Reburbia Competition Announces the Winners

The winners of Reburbia, the Suburban Design Competition, have just been announced today (see also previously Bustler). The competition, sponsored jointly by Dwell and Inhabitat.com, called for design solutions that would address the problems that plague present-day suburbia by envisioning different scenarios for the future.

From over 400 international submissions, the judges narrowed the list of the best entries down to 20 finalists, and eventually decided on three prize-winning projects. Additionally, a People’s Choice Award was selected through an online voting process that allowed the general public to elect their favorite entry from a list of twenty finalists.

Frog’s Dream: McMansions Turned into Biofilter Water Treatment Plants by Calvin Chiu

The grand prize goes to Frog’s Dream: McMansions Turned into Biofilter Water Treatment Plants, submitted by Calvin Chiu. The design proposed converting abandoned suburban tract homes into wetland areas, using vegetation to filter and clean water in abandoned suburban areas for nearby urban centers. Of this entry, judge Geoff Manaugh, author of BLDGBLOG, said, “I love the trans-species approach, the acceptance of certain economically obvious shifts that are occurring already in many a recently constructed suburb, and the hydrological inventiveness. It’s poetic, not practical – and that’s exactly why this project is positive evidence of how we might really rethink suburbia.”

Entrepreneurbia: Rezoning Suburbia for Self-Sustaining Life by Urban Nature, F&S Design Studio, and Silverlion Design

The second place prize goes to Entrepreneurbia: Rezoning Suburbia for Self-Sustaining Life, submitted by Urban Nature, F&S Design Studio, and Silverlion Design. This entry called for reining in sprawl and making suburban communities more vibrant and walkable by transforming uniformly residential neighborhoods into entrepreneurial incubators by changing zoning laws to support small businesses. Of this entry, judge Jill Fehrenbacher, founder of Inhabitat, said, “The idea was one of the few entries in the Reburbia competition that wasn’t really a design proposal at all, but instead a policy proposal — and it was clearly the most practical, cost-effective and energy-efficient proposal submitted to us, and therefore the one which has the biggest potential to effect real change.”

Big Box Agriculture: A Productive Suburb by Forrest Fulton

The second runner-up was Big Box Agriculture: A Productive Suburb, submitted by Forrest Fulton. This entry proposed turning big box store parking lots into farms, the interior of the stores into greenhouses and restaurants, and many of the existing structural details into renewable energy generators. Of this entry, judge Eric Corey Freed of OrganicArchitect said, “Flipping the economic flow of agriculture and commerce is a much needed step in the right direction. I love that this entry looks at reuse of existing infrastructure, local farming and methods of growth.”

Urban Sprawl Repair Kit: Repairing the Urban Fabric by Galina Tahchieva

Finally, the People’s Choice Award entry, which was selected through an online voting process that allowed the general public to elect their favorite entry from a list of twenty finalists, was the Urban Sprawl Repair Kit: Repairing the Urban Fabric, submitted by Galina Tahchieva. With a staggering 2,348 votes, the design delineated five building typologies characteristic of suburbia, and corresponding formulas for recreating them in order to promote environmental responsibility and community building. There were a total of 188 comments on Ms. Galina’s proposal, of which the vast majority echoed the thoughts of Walter Chatham who said, “This is an incredibly thoughtful and practical solution to poor urban design, but
 it also suggests how the many, many “tired” relics of the twentieth century can find intelligent and useful life well into the twenty-first century. This is the greenest idea of all.”

The winners will be featured on Inhabitat.com, Dwell.com and Re-burbia.com, and as well as in Dwell magazine’s December 2009/January 2010 issue, which will explore the future of design. The grand prize winner will also receive $1000.

Images: Reburbia