New architecture and design competitions addressing D.C.'s public realm, winter art installations, hopeful gardens, and affordable housing in NYC

And just like that, it was November. The design year is far from over though — for this week's curated picks of new competitions listed on Bustler, we have selected four challenges calling for the provocative conceptualization of Washington D.C.'s public realm, creative winter art installations in Toronto, temporary gardens in Quebec to spread post-pandemic hope, and ideas for affordable rental housing at NYC’s Sunnyside Yard.

For the complete directory of newly listed competitions click here. 

POLITICS, PROTEST +PLACE : The Role of Inclusive Urbanism in Civic Activism
Register/Submit Deadline: Sunday, Nov 15, 2020

"As architects and urban designers, we are stewards of public space, and it is our professional and civic responsibility to influence change (and our elected officials) toward a more equitable built environment for all. We call on all designers to use the public realm of the District of Columbia as a canvas for provocative conceptualization to facilitate social activism in our public realm in new and novel ways."

Winter Stations 2021
Register/Submit Deadline: Tuesday, Nov 24, 2020 (UPDATED)

"Winter Stations is a single-stage international design competition held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Participants are tasked with designing temporary winter art installations which incorporate existing lifeguard towers spaced strategically across the city’s Kew and Woodbine beaches. The structures (not in use in the wintertime) must not be ignored in the design and can be used as either an armature for the installations, a central feature, or other- wise linked to the installation. As in previous years, Winter Stations intends to build approximately four winning proposals for a six-week exhibition along the waterfront, funding permitted."

International Garden Festival 2021 at Les Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens: "Magic Lies Outside"
Register/Submit Deadline: Tuesday, Dec 8, 2020

"The International Garden Festival, presented at the Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens in the Gaspésie region of Québec, Canada, is preparing its 22nd edition and is issuing an international call for proposals to select designers who will create the new temporary gardens that will be presented from June 26, 2021. Building on the success of the past summer (where 60,000 visitors safely toured twenty-five garden installations), the 2021 Festival is intended to deliver hope, celebrate creativity and bring colour to a world battling to emerge from months of indoor confinement after a global pandemic."

Gaining Urban Space: Solving NY’s Affordable Housing Shortage
Register/Submit Deadline: Tuesday, Feb 23, 2021

"The Metals in Construction magazine 2021 Design Challenge is a competition to generate ideas for creating an environment suitable for affordable rental housing over a portion of NYC’s Sunnyside Yard situated between Queens Blvd and Honeywell Street. This site is Phase 1 of the plan as proposed in the Sunnyside Yard Master Plan Handbook (SYMPH), a detailed technical guide for exploring the rail yard’s development opportunities."

If you would like to contribute competitions, award programs, or calls for submissions that aren't listed on Bustler yet, send them directly to our team to review. We may include them in next week's roundup.

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