- Design to Innovate
- Build an Ecologically Resilient City
- Renew the Cultural Campus
- Generate Dialogue
- Be a Change Agent
- 9-acre site at the heart of Seattle Center, a 74-acre urban park and cultural campus that was home to the 1962 World’s Fair
- Dynamic and iconic urban design context
- Prominent neighbors: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Experience Music Project, Space Needle, and other cultural assets
- Active year-round use by both locals and visitors
January 6, 2012 Early Registration Deadline January 27, 2012 Registration Closes February 3, 2012 End of Question Period February 10, 2012 Phase One Submissions Due March 8, 2012 Finalist Announcement April 27, 2012 Phase Two (Final) Submissions Due 
- Recognition: international jury, media, online gallery, and extensive outreach program
- Prizes: up to three finalist teams receive $30,000 to further develop ideas; winning team will receive an additional $30,000 cash prize
- Up to seven additional projects selected for honorable mention
- Exhibit and publication of most inspiring entries
- Presentation: broadcast internationally through Seattle Center’s Global Classroom and Global Channel
- Impact: promote both ideas for the site and replicable innovation in public space design
The competition sought high level, multidisciplinary and innovative design responses. It was open to established and emerging, US and international design teams and individuals. Teams included at least one licensed professional in a design profession related to the built environment.
Tom Leader, Tom Leader Studio, Berkeley, CA
Mia Lehrer, Lehrer+Associates, Los Angeles, CA
Rick Lowe, Project Row Houses, Houston, TX
Patricia Patkau, Patkau Architects, Vancouver, BC
August de los Reyes, Artefact, Seattle, WA
Gene Duvernoy, Forterra (formerly Cascade Land Conservancy), Seattle, WA
Engaging the public in a dialogue about innovation is an integral part of the competition, and reflects Seattle’s culture of participation. Finalists will visit Seattle for a learning trip in March 2012, including stakeholder meetings and outreach through social media. Live interviews and finalist presentations in May 2012 will be a featured event during Seattle Center’s Next Fifty celebration and will be broadcast via Seattle Center’s Next Fifty Global Classroom and Global Channel.
The competition is funded by the Grousemont Foundation. It honors long-term civic leader Howard S. Wright, who took a simple sketch on a napkin and created a landmark building known around the world, the icon of Seattle, the Space Needle.
Seattle Center
Seattle Center Foundation / The Next Fifty
AIA Seattle