A_POCKET

STUDENT COMPETITION1. stage 12.9.2017–6.10.2017

2. stage 25.10–7.12.2017

COMPETITION PROGRAMME

700 m2 of unprogrammed outdoor space framed by Alvar Aalto’s architecture to be redesigned… by you?

A-Wing

Alvarinaukio

1. Competition backgroundThe A_Pocket competition seeks to engage students in the design of a future campus environment. Aiming for potentially implementable but highly ambitious proposals from young creators, the brief asks participants to inventively negotiate the architectural heritage of the campus with new ideas in the form of a “pocket park”.

The competition addresses a historically significant site. The courtyard used to form a central space to the former Department of Architecture in Otaniemi. Alvar Aalto highlighted his perception of the value and prestige of architectural education with marble cladding in courtyard facades in the original plan for the campus. This was the only place where this valuable material was used in addition to the Library building (today: Harald Herlin Learning Centre). Aalto also proposed to create a garden of ancient architectural fragments at the courtyard, displaying timeless ideals in a materialization of classical history, re-contextualized in a modern setting.

The Otakaari 1 building is protected as architectural heritage which places some restrictive conditions on what can be proposed as a design approach. On the other hand, the courtyard poses a highly attractive site for a renewed outdoor space that is also linked to Alvarinaukio. When the courtyard was still occupied by the Architecture Department, its pleasant microclimate proved popular among staff and students who enjoyed breaks outdoors on sunny days. The courtyard could be revitalized as a social locus of intimate scale that fosters low-threshold activities and spontaneous encounters.

The architectural fragments were never shipped from Greece, but the courtyard was eventually furnished with stone blocks providing simple yet sculptural outdoor furniture. These stones were removed in a recent phase of renovation, and the courtyard now lacks a spatial and programmatic idea to reengage its spatial and social potential. In addition, as the surrounding indoor spaces have been reprogrammed for General Studies of Aalto ARTS, new opportunities can also be imagined for the outdoor space central to the building’s architecture.

2. The organizer and purpose of the competitionThe A_Pocket student competition is organized by Aalto University and Aalto University Campus & Real Estate (ACRE). The competition of part of the Campus New Generation project. The strategic initiative seeks to integrate student projects into campus development, utilizing Otaniemi as a testbed for experimental new ideas.

The objective in the A_Pocket competition is to find innovative and feasible proposals for the development of the A-Wing courtyard. A successful proposal will outline a framework for the potential spatial and social content of the site as part of the campus. Participants are encouraged to creatively reimagine and challenge the status quo of the site, yet the scale of transformation is left to the consideration of the participants; a smallest intervention may have the most powerful impact.

The organizers welcome ideas from across the spectrum, from event concepts to physical modification of the space: should

the A_Pocket courtyard become the site of movie picnics, a recreational garden, or a contextual artwork? It is up to the imagination of the competitors.

3. SiteThe competition site is the courtyard of the A-wing in the Undergraduate Centre at Aalto University Otaniemi campus. Proposals should mainly address the site area as shown in image 1 with a red line, but teams may also propose actions that extend outside of

the immediate area. In any case, the main focus in jury evaluation will be in operations proposed within the site boundaries.

As the facades of the A-wing building are protected, major modifications of the architecture can not be considered. Minor additions, such as lightweight canopies that do not obstruct original structures or façadework may be proposed in careful consideration of the qualities of architectural heritage of the building.

Image 1: Site location. Competition area marked with red.

Otakaari 1XA-Wing

Harald Herlin Learning Centre

Alvarinaukio

UNDERGRADUATECENTRE

4. Competition process

1st Stage

The competition will be officially launched 12.9.2017. Once the brief is published, the participants have until 6.10.2017 to work on research, analysis and strategy for a design proposal.

Competitors may submit questions and request additional information by email: heini-emilia.saari@aalto.fi. The deadline for questions is 22.9.2017. The questions will be answered on the competition website at https://aaltocre.fi/apocket/.

The proposal can be represented as text, images, or any combination of media that you feel communicates the idea in the most effective way to the jury. The main focus in evaluating the 1st stage ideas will be in the content of the proposal: if the approach you propose to start building the design work on is convincing, unique and creative–not in flawless visualizations or execution plan at this point. The aim of the 1st stage as qualification is to make the competition effort reasonable in work load and meaningful in content to all participants. Instead of requiring extensive visual material or conventional architectural drawings by default, the organizers believe that the participating teams should be able to choose the most effective means of communication for their approach.

The jury will be looking for inventive insights on how the courtyard could be addressed as a setting for social, cultural and academic life on campus. Teams are encouraged to seek well-researched approaches that are founded on a distinctive strategy. The proposal should articulate

the nature of the space as part of the future campus environment. Again, the organizers wish to highlight that the goal in the 1st stage is not to produce final designs or showcase an extensive design process but to frame an insightful design strategy.

A timely submission of the proposal qualifies as registration to the competition. Only those proposals that are submitted according to the submission guidelines before the deadline will be considered. The jury panel will study the initial proposals and select 3–5 finalists to invite into the 2nd stage of the competition (the number of finalist teams is preliminary and up to re-evaluation by the jury).

2nd Stage

Once the jury has selected the most promising projects for the 2nd stage, the finalists will be given feedback and assigned a mentor each to work with. The mentors will be highly distinguished junior professionals in their fields, selected in order to provide the teams with the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with a critical and motivated coach throughout the design phase. With this practice, the competition organizers hope that the finalist designs will become advanced in their contextual, technological and aesthetic dimensions, and that the teams can benefit from the competition as much as possible as a learning experience.

On 15.11.2017, the finalists will present their work to the jury panel in an interim presentation. The event will be discussion-based and aim at offering the teams an opportunity to interact with the jury and other teams. The jury will be looking at the evolution of the project since the 1st

stage, and discuss with teams different ways of further developing their work in the remaining period. The event is a formal part of the competition process, so failing to attend the event without consulting the competition secretary in advance may result in disqualification of the team.

5. Conclusion of the competition and next steps

The final presentations will take place on 7.12.2017. Results of the competition, including the winner and possible other awarded entries, will be published by 15.12.2017. The format of final deliverables will be negotiated with the teams during the 2nd phase in order to enable the modification of guidelines according to what fits each design approach the best. After the conclusion of the competition, finalists who have participated in the interim presentation and submitted requested materials for the final presentation are awarded 4 ECTS credits per person (up to 5 persons/team).

The competition organizers will consider further actions on the site based on the results. The objective is to negotiate a contract for the next stage of design with the winning team in order to implement the proposal, yet the organizers reserve the right to negotiate with multiple teams, or not continue work with any of the teams.

6. PrizesAll students who successfully submit a proposal for the purpose stated in this programme in the 1st stage of the competition are awarded 1 ECTS credit (per author). Finalists selected for the 2nd stage are

awarded an additional 4 ECTS credits after attending the interim presentation and successfully submitting materials specified by the jury for the final presentation. Finalists also compete for prizes accounting for a total of 4 000 euro. The jury will distribute the prize sum according to their consideration after reviewing the final presentations by all the finalists.

The ECTS credits are registered per person, for up to 5 authors per team. The approval of credits into a degree is to be negotiated individually by participants with the School he/she is enrolled in.

7. Design guidelines

1st Stage: Design Strategy

In addition to displaying an understanding of the historical, architectural and cultural context of the design task, the jury will appreciate insights presenting an interest in engaging and interacting with the Otaniemi community and potential users of the site. In the 1st stage, this could take the form of a research plan for the next stage or even results of preliminary ethnographic work, whatever the participants deem relevant in their approach.

By arguing for their design strategy (explaining key elements of the proposal and objectives to be pursued in the design phase) teams also communicate to the jury what they consider as important factors in the design task. Thus, no exhaustive list of evaluation criteria can be given by the organizers: the space left to the participants to create a design proposal requires also space for the jury to critically reconsider the variety of ways of approaching the task successfully.

In a nutshell, a 1st stage project should tell the jury what should be done at the A_Pocket site, why, and how. General guidelines for a successful proposal include the following:

1. A strategic, argumentative approach to design, communicated in an effective manner that is engaging and understandable for the jury. The jury should not have to be guessing what the point is.

2. An ambitious vision that is not merely conforming to traditional disciplinary boundaries and a well-proven solution space. We look forward to seeing proposals challenge disciplinary scopes of work and define their own perspective to the brief.

3. A design strategy taking existing restrictions and boundary conditions of the site and its planning context as foundational for innovative work. Speculation is perfectly welcome, but it works best when grounded in the nitty-gritty. Unlike in many student competitions, we do not wish to merely find cool ideas that have no use in practice. We are developing a campus of the future and this competition is a method for making it real with the brightest students.

The jury will select projects for the 2nd stage based on these guidelines, focusing on evaluating the unique potential of the proposed approach and its positive contribution to the campus, based on their expertise. The exact number of finalists will be confirmed only after the jury has studied the proposals, as the aim is to find diverse teams with the appropriate ambition to pursue the 2nd phase.

2nd Stage: Concept Development and Design

Finalists will be selected to represent different approaches to developing the courtyard site. In a final presentation event on 7.12.2017, the authors will present their designs in the manner they deem most suitable. However, the presentation must include a 10-minute talk by one or more team members on the core qualities of the proposal, but it can also integrate film, audio or other media deemed purposeful by the team. Note: the team must confirm suitable equipment and file types with the organizers before preparing the presentation material.

After the presentations, the jury will reserve until 15.12.2017 to make their judgment on the winning and/or awarded proposals and recommendations.

General guidelines for jury evaluation are aligned with those of the 1st stage, with one added dimension:

4. The final designs will also be assessed based on their how well the key qualities of the competition proposal would translate into a real project to be implemented on campus. This includes overall feasibility and integration of legal frameworks such as building protection specifications in the design to avoid major modifications to an awarded work. The aim is that the design should become more impressive when implemented, not lose its original charm.

8. Jury and mentorsThe competition entries in will be judged by a multidisciplinary jury. Jury judgment of projects in the 1st stage will be anonymous, and the identity of finalists will only be accessible to the jury after the selection has been concluded. The jury will also give recommendations concerning further planning and design tasks based on the results of the competition.

Jury panel:

Outi Turpeinen, Art Coordinator, Aalto University

Juanjo Galan-Vivas, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Aalto University

Tommy Lindgren, Lecturer in Urban Design, Aalto University

Säde Palmu, AYY representative

Riikka Manninen, Service & Spatial Design, Aalto Campus & Real Estate ACRE

Janne Kupiainen, Design Director, Kuudes Helsinki Oy

Competition secretary:

Heini-Emilia Saari, Project Manager in Campus Development, Aalto University

Mentors

The mentors will be confirmed after the conclusion of the 1st stage.

9. Submission guidelines

1st stage:

The 1st stage of the competition takes place anonymously, so any submission material must not reveal the identity of the authors, aside from an individual one-page document (.docx or .pdf file) containing the authors’ names and contact details. All submitted material of a competition entry must be marked with a title or pseudonym of the authors’ choice. Any proposal that fails to observe these criteria will be disqualified The competition organiser shall not return entries to the participants.

Proposals are to be submitted digitally via the Aalto OpenLearning platform. A workspace titled “A_Pocket Student Competition” has been created for this purpose, accessible at https://openlearning.aalto.fi/course/view.php?id=48. Aalto University students will be able to log in and enroll to the workspace to submit files. More detailed instructions to submitting projects will be added to the competition website at https://aaltocre.fi/apocket.

The submission folder is open until 6.10.2017, 23:59. If working in a team, only one team member submits the proposal. Maximum file size is 100MB, and the platform works for most common image and text file formats (.pdf, .docx, .jpeg). Please provide a sharing link for video files.

Each proposal submission should include (at least) 2 files: 1 file representing the design project in the manner chosen by the team, and 1 document (.pdf or .docx) with the title of the project and names and contact details of authors. You can submit up to 5

files in total, but please combine individual pages into one document, unless you submit multiple file types.

All representation files should be renamed according to the following format:

TitleofProject_number.pdf

For example: Name_1.pdf , Name_2.docx, and so on.

Note: The separate file containing the authors’ contact details must be named as follows:

TitleofProject_authors.pdf

For example: Name_authors.pdf

Competition language is English. Please submit all text material of your project in English.

Exceptionally, projects may also be sent by email to heini-emilia.saari@aalto.fi. Please note that email submission may only be used if the the OpenLearning platform is unavailable. If a team must submit their project by email, the total attachment file size must not exceed 5MB. For larger files, sharing by download links must be used instead of attachment files (such as Dropbox, Google Drive or Wetransfer). Same deadline applies for any email submissions, and late submissions will not be considered.

2nd stage:

In the 2nd stage, submission requirements and materials will be negotiated with the finalists and the jury case-by-case. The jury may request specific material to be produced by finalists after the 1st stage or at the interim presentation.

For the final presentations in December, the jury may request preliminary material from the teams in advance, yet the competitors may continue to work on the presentation until the moment of event. Finalists must make copies of their presentation materials available to the jury at the interim and final presentation events.

10. Copyright and use of entriesThe competition organizers shall have the proprietary right to prize-winning, purchased and rewarded entries. The competitors shall retain copyright to their entries. The competitor who receives the commission as well as the organizers shall have the right to make use of the subjects and ideas of other prize-winning and purchased entries, subject to the originators’ copyright.

In the case of a product which is reproduced, the prize-winner shall have the right to offer his or her entry to another manufacturer, if the competition organiser has not reached an agreement with the prize-winner within 3 months after the conclusion of the competition.

Aalto University and Aalto Campus & Real Estate (ACRE) have the right use and publish any material of the competition entries from all stages of the competition. Design copyright will remain with the authors of the entries. Authors will be credited by name in connection to publication.

11. Useful references

Alvar Aalto Architect - University of Technology, Otaniemi 1949-74. Hipeli, Mia (ed.). Alvar Aalto Foundation, Alvar Aalto Academy 2008. ISBN: 978-952-5498-08-0.

Otaniemen keskeinen kampusalue. Kulttuuriympäristöselvitys (Otaniemi Central Campus as Cultural Environment). Livady & Maisema-arkkitehtuuri MM. Espoon kaupunkisuunnittelukeskuksen julkaisuja 8/2014 (in Finnish). Available at https://www.senaatti-areena.fi/filebank/3179-2014_Livady_Espoo_Otaniemi_KHS_web.pdf

Espoo maps. Open data incl. 3D-buildings, terrain surface models, city plans. https://kartat.espoo.fi/IMS/en/Map

12. AppendicesDownloadable from https://aaltocre.fi/apocket:

1. Competition programme

2. Vector map of Otaniemi

2. Drawings of the A-wing