Moore Square Design

Schedule:
Registration due: September 10, 2009, 5:00 p.m., EDT
All questions and inquiries due: September 14, 2009, 5:00 p.m., EDT
Submission deadline: September 29, 2009, 5:00 p.m., EDT
Jury review: October 5-6, 2009
Competition winners awarded: October 24, 2009

Design Competition Overview
The Competition is an opportunity for young designers and the area’s local firms to engage in the momentum taking place in Raleigh and to address the City’s goals to advance diversity, enhance connection between Downtown and surrounding communities, and encourage more environmental/sustainable development solutions.

Following jury deliberations and decisions, the winning designs will be exhibited in a Downtown space and on the Internet.  An awards ceremony to announce the winners of the design competition and present awards will take place during Raleigh Wide Open in October. The results of the design competition, including entries and winners, will be summarized in a printable, web-based publication.

Design Competition Rationale
Moore Square is a historic, signature destination in Raleigh. It hosts a range of high-profile events with a citywide and regional draw including Downtown Live concerts, Farmers Market, Artsplosure, SparkCon, World Beer Festival, area school activities, and summer movies, to mention a few. Moore Square was not designed as a large event venue, and increasingly heavy use has created significant maintenance issues and compromised the attractiveness of the Park for citizens, workers, and visitors. Over the upcoming year, many of the current events may move to other new public spaces in Downtown Raleigh (including City Plaza and, later, the Festival site).

The Departments of City Planning and Parks and Recreation, working with the State and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, seek to understand and balance how Moore Square will be developed and programmed within the context of new public event spaces opening across Downtown.  Additionally, the design competition will incorporate community input while retaining its historic integrity.

Competition Objectives
The project involves an Open Call for Ideas that will inform the follow-up Moore Square Design Competition.  Its objectives are to:

• Create a unique public space and urban experience for the 21st century;
• Engage broad public participation throughout the process and in the future; and
• Establish the conditions to develop a sustainable economic development strategy for the Moore Square area.

Community Open Call for Ideas
The Open Call for Ideas June 17 (Marbles Kids Museum) and June 27 (Chavis Community Center) kicked off the creative process of soliciting site and programming ideas for Moore Square.  City-wide public participation was encouraged among all who are vested in the square: residents, CACs, environmental groups, Downtown Raleigh Alliance membership, the Moore Square property owners and businesses, local schools, and universities, and neighborhood and parks advocates.  The Open Call for Ideas was an opportunity for the public to contribute their big - and not so big - ideas for the Park.  Ideas evolved from resident and visitor memories, current user experiences, and community conversations throughout the city about the square’s significant history and its future as a destination.

City of Raleigh