“Letters to the Mayor” Competition

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poster for “Letters to the Mayor” Competition

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Throughout history, architects have engaged with the structures of economic, political and cultural power in different ways.

Over the last two decades, the role of the architect in the political arena has often been reduced to answering questions that others have asked. On exceptional and rare occasions, the architect has been able to push her own agenda through design decisions that test the boundaries and constraints outlined by a client.

Letters to the Mayor presents 50 letters written by a group of international architects to the political leaders of 10 cities around the world. Each letter expresses some of the concerns and desires that architects around the world possess. These letters intend to provide a space of reflection to empower architects in political spheres of action around the world and speak about the importance of innovative design in the construction of our cities.

Letters to the Mayor also presents the finalists of the Competition of Competitions , an international call launched in 2013 which invited architects, artists, economists, philosophers, writers, and citizens at large to create interdisciplinary teams to formulate their visions of the future in the form of a competition brief.

Letters to the Mayor is thus a compilation of briefs, facts, desires and dreams for the construction of our cities, and for future foundations and horizons. All competition briefs and letters will be sent to the Mayor after being presented at the gallery.

Competition of Competitions Finalists
Taking Buildings Down by INC_A
The Discreet Architect by Local Provision Studio Valeria Federighi Janet Yoon
Open Source Open Space: Hacking the Built Environment by Boot/Trunk: Nicole Lindahl, Louise Mackie and Samantha Senn
The City is The Room. The Room is The City. by FormFictionFormat
NO TITLES, A Campaign for Illegal Architecture by GroundLAB
Nature, Error, Babies by Metonymy’s Architecture: Tom Nurmi, Jeffrey Dunn, Meagan Lehr, Erika Wilder
Deploy Yourself, Not Your Designs by The Coalition for the Improvement of Refugee Camps (Mary Monroe & Lee Dykxhoorn)
dePOLITIsign: An open call for the redesign of a USCIS office by Min Chen & Kristin Enright
Amazonia 2020 by Civic Projects
The Next Suburb by The Thirteenth Hour
Off-the-Radar: The Architecture of Non-Existing Space by Mitnick-Roddier
Labyrinth by grey_matter(s)
ReDesign the Discipline of Architecture by The Architecture Lobby
BLISS: Better Living through Intuitive Soft Surveillance by Yeadon Space Agency
Future Factory by Gretchen Wilkins
Rezoning the 5th Façade: Redefining New York’s City Roof Scape by normaldesign
Second Nature by El Corbusier
Into the Void: An Architectural Competition on Emptiness by Felipe Orensanz + Rodrigo Duran / Zooburbia

[Image: Cecil Alexander (left) sitting with Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield (right) in 1958. Georgia State University Library.]

Media

Schedule

from April 30, 2014 to May 24, 2014

Opening Reception on 2014-04-29 from 19:00 to 21:00
The winners of the Competition of Competitions will be announced at the public opening of the exhibition on April 29 at 19:00.

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