If you would like to include your competition, fellowship program or other call for entries in a future blog post, please email information to julia [at] americancity.org.

Get the Feds to Zero: Metropolis magazine
DEADLINE: JANUARY 31, 2011

For the 2011 Next Generation Design Competition: Get Zero, Metropolis has partnered with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to bring one of the GSA’s thousands of buildings to Zero Environmental Impact. “Get Zero” challenges you to draw upon your considerable talents, think big, and help solve the enormous problem of achieving sustainability in decades-old structures. Whether you are an architect, interior designer, product designer, landscape designer, graphic designer, communication designer, or engineer—or a collaborative group that brings together these talents—you can make a world-changing difference for one of the planet’s biggest landlords.

Examine the test-case site: an actual eight-story, 1960s-era GSA office building in downtown L.A.

Design “fixes” or whole systems to optimize the structure’s sustainable performance in memorable, elegant, original ways

Transform the entire building and its surroundings, or tackle one or two elements such as facade, lighting, interior furnishings, or signage

This one test-case building will become an example for how the GSA can bring its stock of more than 9,600 properties to Zero Environmental Impact. A $10,000 prize will go to the winning entry, and the jury will also select a group of top runner-up entries with ground-breaking design ideas they’d like to recommend to the GSA, which has committed to making all its holdings sustainable.

Great Places Awards
DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 11, 2011
Environmental Design Research Association

The Great Places Awards are unique among programs that recognize professional and scholarly excellence in environmental design. They are distinguished by their interdisciplinary focus, concern for human factors in the design of the built environment, and a commitment to promoting links between design research and practice.

We seek entries of exemplary work, inviting participation from a range of design and research disciplines, recognizing projects whose significance extends beyond any one profession or field. Projects should emphasize a link between research and practice, demonstrating how an understanding of human interaction with place can inspire design. For more information, click here.

2011 Urban Land Institute Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award
DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 18, 2011

Entries are now being accepted for the 2011 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award, which recognizes excellence in the design and development of urban public open spaces.

The ULI Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award rewards an outstanding example of a public destination that has enriched and revitalized its surrounding community. The winner of the award will be announced at ULI’s Spring Council Forum, set for May 18–20, 2011 in Phoenix. A $10,000 cash prize will be awarded to the individual or organization most responsible for the creation of the winning open space project.

To find out more, click here.