"Vertical City Asia" International Design Competition

Introduction:
In an age of ever increasing urbanization with massive migrations from the countryside to the city, Asia is at a significant crossroads. Either existing, unsustainable urban architectural models will continue to be rehashed to accommodate increased population with devastating effects on land, infrastructure, and the environment, or new models of urban architecture will be invented to address the specific needs of Asian urban development.

A 1km x 1km territory in the Beijing region filled with 100,000 people living and working sets the stage for tremendous research and investigation into urban density, verticality, domesticity, work, food, infrastructure, nature, ecology, structure, and programs—the very tenants of urban architecture compressed into a crucible of urban and architectural invention.

The "Vertical Cities Asia" International Design Competition 2011 is organized by the National University of Singapore (NUS) School of Design and Environment (SDE), and sponsored by the World Future Foundation (WFF). The competition was launched on 1 January 2011, premised on the belief that a new paradigm of high density, compact urban development is necessary for a rapidly urbanizing Asia besieged by massive rural to urban migrations.

"Vertical Cities Asia" International Design Competition and Symposium sponsors ten prestigious Schools of Architecture from Asia, North America, and Europe, which include Tsinghua University, Tongji University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tokyo University, National University of Singapore, ETH Zurich, Delft University of Technology, University of California at Berkeley, University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania to develop ideas and theories in urban and architectural form related to density, livability and sustainability specific to the exponential growth of urbanism in Asia. Each school received an invitation to participate in a symposium and a round table held at NUS in Singapore and an invitation to compete in a juried competition with significant financial awards judged by an international jury of experts. Each school received paid travel for three (two students and one professor) and accommodation for the jury and symposium.

The jury was composed of five top architects, including Wong Mun Summ (WOHA Architects, Singapore), Wang Shu (Amateur Architectural Studio, Hangzhou, China), Ken Yeang (T.R Hamzah & Yeang International, Malaysia), Joaqiun Sabate (Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain), Alan Balfour(Georgia Tech College of Architecture, USA). Each jury member while in Singapore lectured on Asian Urbanism and Vertical Cities as well as participated in the symposium on urban architecture in Asia.

The proceeds of the competition and symposium lectures were compiled and edited into a full feature publication distributed internationally, as well as presented in an exhibition held at NUS (and the possibility of traveling to the participating universities).

Diversity of approaches both inside and outside of Asia were promoted to push the boundaries of current architectural and urban thinking.

Deliverables from the Competition, Symposium, and themed studio included the publication of a book inclusive of all five lecture transcripts edited for content, edited transcripts of all symposium topics, with introductions by NUS representatives. Poster and online content were sent out internationally and an exhibition of the invited universities work were held in Singapore in conjunction with the Symposium.

Each participating institution shortlisted two schemes for submission to the Competition which closed on 30 June 2011.

The Jury and Symposium took place a week after in Singapore on July 6, 7 and 8, 2011.

For more information, please refer to: http://www.verticalcitiesasia.com/