green in the city
How would you transform a 104′ x 72′ section of Omaha’s urban core into a model green space? That’s the goal of Green in the City, a national design competition to create an innovative urban community space in downtown Omaha, Neb.
The project site is adjacent to two projects under development in the 10th and Pacific block of downtown Omaha – the new home of the BLUEBARN Theatre and Boxcar 10, a mixed use building with a small parking area. The theatre will include an outdoor performance and audience area that opens onto and extends into the Green in the City site.
Min | Day, an architectural partnership with offices in Omaha and San Francisco, has been hired to design the BLUEBARN Theatre and Boxcar 10 projects. Omaha philanthropist Nancy Mammel, who is developing Boxcar 10, has donated the land for the theatre and green space and is providing the lead gift for the Green in the City competition. Once the Green in the City project is complete, the BLUEBARN Theatre will assume ownership of the open space and will be responsible for its maintenance.
Omaha by Design is serving as the Green in the City project manager, and the Nebraska Arts Council is facilitating the competition process.
The two-phase design competition begins with an open call Request for Qualifications, followed by a selection of finalists. Finalists will be invited to enter a conceptual design competition phase and attend a presentation/interview with the jury. Those interested in submitting their qualifications should apply via SlideRoom, an online application submission system, at https://nebraska.slideroom.com. The deadline to apply is midnight Tuesday, Oct. 15 (Central Time). Applicants will have the opportunity to ask Omaha by Design questions about the project until Saturday, Oct. 5. Questions should be directed to info@omahabydesign.org. Please do not contact the jury panel directly when inquiring about the project.
Finalist design submissions will be reviewed by the jury, and a grand prize in the form of a design commission will be awarded to the winning designer/team. A project budget of $200,000 has been established to include construction costs and design team fees.
Project updates will be posted on Facebook at http://facebook.com/greeninthecity and Twitter at http://twitter.com/GreenintheCity1. For more information, contact Omaha by Design at 402.934.7055 or info@omahabydesign.org.