The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) has launched a student competition called This Public Space that asks participants to consider the role of “hangouts” in cities by developing strategies that make public spaces more inclusive.
The competition poses the question, “why do we seek escape from the city, and what forms of escape can we find within the urban environment?” based on New York’s Van Alen Institute’s theme Elsewhere: Escape and the Urban Landscape. The Van Alen Institute is a not-for-profit architectural organization that aims to improve public realm design.
The brief encourages participants to take a cross-disciplinary approach to making public spaces more inclusive and open to a diverse range of people using various strategies – from programming approaches to temporary installations.
Tertiary students of all levels from Australia and New Zealand are welcome to enter the competition in groups of up to four members. Prize money of $3,000 will be available to either the competition winners or multiple finalists.
The final date for submissions is Friday 25 September, and semifinalists’ work will be presented and critiqued at This Public Life, AILA’s Festival of Landscape Architecture, in Melbourne on Thursday 15 October.
For more information about the competition, click here.
