The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is promoting “Rebuild by Design,” a multi-stage regional design competition announced by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan.
“Rebuild by Design” aims to promote resiliency in areas that were hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy late last year. The goal of the competition was to inspire innovation and develop projects that will actually be built.
According to HUD, submitted proposals will be analyzed in the fall and then developed between November and February. The winning designs and projects will be implemented in March with a combination of private and public funds, including allocations from the $16 billion pot of HUD Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery dollars appropriated earlier this year by Congress.
“This collaboration of design professionals, community and political leaders has the potential to not only address the livability, reconstruction and resiliency of the region devastated by Hurricane Sandy, but to act as a model for how we must treat the future sustainable development of coastal areas prone to the ever increasing incidents of natural disasters,” said AIA President Mickey Jacob, FAIA.
“We appreciate the willingness of the AIA to encourage its members to help shape the future of the Sandy-affected region by participating in the Rebuild By Design competition,” said Secretary Donovan. “We are calling on the brightest minds across various fields to help develop resilient design solutions — from infrastructure engineers, to landscape designers and, of course, architects. Rebuild By Design will develop projects that will actually be built and can serve as models for communities worldwide.”
Examples of design solutions are expected to range in scope and scale – from large-scale green infrastructure to small-scale residential resiliency retrofits.
