The city of Québec is launching an international ideas competition, Rêvons nos rivières/Reinventing our Rivers, soliciting original and distinctive proposals to enhance the city’s four St. Lawrence River tributaries: the Saint-Charles, Montmorency, Cap Rouge and Beauport rivers.
Each of the four rivers has its own distinctive physical features, historical significance, potential and challenges. They also share a rich heritage as tributaries to the mighty St. Lawrence River, on whose banks the city of Québec stands, and which has shaped the city’s identity since its founding in 1608.
The objective for the competition is to generate ideas for projects that can inspire the municipality to rethink the future revitalization of its rivers and shape its new master plan. Through this competition, the city is seeking original ideas that will add depth to the local authorities’ thinking about riverbank development.
There are currently no plans to implement the proposals to be considered by the jury; the competition is restricted to ideas, not detailed designs or architecture. The City will consider all proposals received, including those that do not win a prize. The aim is to revitalize and re-energize the four tributaries.
Contest type
The competition is open, multi-disciplinary, international and single-phase. It is aimed at landscape architects, urban designers, urban planners and other environmental design professionals who are able to develop ideas – both ambitious and realistic – for the transformation and conservation of the city of Québec’s rivers, riverbanks and adjacent areas, whether natural or urban.
There will be no remuneration and no registration fee. Three prizes valued at $40,000 to $100,000 will be awarded. The competition’s bilingual website is designed to help specialized firms around the world find all the information they need for preparing their submissions: revonsnosrivieres.com.
Eligibility
Each multidisciplinary team must include professionals working in the following three disciplines: landscape architecture, urban design and environmental design. It is, however, possible for a person to represent more than one discipline. Two-person teams are therefore allowed (provided they meet the minimum multidisciplinarity requirement), to the extent that the members collectively have the ability to address the issues specific to the three above-mentioned disciplines.
Registration
In order to enter the competition, online registration is mandatory. Once registered, each team will receive, within 24 hours, a confirmation including an identification number to ensure the anonymity of their entry. The identification number must appear on each page of materials submitted.
The jury members
- Jandirk Hoeskstra, Landscape Architect, H+N+S Landscape Architects, Rotterdam, Jury chair
- Claude Cormier, Landscape Architect, Claude Cormier + Associés, Montreal
- Jérôme Dupras, Ecologist and professor, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau
- Ken Greenberg, Urban Designer and professor, Ryerson University, Toronto
- Julie Lemieux, Vice-Chair, Executive Committee, Ville de Québec
Jacques Soignon, Director, Parks and Environment, Nantes, France - Annie Tardivon, Landscape designer, urbanist and lecturer, Agence INUITS, Paris
Prizes
- 1st prize $100,000 CAD
- 2nd prize $60,000 CAD
- 3rd prize $40,000 CAD
Important dates
- Registration: June 30, 2017, 5 p.m. EDT
- Submissions: August 25, 2017, 5 p.m. EDT
- Announcement of winners: September 11, 2017
Source and photos by The City of Québec, Courtesy of v2com