SSEF Design Competition

The SSEF Architectural Design Competition was created to give a unique opportunity to students enrolled in professional programs in Architecture in Canada. The competitions provide incentive to explore the detailed design of exposed steel systems.

2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

tension - traction

The Challenge
From an architectural perspective, the successful resolution of tension in
a structure can be envisioned as the expression of an artistically satisfying equilibrium of opposing forces. While notions of tension might immediately bring to mind images of tensile structures, this exploration is not meant to be limiting in its scope. Students are invited not only to explore tension as it may be expressed in form, surfaces, members, and connections; they are also invited to engage in the exploration of tension as part of a structural dialogue that may occur between tension and compression as that results in the structural resolution of architectural form. While they may range from utilitarian to exquisite in their execution, all responses must, nonetheless, come to terms with one simple problem: the clear application of tension to achieve a harmonious structural solution. To this end, the solution cannot hide this structural requirement; it must, instead, be celebrated and exploited, both architecturally and structurally. Students are challenged to design a structure that explores ‘tension’ on a site of the designers’ choosing. While the purpose and scale are left to the discretion of the designer, it is important to focus on what it means for us to engage and experience structure as tension. The structure must be primarily steel, but otherwise, the material palette is open.

Competition Statement
The intention of this design competition is primarily to provide students of architecture in Canada with a unique opportunity: to enter into a design process that brings together, of necessity, concept and reality. It is important for students of architecture to grasp the fact that structural design lies not just in the realm of the engineer, but can be a means for architects of arriving at a meaningful realization of architectural ideas. It is when theory meets physical necessity that architecture can become really interesting.

To that end, this competition calls upon students to conceptualize, and realize in detail, a structure of simple program that explores structure as tension. The exploration will, of course, include issues related to program and site, but the emphasis in this competition is upon the architectural exploration through form and material, on the essential relationship between architecture and structure. The reality of this competition comes in two forms: through the requirement for buildable details, primarily utilizing structural steel; and through the collaboration with the steel fabrication industry on those details. This collaboration is an important component of this competition, as a secondary objective is to expose students to both the opportunities and restraints inherent in realizing conceptual design. The conceptual component of this competition will come through the recommendation that this competition be run through either a studio, or a lecture based course, most probably within a structures course. Under the guidance of faculty sponsors, students will conduct the design process as an academic exercise, within the guidelines set out in this brief. As an academic project, the design process will adhere to the standards set forth by the students’ school of architecture.

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