Ralph Rapson Traveling Fellowship Competition -The Commons
2015
Full competition entry
The Ralph Rapson Traveling Fellowship is awarded yearly to young architects and members of the Minnesota Chapter of AIA. The competition occurs over a weekend and is juried by prominent designers in the Twin Cities architectural community. The brief was to design a place representing the common good by redeveloping a surface parking lot in downtown Minneapolis into an urban park.
My proposal relied on the theory of 'the Commons' as prototypical public space where resources are shared and environmental stewardship is central. The proposal is organized around a series of pre-settlement landscapes that recall Minneapolis' ecological systems before urbanization. The proposal also included a unique public/private partnership model for park maintenance and operations built around environmental education and stewardship. I was selected as one of five finalists out of a group of over 50 submissions.
Concept Sketch
