Design in 5 is a group of the Architectural League of New York for designers of all disciplines 5 years or fewer out of school, or under the age of 35. Their goal is to “provide unique opportunities and activities for exchanging ideas across disciplines, fostering camaraderie, and above all, having fun.” One such opportunity is their annual design charrette, Sketch120, in which participants are given a design problem and two hours to brainstorm with pen and paper. The resulting work is then pinned up for an informal discussion with an invited jury. To get a sense of the event, look back at this 2009 Omnibus profile of the group with a video glimpse into that year’s Sketch120 event.
Today, Design in 5 and the League announced that this year’s charrette is scheduled for Saturday, April 16. The topic: Greenpoint, Brooklyn. And they’re bringing some twists to the challenge this time — at three points during the two hour brainstorming session, a new constraint or demand will be added to the brief that will require major revisions to the project designs. The pin-up session will then include all four iterations of each team’s design proposal.
Also new this year, two of the projects will be selected by the jury to be displayed right here on Urban Omnibus! Read on for more information, or check out the full event listing over at archleague.org. Registration is required — get your names in soon.
From Design in 5:
Sketch 120: Greenpoint Edition
Jury to include Andy Bernheimer, Mario Gooden, and Linda Pollak
Saturday, April 16
2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Fowler Arts Center, 67 West Street, Brooklyn
Greenpoint has lived disparate incarnations, from forests and farmland to a manufacturing hub and center of Polish immigrants; to an extension of “hipster” Williamsburg to an ever more gentrified community of professionals.
In 2005, the city approved a major rezoning of the waterfront, a formerly industrial area, allowing for larger-scaled residential structures, along with inclusionary housing and open space. The impact of the more recent recession, however, has slowed the ambitions of developers, leaving many projects incomplete or scrapped altogether.
Design in 5 invites you to design a building proposal within this context of a neighborhood in transition. In the coming years, Greenpoint will need to balance internal issues like demographic integration, preservation of architectural and cultural heritage, and toxic industrial remediation, while deciding upon its relationship with the city at large through adaptations in public transportation and infrastructure.
Participants will be asked to design a multifunctional building or buildings and open space on a formerly industrial plot, combining residential units with community-enhancing activity spaces. At three points during the charrette, a new constraint or demand will be announced which will require major revisions to the project designs.
Following the two-hour design exercise, all four iterations of the participants’ design proposals will be pinned-up for a discussion led by an invited jury. Two projects will be published and displayed online on Urban Omnibus. Drinks and other refreshments will be served during the pin-up and discussion.
Registration is required. Registration for Sketch120 is $10 for League members; $15 for non-members. All participants must register individually here. If you would like to participate as a team, please email anderson@archleague.org specifying the names. Additional information will be provided to registrants on April 11th.
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Photo by Flickr user themikebot.