LA+, the academic journal of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Design, is holding its fifth annual competition. The LA+ EXOTIQUE design ideas competition asks entrants to design the forecourt of the Museum of Natural History in Paris, France. The theme is ‘Exotique’. The museum was founded in 1793 during the French Revolution, but the site had been used as a royal garden for growing medicinal plants since 1635. Located on the left bank of the River Seine, it covers 28-hectare grounds that include exterior gardens and a zoo (Ménagerie), with five galleries in the museum precinct: Gallery of Evolution, Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology, Gallery of Botany, Gallery of Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy, and Large Greenhouses. It is important to focus on the relevance of the contents to the museum, such as ‘taxonomy, colonialism, locality, and exoticism,’ and to let the interior and exterior spaces, the natural environment, and the human and social context flow freely. While the competition emphasizes conceptual richness over buildability, it is important to note that designs will be judged as real proposals and therefore their degree of suitability for this specific location will be considered.
1. Eligibility
– Students and professionals of any discipline (up to 3 people in case of joint application)
2. Schedule
– Registration: 6.20(Tue)~
– Submission Deadline: 10.30(Mon)
– Announcement: 12.15(Fri)
– Publication: Fall 2024
3. Submissions
– Sheet 1 of concept Image or view (8.75×10.5 inches)
– Sheet 2 of a scaled plan and section (17.5×10.5 inches)
– Sheet 3 of supporting imagery, the content and layout of which is at entrants’ discretion (17.5×10.5 inches)
– Maximum 350-word text explaining the design (with name of the design)
4. Awards
– Winner(4): USD $2,500, Certificate and feature publication in LA+ EXOTIQUE
– Honorable Mentions(10): Certificate and feature publication in LA+ EXOTIQUE
– Editor’s Choice Award(1): LA+ Journal’s Editor in Chief will choose one notable but unawarded entry to receive publication in the LA+ EXOTIQUE Salon Des Refusés.
5. Contact
– LA+ EXOTIQUE
