer in which the animal does not serve the eye of the public, but where the relationship between man and animal is reciprocal. In which nature and humankind cohabit and do not compete.
All three are simple, powerful designs that work to bring their core concept to the foreground and make it easily communicable and ultimately iconic. They are thoroughly, effectively and concisely explained through images, diagrams, plans and texts. The merits of these proposals are self evident and make them rise above all other proposals within the finalists.
1. NYC Aquatrium
The Building concept is intriguing and alluring; it plays with subtleties rather than with huge or hulking impact that contrasts and plays against the density and grain of NYC in a very poetic manner. The multiple level sectional design is also good and allows for beautifully depicted sensations in the presentation that will encourage a very immersive phenomenological experience.
The experience of being underwater is often compared to being in outer space, and this entry embodies such otherworldly qualities. The boundaries within the project are also interesting, especially how water from the river is contained within the site. The simple geometry is powerful and dynamic creating memorable, transportive spaces.
2. Vers Le Mer
The concept is very poetic. There's tension within the idea that the buildings are floating on the water, yet their program demands that they also be filled with water. They seem more like boats than buildings. There is also a strong sense of exploration as one meanders on the boardwalk paths between pavilions.
A floating maze configuration over water that meanders through glowing cubes and expresses a symbolic will to sustain life is admirable. One would stand on one side of the floating deck and see layers of people and cubes and appreciate the harmony of nature and manmade. It's an urban park over water that let you and others be the facade of the project as visitors participate in moments of wonder.
3. Merroir
Merroir questions what architecture and our built environment is. It questions what an experience of nature should be and it gives a non-conventional answer to the question of an aquarium. It questions taking animals away from their natural habitat, and therefore avoids the creation of spaces that try to recreate a ”natural environment”. The project is in the line of evolution of what a zoo or an aquarium is: a place for research and pedagogy. The proposal challenges the old centralized model to provide a distributed answer in which the animal does not serve the eye of the public, but where the relationship between man and animal is reciprocal. In which nature and humankind cohabit and do not compete.