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Design and Build 2023-24 Competition
Land Art: Celestial Architecture Supplemental Resources

While we strongly encourage participants to embark on their own research, the below information is provided as supplemental resources to assist contestants in the competition. These resources may be updated on an ongoing basis. Scroll to the bottom to read through our frequently asked questions section.

The Basics of Land Art / Earthworks

• Land Art- An Overview
• Land Art on MasterClass
• About Land Art and Land Art Design Principles
• What is Land Art & Why It’s Important

Articles about Land Art / Eartworks

• Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks become UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks
• Newgrange– Neolithic Earthwork located in Ireland’s Boyne Valley
• The Land Art Movement in Sculpture Review
• Disorienting Geographies: Land Art and the American Myth of Discovery
• A Land Art Pioneer’s Adventures in Time and Space (New York Times Article about Charles Ross’ Star Axis)
• Land Art Within the Context of Landscape and Art
• Land Art Today, Beyond Cowboys with Bulldozers

Contemporary Land Artists

• Designboom Article: Unearthing the Past, Present and Future of Land Art
• Jim Denevan Land Art
• Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art (Documentary)

Celestial Architecture

• Ancient Skies: Celestial Alignment (Film)
• Building with Celestial Bodies by Tim Elrick
• Landscrapers: Building with the Land by Aaron Betsky
• Architecture as Symbol and Measure of the Sky in the Ancient and Middle Ages
• Earth Building: Methods for Building with Earth as a Material

Site and Climate

• Terrestrial Biomes
• Terrestrial Biomes and Ecosystems

FAQs -Frequently Asked Questions
This section is updated periodically.

• What do you mean by ‘celestial’? 
  • For the purposes of this competition, we consider ‘celestial’ to represent anything relating to the sky and/or outer space. This could range from weather to objects and phenomena outside of the Earth’s atmosphere, such as lunar/solar or constellations.
• Is it required that we utilize architecture in this year’s competition?
  • No. You may utilize other creative solutions for your design, such as landscape architecture, sculpture / land art, etc.
• Can we form an interdisciplinary team or do my teammates need to be in the same program or college?
  • You are welcome to form teams that include other disciplines, such as sculpture, engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, etc. You may also form teams with students at universities, if desired.
• Is there a maximum number of teammates?
  • No. Our registration portal allows for up to 6, but if you have more, you would just list them in the actual proposal. Keep in mind that prizes are split evenly amongst all listed team members.
• Can International students attending US colleges participate?
  • Yes, of course, as long as the student is enrolled in a US college. A US student may also participate if they are studying abroad in a US affiliated study abroad program. Students attending non-US affiliated universities are NOT eligible to participate in the competition at this time.
• Can we discuss our ideas with instructors or professionals?
  • You are certainly welcome to discuss your ideas with your instructors, especially, if you are taking the competition on as a class project, as your instructors are acting in an advisory role. You may also speak with professionals in the field. However, the jury will be looking for student driven work and so please limit this interaction to advisory only.
• I recently graduated. Can I still participate?
  • You may participate if you were enrolled at the competition announcement (November 2023). Unfortunately, you are not eligible to participate if you graduated before fall semester 2023 or if you are not enrolled in a program currently.
• Should we factor land acquisition into our budget?
  • No. For the purposes of this competition, you should assume that you have already acquired the land in which you select to build your conceptual project.
• Do we need to be concerned about accessibility of our desired site?
  • You can assume that your selected site is publicly accessible, even if it is not in reality. The jury may ask how you have thought about and integrated ADA accessibility into your design.
• Do we need to consider governmental / bureaucracy “red tape” or permitting into our budget or timeline process?
  • No. Please assume that your design has all of the required approvals and do not factor these processes into your budget or timeline.
• Does our design need to be contained in a contiguous footprint limited to the 3-square acre limit?
  • No. You are welcome to explore breaking your design up outside of a contiguous footprint, if that makes sense for your concept. However, your total footprint of all related sites within your design should not exceed the 3-square acre limit.
• Is our budget included in the narrative word count?
  • No. We do not consider your budget data to be part of your narrative word count limit.
• How comprehensive should the budget be?
  • We do not expect to see a highly comprehensive budget, but we will be looking for general budget categories. i.e. Materials, Labor, Fabrication, etc.

Email or call us at 303-806-0444 EXT. 3 with any competition questions.

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