Perkins+Will has selected a winning entry for its annual internal competition, the DLC Design Competition, hosted by the firm’s Design Leadership Council (DLC).
The Grid l River l Landmark, submitted by Silias Haslam and Yanwen Xiao of Perkins+Will’s Washington, D.C. office, was favored by an outside jury of design and planning experts. The plan is to decontaminate the Chicago River along a 200-acre stretch of long abandoned and contaminated land just south of Chicago’s Loop.
“The winner developed the architectural expression in a manner that was convincing, credible and beautiful,” Andrew Metter, director of design at Epstein Architects, and one of the five jurors, said. The team of jurors reviewed all 15 finalists in a public session at the Chicago Cultural Center.
According to the firm, the annual initiative challenges young architects at Perkins+Will to devise plausible solutions to real-world design issues. This year’s competition asked Perkins+Will architects to creatively imagine new, sustainable design possibilities for one of the largest remaining undeveloped pieces of land stretching along the Chicago River.
The design teams were charged with designing a sustainable model for Chicago and other cities, celebrating the history of the site, and promoting connectivity among the nearby neighborhoods.
Perkins+Will partnered with MAS Studio’s exhibition, “BOLD: Alternative Scenarios for Chicago,” as part of a featured program in the inaugural Chicago Architectural Biennial. Grid l River l Landmark, which included wetlands and a soaring landmark building, was among 62 entries from 19 offices, from Dubai to Dallas, London to Los Angeles.
Now, in its 13th year, the purpose of the Perkins+Will design competition is to create a vehicle for ideas, promote a culture of design, and enhance the firm’s legacy of innovation, inventiveness and research.
“We look at the competition not just as a commitment to our firm, but also as a commitment to young people within our profession,” Ed Feiner, principal of Perkins+Will and director of the DLC, said.
