São Paulo – Aecom, a multinational firm that develops projects and provides consultancy in architecture, urbanism landscaping, is accepting entries for an international contest for students in these fields. To be eligible, students must develop urban projects for seven cities around the world, among them Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, and São Paulo, in Brazil. The other cities are Phoenix, in the United States, Beijing, in China, Port-au-Prince, in Haiti, Istanbul, in Turkey, and Johannesburg, in South Africa.
Students should submit integrated projects that contemplate the natural environment, but also involve the social space and built areas. The contest is entitled Urban SOS: Transformations.
“The intention is to give students from all over the world the opportunity for real engagement with issues facing built, natural and social environments, exploring the topic of transformations, looking at seven cities in particular that are in the midst of a change or collection of changes that represent both challenges and opportunities to the shared futures of each city,” according to a release issued by Aecom.
Graduate and postgraduate students of architecture, urbanism, landscaping and related fields are eligible. According to information supplied by Aecom, projects may be developed individually or in four-person groups, but the company advises the formation of multidisciplinary groups.
The five shortlisted entrants will win trips to the World Architecture Festival, due in Barcelona, Spain, from November 3 to 5. On the occasion, they will present their ideas to a jury comprising industry representatives, academicians and Aecom professionals. The deadline for submission of works is July 31st, and the shortlist will be announced in September. The final result will be announced on November 5, and the winner will earn a prize of US$ 20,000.
In 2009, the winner was Sabrina Kleinenhammans, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She devised a project for developing a green area, geared towards agriculture and leisure, at transport corridors in Mumbai, India.
Information:
Site: http://www.aecom.com/urbansos
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
