Van Alen Institute: Projects in Public Architecture and the U.S. National Park Service unveiled the winners of Parks for the People: A Student Competition to Reimagine America's National Parks. Eight student and faculty teams were honored at the competition award ceremony.
Two of the studio teams, City College of New York and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, were honored with Awards of Excellence. The ceremony also celebrated the work of six Finalist teams from Cornell University, Florida International University, Kansas State University, University of Pennsylvania, Pratt Institute, and University of Washington.
"Parks for the People is a new model for how we can catalyze design innovation in the public realm," commented Stephen Cassell, Chair of Van Alen Institute's Board of Trustees. "Through the studio process, these student and faculty teams have produced deeply engaged proposals that think critically and creatively about the national park of the future. We're proud to have built new bridges between the academic community, our park collaborators, and a wide array of design disciplines."
In fall 2011, 41 student and faculty teams from 35 colleges and universities responded to a nationwide call for studio proposals in stage one of the competition. Over the course of spring 2012 studios, nine stage one winners worked with National Park Service administrators and the competition Advisory Committee to explore seven park sites and propose visions that tested and refined National Park Service principles to advance design excellence in the national parks.