Unique in the ever-expanding universe of award programs, our concern is for good places and how people inhabit them.
We seek entries of exemplary work, inviting participation from a range of design and research disciplines, recognizing projects whose significance extends beyond any one profession or field. Projects should emphasize a link between research and practice, demonstrating how an understanding of human interaction with place
can inspire design.
The deadline for entries for the 2009 Great Places Awards is February 9, 2009. The awards jury will be held February 27-28, 2009 at the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, with winners announced the week following. Official presentations will be made in May 2009 at the annual EDRA conference, to be held this year in Kansas City, Missouri (see edra.org for more details). Winning projects will be announced in Metropolis and on the Places website, with full write-ups and commentary published in the Fall 2009 issue of Places.
2009 Jury- David Lake, Lake/Flato Architects
- Elizabeth MacDonald, City and Regional Planning, University of California, Berkeley
- Rahul Mehrotra, Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Lawrence Speck, Page Sutherland Page
- William Sullivan, Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
The ProgramThe Great Places Awards are unique among programs that recognize professional and scholarly excellence in environmental design. They are distinguished by their interdisciplinary focus, concern for human factors in the design of the built environment, and a commitment to promoting links between design research and practice.
We invite participation from the full breadth of environmental design and related research activities, including architecture, landscape architecture, planning, urban design, interior design, lighting design, graphic design, environmental psychology, sociology, anthropology, geography and the physical sciences.
Each year we assemble a jury with diverse backgrounds in design, research, teaching and practice. The jury evaluates how each project, no matter what the discipline, addresses the human experience of welldesigned places. Special attention is paid to the transferability of research about human experience of place into design and planning practice. The jury will select six winners from three categories: place design, place planning, place research, and a book prize.
Past winners have appeared in Places 12.1, 13.1, 14.1, 15.1, 16.1, 16.3, 17.3, 18.3, and 19.3. For more information about the awards program, or to obtain additional entry forms, prospective entrants are encouraged to visit www.places-journal.org and/or
www.edra.org.
Submissions are accepted in the following categories:Place Research. All types of research about the design and use of places can be entered, including (but not limited to) projects that document the form or perception of places or landscapes; evaluate the use or management of recent projects or established settings; or provide background for specific designs, plans or sustainable practices
Place Planning. Any plan that makes proposals for the future use, management or design of a place can be entered — including master plans, specific plans or elements, management plans, vision documents, or charrette proposals. Plans must have been sponsored by an organized entity (such as a public agency, community group, or private business or institution), though they need not have received official
approval.
Place Design. Any design project completed within the last five years (but long enough to assess how well it functions for its users) can be entered. Projects can consist of individual structures, spaces or elements, or groups that work together as a unit. They can involve the design of something new or the reuse of existing resources. The scale may be large or small Each project should account for its relation
to the larger environment of which it is a part.
Book Award. Any recently published book advancing the critical understanding of place and design of exceptional environments may be entered. The book may be primarily scholarly, practical, literary or visual. However, it must be currently available to the public through bookstores, commercial websites, or direct purchase from a publisher, Books may not be self-published. They must have been published for the first time in the last two years. They may not be re-edited or be re-released versions of older works.
Questions to ConsiderPlace PlanningWhat kinds of plans qualify?Any plan that makes proposals for the future use, management or design of a place can be nominated— including master plans, specific plans or elements, management plans, vision documents or charrette proposals. Plans can operate at a range of scales, from a specific area, such as a campus or neighborhood, to a region. They can consider a variety of issues, such as urban design, preservation, environmental management, transportation and accessibility, community development, facilities programming, and community visioning. Plans must have been sponsored by an organized entity— such as a public agency, community group, or private business or institution. Plans should be available for public review, but they need not have received official approval.
What issues does the jury consider?Plans should address how specific places or activities operate within a larger fabric of spatial, functional and cultural relationships. Plans should involve places of public or social significance, consider issues of social importance, or be configured to expand the constituency for a place. Plans should have a clear methodology. They should have effective strategies for participation and communication, involving affected constituencies in formulating the plan and conveying the plan’s significance to those whose involvement and commitment will be necessary. Plans should have demonstrable impacts that are sustainable They should result in specific design, management or policy initiatives; broaden or strengthen the constituency for the place; attract additional resources to the place; or shift the discussion about or perception of the place.
Submission requirementsPlease submit a written statement—no more than two pages or 500 words long— addressing these questions:
- Please describe the following aspects of the plan:
- (a) The place involved
- (b) The client for and/or sponsor of the plan
- (c) The planning methodology and process, including the time frame in which the planning took place
- (d) Strategies for involving people in forming the plan
- (e) Strategies for helping people understand the significance of the proposals
- (f) Proposals for implementation
- What impact has the plan had?
- What research was useful in creating this plan, would be pertinent in evaluating it, or would help make future plans of this sort even more effective?
Place DesignWhat kinds of designs qualify?Nominations can consist of an individual element, or groups that work together as a unit. They can involve the design of something new or the reuse of existing resources. Projects can be of any scale, from a local street to a civic boulevard, a community park to a regional greenway, a room to a cluster of buildings and spaces. Projects must have been completed within the last five years, but long enough ago to assess how well they function for inhabitants and/or users.
What issues does the jury consider?Places must be recognizable as distinct within a larger fabric of relationships—they should help improve their setting by advancing a larger plan, repair an unsatisfactory relationship, or add something that a previous design failed to provide. Submissions should involve a place that is meaningful to a community, consider an issue of social importance, or demonstrate how the design is configured to serve a broader constituency and provide enduring benefits Submissions should address the relationship between design research and design outcomes.
Submission requirementsPlease submit a written statement—no more than two pages or 500 words long—addressing these questions:
- Describe the place and its surroundings, the design process and the outcome.
- How does this specific project contribute to the ongoing transformation of a larger fabric of places?
- What evidence is there that this place is important to its inhabitants or users, or that the project has broadened or strengthened the constituency for this place?
- What issues of social importance does the project consider?
- What research was useful in designing this project, would be pertinent in evaluating it, or would help make future projects even more successful?
Place ResearchWhat kinds of research qualify?All types of research about the design and use of places can be nominated—including (but not limited to)projects that document the form or perception of places or landscapes; evaluate the use or management of recent projects or established settings; or provide background for specific designs or plans.
What issues does the jury consider?Research projects should consider the relationship between physical form and human activity or experience. They should enrich our understanding of how people interact with places from a behavioral, social, cultural or ecological perspective; how people experience places; or processes through which places are designed, occupied and managed. Projects should consider places of public or social importance— such as streets, parks and squares; campuses, religious or commercial facilities; or offices, special housing facilities or extended development patterns. Projects should have broad applicability, informing design practice or teaching. The research methods, findings and implications should be clearly documented and communicated. Projects should be clearly grounded in the context of recent literature and practice; they can revisit previous research, confirming, extending or challenging earlier findings.
Submission requirementsPlease submit a written statement—no more than two pages or 500 words long—addressing these questions:
- Describe the place involved and the client for the study.
- Describe the research question, methodology and findings; explain how the project relates to recent literature and practice.
- How does this research address our understanding of human interaction with or experience of the physical environment?
- What issues and places of social importance does this research consider?
- How can the research findings be used in designing places or teaching about place?
Book AwardWhat kinds of books qualify?Any book published in the last two years advancing the critical understanding of place and design of exceptional environments may be entered. The book may be primarily scholarly, practical, literary or visual. However, it must be currently available to the public through bookstores, commercial websites, or direct purchase from a publisher. Books may not be self-published. They must have been published for
the first time in the last two years. They may not be re-edited or be re-released versions of older works.
What issues does the jury consider?Books should be primarily about the experience, design or understanding of place. They may be analytic, descriptive, or practice oriented. They may be about particular places or about the qualities of place as a general category of study. They may be edited volumes or individually authored works. However, they must demonstrate the mature realization of a stated research agenda, with findings that may be applied in practice, and they must engage with and contribute to existing themes in the literature on place.
Submission requirementsPlease submit a written statement—no more than two pages or 500 words long—addressing these questions:
- Describe the theme of the book, its research premises, and the circumstances under which it was written and produced.
- Describe the questions, methodologies and findings behind the book and how it relates to recent literature and practice.
- Why is this book significant? How does it address our understanding of human interaction with or experience of the physical environment?
- What issues and places of social importance does the book consider?
- How can the book be used in designing places or teaching about place?
