Bigger than a Breadbox, Smaller than a Building

BRIEF

The Intent

During the last several decades architecture has been deeply affected by the profession's continued interest in the spatial medium of installation. While its accessibility, expediency, and ephemerality have been central to its general appeal, its ability to encapsulate emerging aspects of architecture has made it especially attractive to those seeking to expatiate the multivalent nature of architecture. Resulting in an artifact located in the design space between objects and buildings, installations have been used by artist and designers around the globe to expound upon the minutiae of the spatial condition.

During the 1960s and 1970s installation art first gained value as an artistic medium due to its ability to integrate emerging technologies and hybrid artistic-spatial mediums into the traditional categories of the fine arts, calling into question the premise of art itself and resulting in a dramatic shift in the way that artists are able to engage their craft, the physicality of space, and the participatory agency of the audience. The medium has proven similar value to architecture, allowing for the spatial condition to respond to and incorporate new technology, cultural/social agency, material experimentation, and theoretical agendas in a manner which challenges traditional connotations of the profession itself.

The Exhibition

From June 16th – October 5th of 2015 the Boston Society of Architects' BSA Space gallery will host 'Bigger than a Bread Box, Smaller than a Building,' a gallery exhibition that will examine the appropriation of installation in contemporary architectural practice. While in no way the first excursion into the topic, the exhibition will specifically focus on projects which leverage the medium as an investigative tool, exploring ideas and phenomena that extend beyond the physicality of the installation itself. Although the exhibition will include multiple curated projects from the greater Boston region, an international competition will be held to gather examples of work indicative of the global scope of installation's application within contemporary practices.

Aspirations
It is the curators' hope that submitted projects not only showcase how the medium can be used to explore architectural ideas, but also its ability to provoke questions pertaining to the state of contemporary architecture. While the competition does support the broad interpretation of installation, it does so within the very specific context of the iterative design/research process.

Unlike most design competitions it does not solicit wholly new work, nor does it simply request documentation of prior project; rather it supports a hybrid of the two, asking participants to iterate and reimagine previous installation projects, revisiting the agenda of the earlier work within the specific context of the competition brief. This new iteration is meant to further the research at the core of the previous project, responding to and incorporating the knowledge gained from the prior work. This aligns the emphasis of the competition with that of the Breadbox exhibition, focusing on the ideas being investigated by the installation rather than the installation itself.

The Challenge

Space
The location for the proposed installation is the building lobby at 290 Congress Street in Boston, MA, a double-height space which presently serves as a the primary building lobby to a number of professional offices and a “pass-through" space to adjacent buildings. The location provides limited seating to an adjacent café, as well as access to a large internal staircase and elevator. The staircase provides an immediate connection (physically and visually) between the lobby space and the BSA gallery space on the second floor.

Interested parties are encouraged to visit the building lobby at 290 Congress Street during its public hours of 7am – 10pm.

Submission
The competition requires that two projects be submitted:

1. A past built installation project that used the medium to engage a topic (disciplinary or not) external to the installation itself.
2. A proposed installation for the lobby at 290 Congress Street that builds upon the work done in the first project.

The thread of the external idea should tie the two projects together and be evident in the proposal for 290 Congress Street, furthering the depth of its exploration rather than just re-applying it.

In addition to the two projects, the competition also requires the submission of an abstract which concisely discusses the idea(s) being investigated and how the installation showcases this. Applicants are encouraged to also include this abstract as part of their presentation of the proposed installation, but it is not required.

Please see below for further details on the submission itself.

Specifics
The proposed intervention should strive to activate the existing space as well as actively engage gallery visitors and building occupants.

The intervention should not disrupt the day-to-day circulation through the lobby and should have a limited footprint of approximately 150 square feet on the ground level with the possibility of expanding outward at a level above 8 feet. Proposals can be double height and extend to the ceiling.

The proposed intervention can either supported by ground level lobby floor or, in the case of a lightweight system, the proposal can be suspended; a combination of dead loading and suspension is possible as well. Suspension is to be achieved through the use of beam clamps and metal rod connected to the concealed structure above the ceiling. Access to the steel beams is possible between the exposed wood beams and the white suspended ceiling.

Eligibility
The competition is open to (but not limited to) architects, designers, students, engineers, and technologist that engage the medium of installation as an exploratory tool. All interested parties, regardless of geographic location, are strongly encouraged to submit entries.

The professional practices and/or collaborations of the competition jurors and exhibition curators are not eligible to participate in the competition.

Downloads

Project brief – a PDF document containing all the information regarding the competition itself, including copyright and publication details.

Project files – a ZIP file containing both CAD drawings (dxf format) and a 3D model (3dm format) of the space.

Project photos – a ZIP file containing photographs of the building lobby (jpg format).

Inquiries

All inquiries should be directed to the 'Bigger than a Bread Box, Smaller than a Building' exhibition curators at [email protected]. Any requests/questions that may pose useful to others will be posted on the competition website.

 

JURY

The jurying process will take place in two stages. The preliminary stage will narrow the field of entrants, which will then be ranked and awarded by the final jury. Announcements regarding the results of the primary and final jury will only take place after the final jury has made their decision.

Members
The preliminary jury will include:

• Robert Trumbour, exhibition curator, Khôra (Boston, MA)
• Aaron Willette, exhibition curator, Khôra (Ann Arbor, MI)
• Emily Grandstaff-Rice AIA, President, Boston Society of Architects
• Mary Fichtner, Director of Programs and Exhibits, Boston Society of Architects
• Representative from Archinect.com (TBD)
• Representative from Boston Properties (TBD)

The final jury will include:

• Benjamin Ball, Ball-Nogues Studio (Los Angeles, CA)
• Shauna Gilles-Smith, Ground (Boston, MA)
• Monica Ponce de Leon, MPdL Studio (Ann Arbor, MI; New York, NY; Boston, MA)
• Jenny Sabin, Jenny Sabin Studio (Philadelphia, PA)
• J. Frano Violich, Kennedy Violich Architecture, Ltd. (Boston, MA)

Evaluation
Projects will be evaluated by the jury based on both how well they respond to the competition brief and the quality of the proposed installation for the building lobby at 290 Congress Street. The target audience for the exhibition is the general public, so the legibility of ideas/intent to the layperson is paramount and should not be overlooked.

Awards
The winning design team will receive $3000 towards the completion and installation of their project in the building lobby at 290 Congress Street. The curatorial team will work with the winning design team to identify and pursue additional funding sources as necessary.

Additionally, up to ten entries will be selected to fabricate a small to medium scale component of their competition entry, receiving $500 towards expenses. These components will be displayed alongside project information as part of the gallery exhibition.

 

Competition website: btabb.archinect.com