The New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has awarded its 2014 Community Development Award to the Rebuild by Design competition organized by President Obama's Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force. The results of the competition were announced in June this year, with six schemes, including proposals by BIG and OMA awarded a total of $920 million to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy and improve the resilience of the coastline in the region.
More on the award after the break
In her letter nominating Rebuild by Design for the Award, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer wrote: "The unprecedented scale of the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy was a wakeup call for Hoboken. It became increasingly clear that the city's futuredepended on urgently addressing our risk to flooding. For a relatively small city like Hoboken, The Rebuild by Design competition presented a unique opportunity to undertake a challenge of this magnitude."
Hoboken will be transformed thanks to OMA's winning design, Resist, Delay, Store, Discharge, which is designed to prevent a repeat of the widespread floods which occurred in the city after the hurricane.
"After the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy, it was our belief that we could not simply rebuild what previously existed; but rather we needed to build something stronger," said Henk Ovink, Principle of Rebuild by Design. "Having dedicated the past several years to developing this idea of resilience, it is an extraordinary feeling to have our efforts—as well as the innovative ideas of each Rebuild by Design team—recognized before such a distinguished group."
"Rebuild by Design is truly an unprecedented competition for the United States," added David van der Leer, executive director of Van Alen Institute, which was one of the competition's organizing partners. "Through a historic and highly collaborative process this design competition has married forward-looking yet implementable designs, exemplary engineering, innovative community engagement, and advanced governance thinking."
Click the link below to see the six projects that emerged from the Rebuild by Design competition:
