The ubiquitous New York City sidewalk shed has stood the test of time. For the last four decades these structures, which shelter pedestrians from construction overhead, have virtually remained unchanged. That is about to change. UrbanSHED, a global design competition that launched today, invites designers to rethink the sidewalk shed and bring it into the 21st Century. With more than 6,000 such structures flanking city buildings in a given year, this is a rare opportunity to affect the look of the city’s streets as the winner stands a real shot at having his or her prototype adopted by the NYC Buildings Department as the design standard going forward.

Entries for the two-stage competition will be judged by a distinguished jury panel that includes Robert D. LiMandri, Commissioner, NYC Department of Buildings; Amanda M. Burden, FAICP, Director, NYC Department of Planning; Janette Sadik-Kahn, Commissioner, NYC Department of Transportation; David M. Childs, FAIA, Consulting Partner, Skidmore Owings and Merrill; Craig Dykers, AIA MNAL, Director, Snøhetta; Jean Oei, Project Designer, Morphosis; Craig Michael Schwitter, P.E., Partner and Regional Director, Buro Happold North America; Frank Sciame, New Your Building Congress and Ada Tolla, Principal, LOT-EK.

Registration begins 13 August. Finalists will be announced on 7 October with a winner selected on 17 December. For complete details consult the competition website at www.urbanshed.org

Sharon McHugh
US Correspondent