2012 Land Art Generator Initiative

Earlier this month, the 2012 Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) ideas competition, in partnership with New York City’s Department of Parks & Recreation, opened with a call for large-scale artwork proposals with the ability to generate renewable energy for New York City. The design site: Freshkills Park.

Sustainable energy has been a key part of the conceptual master plan for Freshkills Park from the start. Currently the methane gas that is generated by the capped landfill is being purified and sold to a local utility in amounts capable of heating 22,000 homes. The competition addresses the potential for aesthetically-minded renewable energy generation above the landfill cap as well.

As the design brief notes:

The expansiveness of the design site at Freshkills Park presents the opportunity to power the equivalent of thousands of homes with the artwork. The stunning beauty of the reclaimed landscape and the dramatic backdrop of the Manhattan skyline will provide an opportune setting from which to be inspired, and it offers the perfect environment for a showcase example of the immense potential of aesthetically interesting renewable energy installations for sustainable urban planning.

Registration opened on January 1, and submissions will be received until July 1, 2012. A jury will then select the winning entry based on the judging criteria explained in the brief. The winner will be announced at an award ceremony in October, followed by a public exhibit of qualified entries. The monetary prize award ($15,000 First Prize, $4,000 Second Prize, $1,000 High School Edition Winner) will not guarantee a commission for construction; however, LAGI will work with stakeholders both locally (NYC) and internationally to pursue possibilities for implementation of the most pragmatic and aesthetic LAGI designs.

Registrants can download the competition design brief here. LAGI is also holding a High Schools Edition (age 19 and under) featuring a modified design brief document.

Two new green networks in NYC

Two new green networks have recently launched that are making participation in sustainability in New York City easier and more accessible.

Change by Us, a website run the Office of the Mayor, allows New Yorkers to post a sticky with an idea for how to make the city “a greener, greater place to live” and has space for people to post information about their projects on the site.  They also have a blog that is a great resource for sustainability-related grants.

The City Atlas, a new NYC sustainability guide developed by CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities, provides New Yorkers with a way to keep track of various events, ideas, and actions related to sustainability going on in the city.  A daily calendar provides the most up-to-date information on sustainability-related events, talks, and classes and their weekly publication, Atlas Beat, highlights all of the best events going on each week. The City Atlas also has articles about a range of current New York City sustainability issues.