The Philadelphia Water Department, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Community Design Collaborative have partnered to launch a national, interdisciplinary design competition promoting the creative and innovative use of green storm water infrastructure in Philadelphia and other cities. The design competition is part of Infill Philadelphia: Soak it Up!—a design initiative exploring how green storm water infrastructure can revitalize urban neighborhoods.
Design teams must register by Friday, November 30, 2012. Nine finalists will be selected to present at an awards event at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University next year. A jury will select one winning design for each of the three sites. The three winning competition teams will each receive a cash prize of $10,000.
Interdisciplinary teams of architects, landscape architects, engineers and other professionals will be challenged to develop new models for green storm water infrastructure, focusing on one of three sites in Philadelphia:
Warehouse Watershed: A warehouse and a city-owned vacant lot that offer possibilities for public-private partnerships and the revitalization of a high-vacancy, mixed-use residential/industrial district.
Retail Retrofit: A retail strip center that has the potential to play a more central role in the surrounding neighborhood through improved walkability, pop-up space for community events and access to river recreation.
Greening the Grid: An historic neighborhood with an engaged community and a dense network of streets, alleys, roofs and open space that offers possibilities for an array of small-scale interventions.
Green storm water infrastructure is crucial to the implementation of Green City, Clean Waters, the City’s innovative, environmentally sustainable, 25-year plan to protect and enhance local waterways primarily through the use of green storm water infrastructure. “As we evolve Philadelphia into America’s most sustainable and green city, the opportunities ahead will be limited only by the confines of our imaginations and the extent of our determination,” says Howard Neukrug, Commissioner of the Philadelphia Water Department.
“Our partnership with Philadelphia represents the EPA’s firm commitment to encourage, support, and assist municipalities that adopt green infrastructure to improve both water quality and the sustainability of their communities,” says EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin.
Beth Miller, Executive Director of the Community Design Collaborative, adds, “This design competition will get everyone thinking about the broader community benefits of green stormwater infrastructure. We look forward to seeing the results.”
A Competition Packet with full details about the competition is available online at http://infill.cdesignc.org.
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