Contest sets eyes of students, professionals and citizens to Vancouver's future
What began as a student competition in building design in 1995 has grown to include a professional division. Sponsored by Clark County Public Utilities, high school students are challenged to stretch their imaginations and design a building. Brick or steel, tiny or towering – just a few simple design restrictions and the rest was up to them.
This year, professionals were invited to participate.
The Historic Preservation Design Competition announced its winners on April 25, but according to event-coordinator Derek Chisholm, senior planner at design firm Parametrix, achieving the real goal is what will play out in the years ahead.
"People walk down the street all the time and never look up," he said. "We want them to gaze upon the giants towering over them with new eyes once this competition is done."
According to Jacqui Kamp, planner with Clark County Community Planning, to garner the attention of Vancouver, a recognizable building was chosen for the professionals – the historic downtown Vancouver Elks building, home to Vancouver-based Biggs Insurance Services.
"This was a great outreach to the community, and the location was a way to get all of Vancouver involved in architecture," said Kamp.
Constructed in 1911, the Elks building at 916 Main St. was chosen for its unique appearance, including "polychromatic brick patterns, marble-based sconces and iron balconies" according to Kamp.
The professional competition charged entrants with designing a hypothetical building set on the corner of Evergreen Blvd. and Washington St., what is now used as a parking lot for the Elks building. The high school competition was focused on the corner of Daniels and 12th street, where a hypothetical house was to be built.
Submissions were to follow not only the literal building codes of Vancouver, but also "reference" the less-concrete "historic aspects" of other, older buildings, according to Chisholm.
Professionals had to focus on the Elks building, while students tried to conform to the look of St. James Church and the Post Office.
According to Chisholm, while the numerous criteria mentioned might seem onerous, they are actually par for the course for architects and developers. Sometimes ideas, guidelines and even laws aren't clearly stated, he said, and as the process of designing a building goes through various agencies and commissions, unforeseen problems arise.
The competition received 29 entries, and winners were announced at the Clark County Home, Garden and Idea Fair. Winners received prize money, and their designs were displayed at the event.
The high school competition was broken into two categories, with Yothin Sitthirit and Rebecca Jensen of Ridgefield High School and Ashley Moditz of the Skills Center in Vancouver winning in the beginner's category.
Lucerito Eufragio Lopez, Bogdan Lyashevskiy and Derek Roll, all of the Skills Center, won the high school advanced category.
In the professional category, awards went to Ed Greer Vancouver; WP Pattison Vancouver; Patricia Dilworth Portland; as well as the two firms of Lake Oswego, OR-based Architects Barrentine, Bates, Lee and Vancouver-based DSP Architecture.
"We actually helped start the (high school) competition some years ago," said Randall Salisbury, principal at DSP Architecture. "So it was great to come back and work with all the kids."
Winning the award for best design, Salisbury called his firm's idea "out of the box." Borrowing elements of the Elks building, such as brick color and roof slope, Salisbury also modernized the design with underground parking extending under the street, glass rain canopies for pedestrians and an upper-tier residential area, which he feels is a vital step towards downtown Vancouver's future.
"The downtown of a city should be its most dense area," said Salisbury.
Another principal at DSP Architecture, Dane Walla, pointed out another way this competition is cultivating Vancouver's architectural future – Jennifer Cestnik, a former winner of the high school competition, is now working for the company.
"She won the competition (while) at Hudson's Bay, went to college, and we brought her on when she graduated," Walla said.
While no plans are in the works to construct any of the buildings right now, Chisholm is confident the competition will eventually net tangible results – aside from future architects.
"There were so many great ideas generated that once the economy gets rolling again, Vancouver will be building again," he said.
Sidebar:
Historic Preservation Design Competition
High School Beginner Category
Best Design: Rebecca Jensen
Best Presentation: Ashley Moditz
Honorable Mention: Yothin Sitthirit
High School Advanced Category
Best Design: Derek Roll
Best Presentation: Bogdan Lyashevskiy
Honorable Mention: Lucerito Eufragio Lopez
Professional Category
Mentoring: Ed Greer
Visionary Design: WP Pattison
Best Design: DSP Architecture
Best Heritage Design: Patricia Dilworth
Best Presentation: Architects Barrentine, Bates, Lee
