The theme of this Japanese competition is “a town landmark,” something that draws attention and becomes an identifiable marker for the visitors of that town. A landmark is also loved by the people who live there and is a source of pride, irrespective of its scale or size. Landmarks exist in various cities around the world; among them are highrises such as the Empire State Building, the towers of San Gimignano, temples and palaces with historic settings, and numerous towering, grand-scale works of architecture. But small works buried within a town that draw people inside instinctively, such as Vienna’s Retti Candle Shop and Hans Hollein’s Schullin Jewellers are also splendid landmarks. A landmark must be a place about which stories are told, a place with cultural and artistic merit, and a place about which the people of the town can boast. And for this competition, one further condition is that it must address what is appropriate as a town landmark built today. The relationship between landmark and symbol is subtle one of both convergent and divergent factors.
Submissions for the competition are due on July 27, 2005. Awards are as follows:
First Place [one]: 2,000,000 yen
Second Place [three]: 300,000 yen
Honourable Mentions [unfixed]: 100,000 yen
The jury is comprised of the following:
Toyo Ito, Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects
Masaru Okamoto, Kume Sekkei Co., Ltd.
Riken Yamamoto, Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop
Kiyoshi Sakurai, Nikken Sekkei Co., Ltd.
Taro Asihara, Taro Asihara Architects
Kengo Kuma, Kengo Kuma & Associates
For more information, please visit www.cgco.co.jp/english/town_landmark.html