Hasta La Ideas

Until the networks respond to our pleas for America’s Next Top Architect or a Project Runway-style reality show featuring Rem Koolhaas in the mentoring stead of Tim Gunn, we’ll content ourselves with the inaugural Iron Designer Challenge. The live competition, which will take place on the evening of June 17 in New York City, puts an architectural spin on the campy cooking show sensation, Iron Chef, with “Kitchen Stadium” replaced by the roof deck of the Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction, the design-focused high school that the event will benefit. Teams will have three hours to design and build a life-size emergency shelter out of everyday materials—and a “secret ingredient” (wenge wood? crown molding? jicama?) that will be unveiled at the start of the event. Judges including NYC Department of Design and Construction Commissioner David Burney, Gregg Pasquarelli of ShoP Architects, and Parsons Dean Joel Towers will award the coveted title of Iron Designer. We hear that Team Gensler is in it to win it (aren’t they always?), but they’ll have stiff competition from rival squads representing firms such as Turner Construction, Perkins + Will, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Buy your tickets here.

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