This should be fun to watch!
City seeks admin, promotion for courtyard competition
by Alison Ryan
02/08/2007
Plans for the "Living Spaces" courtyard housing competition are moving forward as the city of Portland seeks proposals for administration and promotion of the competition.
The winner of the city's request for proposals, which was issued Monday, will be involved deeply both in refining the competition program and with promotion. Promotion, said Bill Cunningham, a city planner, is one of the biggest goals.
"We ultimately want this competition to get beyond the design community," he said. "We want it to get the general public thinking about how higher-density housing forms may actually serve as an attractive option for families with children."
Families with children are the competition's main target. "Living Spaces: A Design Competition for Family-Friendly Courtyard Housing" is the full title. The whole idea, Cunningham said, is to explore how close-in courtyard housing could be designed to attract families who would otherwise leave the city.
The current timeline puts the competition opening for submittals in early May and closing in July, with judging sometime in August.
The deadline for proposals is Feb. 26. A shortlist will be announced March 2, with selection projected for the following week. A contract is expected to be executed by March 21, with work to begin by March 22.
Although proposals from firms that specialize in design competition management are expected, Cunningham said, the city is also hoping to get proposals from teams that can push Living Spaces into the public eye.
"We are equally interested in people who have expertise in promotion or publicity," he said. "Teams may be the way to go."
The full RFP is available online on the city's bid information Web site at cityofportland.ebidsystems.com/public/solicitations.asp.
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