Design Museum Boston Street Seats Call for Entries

Street Seats Design Challenge

Presented by:

Call for Entries designmuseumboston.org info@designmuseumboston.org @designmuseumbos 617.610.3664

What is Design Museum Boston?

Design Museum Boston is New England’s first museum dedicated solely to design. Our mission is to educate the world on the role of design in their lives and to unite the Massachusetts design community in ways that enrich our collective work, make businesses more competitive, and solve real-world problems more creatively. After all, design has the power to make our everyday lives more comfortable, more efficient, more exciting, more rewarding, more... better.

Design Museum Boston is a decentralized network of physical and virtual exhibits. Whether in a gallery, retail environment, public spaces or on the web, our programming gives audiences new insights into the design process and the greater social, economic, and environmental contexts that both affect and are affected by design

For information on current and past programs and exhibitions visit: designmuseumboston.org

Table of Contents.

4 • About the Challenge, Schedule at a Glance 6 • Why Fort Point?

8 • The Site, Existing Design Elements 10 • Visual Schedule 12 • Challenge Overview 14 • Design and Judging Criteria, Jury Registration and Submission Process 16 • Fees and Deadlines, Submission Guidelines 18 • Prizes, Exhibition, Installation, and Return of Work 20 • Advisory Board, Eligibility

Design brings communities together. Public seating sets the scene for chance encounters, people watching, connecting with nature, or just taking a break.

About the Challenge.

The Street Seats Design Challenge provides you with an opportunity to improve the livability of a burgeoning urban area while being socially and environmentally conscious. Design Museum Boston invites individuals and groups from around the world to design an iconic bench or ‘street seat’ for the Fort Point Channel in South Boston’s up and coming Innovation District.

Boston’s Fort Point Channel area is a lively community and destination — in 2011 the area welcomed about 1,300 businesses, 33,000 workers, and 1,900 residents — and it continues to grow.

Street Seats is a design challenge which will culminate in an outdoor design exhibition and walking tour around the Channel.

Entrants will participate by designing sustainable outdoor sidewalk furniture with a focus on reuse, using environmentallyfriendly materials, and innovative construction methods. Design teams will record and submit their process along with their final designs to, in the end, create the public design exhibition.

Schedule at a Glance Sept

20

• Call for entries opens.

2012

Nov

20

• Early Registration Deadline.

2012

Feb

1

• Late Registration Deadline.

• Submission Deadline 11:59pm EST.

2013

Feb

18

• 1/8 Scale model deadline for arrival at Design Museum Boston.

2013

Feb

28

• Judging Event in Boston, Semi-Finalists and Fabrication Grants awarded.

2013

April

12

• Deadline for Semi-Finalists’ fabricated benches delivered to Museum.

April

• Outdoor Exhibition Opening. Unveiling of benches along Fort Point Channel.

• Announcement of top three design winners (finalists) at outdoor exhibition.

2013

27 2013

Oct

TBA 2013

• Street Seats furniture collection moves indoor to TBD gallery in Boston.

Why Fort Point?

The Fort Point Channel now stands at center stage, linking the waterfronts of downtown and South Boston – the seam between the Financial District and the emerging South Boston Waterfront. As a clean Boston Harbor brings the entire waterfront back to life, the City of Boston has joined with the Channel’s neighbors and waterfront advocates in shaping a plan for a new kind of public park. Not since the early 20th century reclamation of the Charles River Basin from an industrial swamp has there been such an opportunity to create an urban waterfront destination on such a scale. Fort Point Channel can become Boston’s “Next Great Place.”

Fort Point is now home to over 300 artists who produce work in a wide array of media.

It is recognized as one of New England’s largest artists’ communities. The historic warehouse buildings of Fort Point house painters, photographers, sculptors, designers, ceramicists, performance artists, jewelers, book artists, digital media artists, and more.

- Fort Point Arts Community website, fortpointarts.org

- From the Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Plan, 2002, Boston Redevelopment Authority.

What is the Innovation District?

In January 2010, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino launched plans for the Innovation District, 1,000 acres of residential, commercial, and industrial space in South Boston’s waterfront neighborhood. Envisioned as an area where Boston’s strengths in entrepreneurship, technology, and the creative arts coalesce, the Innovation District is a place where knowledge-based companies cluster, and new models of housing, cultural, and social life attract a broad spectrum of users and residents.

Be inspired by the rich history of the Fort Point community and the possibilities of Boston’s Innovation District to create public seating made from sustainable materials and processes.

The Site.

The Hub of Fort Point Channel, extending from Boston Harbor to the Summer Street Bridge, is an extension of the harbor, a new gateway to city wide water transportation, providing docking space for transient vessels, and hosting visiting and historic vessels that can negotiate the vertical clearances of the Evelyn Moakley Bridge. Floating walkways lining the Channel provide access to vessels, inviting the public to the water’s edge.

The area also hosts the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum as well as the Boston Children’s Museum. An Art Basin between the Congress Street and Summer Street bridges provides an on-the-water area for floating art that can be experienced from land or from the water.

Existing design elements.

The Fort Point community protects its natural environment while meeting the needs of a growing residential population, crowds of bustling commuters, and the millions visitors who come to explore Boston and experience the harbor’s many cultural destinations.

For reference, the following images are samples of existing design elements currently in use throughout the site.

Be Inspired!

Visual Schedule. ts! a e S t e e Str

CALL

for ENTRIES

CALL

CALL

for ENTRIES

for ENTRIES

September 20, 2012 DMB announces program

September 20, 2012 Open call for entries launches

February 28, 2013 Judges choose Semi-Finalists

Semi-Finalists receive grants for fabrication

Video

Seats have sign with info and wayfinding

Each sign has QR code for more info/video

x7 Judges choose top 3 designs for prizes

April - October 2013 Seats remain in place for 7 months

February 1, 2013 Round 1 entries due

February 28, 2013 Round 1 gallery/judging event

April 27, 2013 Final pieces installed around the Channel

Walking tours with brochure and map

Website

Online exhibition opens, additional content

Opening event brings crowds and press

Guided walking tours commence

October 2013 Furniture collection moves to gallery

Challenge Overview.

• Phase 01: Open Call for Entries September 2012 - February 2013: Competitors must register to receive an entry number and additional instructions. Register online at http://designmuseumboston.org/ streetseats. Registered competitors will receive a registration number, entry template, entry form, and file submission instructions. Competitors must submit entries for Street Seats design Challenge by February, 1 2013 at 11:59pm EST. A ⅛” scale model is required — models must be shipped to Design Museum Boston (P.O. Box 990938 Boston, MA 02199) and arrive by February 18, 2013.

• Phase 02: Gallery Exhibition, Round 1 Judging, Selection of Semi-Finals and Fabrication February 28, 2013: All eligible entries will be on display at an exhibition hosted at Factory 63 (63 Melcher St. Boston, MA 02210). The jury will select the Semi-Finalists (10-20 entries) from all eligible entries received. These Semi-Finalists will be announced and featured at Design Museum Boston’s Design Innovation Gallery at Factory 63 and on the Design Museum Boston website. All Semi-Finalists will receive a US$750* reimbursement grant from Design Museum Boston for seat fabrication as well as regional, national, and international promotion. *Note, the Design Museum Boston reimbursement grant covers materials and fabrication processes adding up to US$750; competitors may elect to spend more non-grant funds on seat fabrication.

• Phase 03: Final Seat Development, Fabrication March 2013 - April 2013: Semi-Finalists fabricate full-scale seats. Semi-Finalists are responsible for delivering fabricated benches to Boston, MA. Registered competitors will receive information on specific location. The deadline for receiving full-scale benches from Semi-Finalists at Design Museum Boston’s storage location in Boston is April 12, 2013 at 10:00pm EST.

• Phase 04: Outdoor Installation, Exhibition Signage, Round 2 Judging and Selection of Finalists April 27, 2013: Final fabricated pieces will be installed around the Channel and the Street Seat Design Exhibition will be open to the public. Design Museum Boston will hold a outdoor public opening reception on April 27, 2013. From the Semi-Finalists’ fullscale entries, using the Judging & Design Criteria, the jury will select the top 3 seats. The grand prize winning entry will receive a cash prize: US$5000, the other 2 top entries will each receive US$2000. These top 3 entries will also receive special Street Seats trophies.

All the Semi-Finalists and Finalists will receive local, regional, national, and international promotion. All Semi-Finalist and Finalist entries will be viewable online in an exhibition on designmuseumboston.org as well.

• Phase 05: Exhibition Open to Public as Walking Tours Commence April - October 2013: For 6 months the Street Seats Design Exhibition and Walking Tour will be on view outside along the Fort Point Channel. Design Museum Boston will host walking tours and special events in conjunction with the exhibition.

• Phase 06: Outdoor Exhibition Move Indoors October 2013: The Street Seats furniture collection moves to an indoor gallery in Boston.

Design and Judging Criteria.

• Sustainable design using recycled, reclaimed, and/or renewable materials • Aesthetically pleasing • Innovative design and construction • Be safe for outdoor public use • Must fit within bench envelope (30’’ x 72’’ x 48’’) • Seat at least 2 people - hold 600lbs of weight at various seating positions • Suitable for outdoor use (durable, robust, weatherproof, etc) • Be stable and secure at the site once installed • Depth and quality of design process documentation The Jury will base its scoring on the above considerations. In addition, it may award extra points for originality. The Jury will not consider any optional or additional materials when judging entries.

30”

example

72”

48”

example

example

Jury.

Design Museum Boston will be announcing Jury members during the course of the open Call for Entries. The Jury will consist of 30 people — a mix of design thought leaders, Fort Point arts and culture leaders, and Design Museum Boston sponsors.

Follow Design Museum Boston on our website designmuseumboston.org and twitter @designmuseumbos for judging announcements!

Registration and Submission.

All individuals or teams submitting an entry must register through the competition website, http://designmuseumboston.org/streetseats. Registered competitors will receive a unique registration number, entry template, entry form, and file submission instructions.

Entrants should submit files to the Design Museum Boston dropbox, then submit the entry form. Submitting the entry form will constitute final submission.

Fees and Deadlines.

Early Registration: September 20, 2012 - November 20, 2012 Free for Design Museum Boston Members!

Non-Member Fee: US$30 (visit: http://designmuseumboston.org/join to become a member) Late Registration: November 21, 2012 - February 1, 2013 Design Museum Boston Members Fee: $20 Non-Member Fee: US$75 Submission Deadline: February 1, 2012 11:59 pm EST All registration fees are payable in US$ through Design Museum Boston’s PayPal™ online portal at http://designmuseumboston.org/streetseats.

Based on the information submitted in the online registration form, Design Museum Boston will refund the registration fee of: (i) any individual Competitor who resides in a jurisdiction whose laws, in effect on September 20, 2012, prohibit charging a fee to enter a competition of this nature, and (ii) any team if its designated team leader resides in a jurisdiction whose laws, in effect on September 20, 2012, prohibit charging a fee to enter a competition of this nature. Competitors must load their submissions the design challenge dropbox prior to February 1, 2013 at 11:59 EST. Clicking the “Submit” button on the entry form completes submission of the Entry, which cannot be altered thereafter. If a file uploaded to the dropbox is corrupt, Design Museum Boston will notify the Competitor and request a replacement file. All replacement files must be provided no later than 5:00 pm EST on February 19, 2013.

Submission Guidelines: All submissions must be submitted digitally by following instructions provided to registered entrants by Design Museum Boston. Entrants will receive access to an online dropbox for uploading files as well as an entry form.

The final pieces will be judged through jury-driven process focused on creativity, durability, safety, and the overall quality of design process documentation. We request that participants track and document their progress from initial sketch to final piece and provide a poster and video for the exhibition.

The following items are required to complete your submission.

All entries will be reviewed by the jury anonymously. Thus, all submitted text and images must be free from any marks, logos or writing that identifies authorship. The presence of any such insignia will result in disqualification.

When naming files and labeling your poster include registration numbers only. Your name(s) and affiliations will be added later if your design is selected to be exhibited.

1. POSTER: One (1) 24” x 18” horizontal format poster; must be submitted in a high-resolution PDF file; each file should not exceed 50MB. Input entry title and registration number in the appropriate space on the template.

You will receive the template with your registration number.

Please include: a) High Resolution images of the design process b) High Resolution images/renderings of the final piece c) Multiple renderings, in context d) Overall and key dimensions noted 2. BIOGRAPHY (in English): Descriptions of team (150 word max.)

3. VIDEO: All design process work should be documented in video format (in video be sure to capture designers at work, interviews, research, sketches, concepts, models, prototypes, etc.) a) A music sound track and/or narration are allowed. b) The title screen should include design title and registration number but no other identification. c) 3 minutes maximum d) Video file size should not exceed 100 MB e) Subtitles are allowed for non-English speaking entries 4. MODEL: Create a scale model from any medium (ie. clay, wire, wood, paper, etc.) a) 1/8 scale model ( Make a model that is 1/8th the size of your final bench. So if your seat is 6ft long: 6ft = 72in, your model should be 9 inches long) b) Mail to: Design Museum Boston P.O. Box 990938 Boston MA 02199 5. PROJECT INFORMATION: Complete all fields in the online submission form.

• Project Title (in any language) • Description of design process (in English) (max 500 words): Give a written account of the design processes used in designing your bench, what research did you do, what inspired you, how did you go about designing your Street Seat?

• Estimated total cost of fabricated full-scale bench (in US$) • Description of final design (in English): (Maximum 500 words). This must include a clear description of the method by which you intend that your design be fabricated and of your ability to develop a full- scale seat.

Do not include your name or other identifying information in your text submission, as judging will be blind. *NOTE: We want to show the public how designers develop ideas. When creating your poster and video, consider that this is an equally valid part of the judges criteria. Remember members of the museum’s audience may be new to the design process.

Prizes.

All Entries: All entries will be on view at the exhibition at Design Museum Boston’s Design Innovation Gallery at Factory 63 in Fort Point and featured on the Design Museum Boston website. Design credits will include name, professional or academic affiliation (if any), city, state, country, twitter handle and website (if any). The gallery will be curated by Design Museum Boston.

Semi-Finalists: The Semi-Finalists will be selected by the Jury from the entries and announced at the gallery opening at Factory 63. All Semi-Finalist will receive promotion from Design Museum Boston as well as media coverage. Semi-Finalists will receive a US$750 reimbursement grant for use in fabricating their full-scale bench. All SemiFinalists will be installed along the Fort Point Channel as part of the public design exhibition, on view for seven months.

Finalists: Three finalists will receive trophies, promotion and media coverage, as well as cash prizes. Grand prize (1 entry): US$5000 cash prize. Runners-up (2 entries) will each receive a US$2000 cash prize.

Exhibit and Installation.

Final designs must be ready for installation and tested for structural stability 2 weeks before the final exhibition opening, the deadline for receiving final full-scale benches from Semi-Finalists is April 12, 2013. We will be asking for you to send us a video of your entry in action to evaluate its safety for a public venue. Judges and guests will be asked to try out and rate the benches at the exhibition so be confident in your work.

Return of work.

Round 1: Design Museum Boston will remove work that was not chosen from the indoor gallery in April 2013. Design Museum Boston will not be responsible for work that is damaged, lost, vandalized, or otherwise harmed. Entrants who desire their 1/8 scale model should include a completed return shipping pre-paid airbill with their original shipment.

Round 2: Final full-scale seats that are selected will be moved to their temporary locations and installed by Design Museum Boston. After outdoor exhibition closes in October 2013, fabricated benches will be owned by the Design Museum Boston sponsors, who support the Street Seats program, to be displayed outside their buildings and businesses, or shown in corporate lobbies. All creative design rights are retained and owned by the entrant(s).

Design Challenge Advisory Board.

Sam Aquillano, Co-Founder, Design Museum Boston Derek Cascio, Co-Founder, Design Museum Boston Jenna Goldblatt, Assistant Project Manager, Design Museum Boston Joe Bradford, Designer, Design Museum Boston Jenna Casey, Graphic Designer, Design Museum Boston Richard McGuinness, Deputy Director Waterfront Planning, BRA Karin Goodfellow, Director, Boston Art Commission Design Museum Boston will hold periodic webinars to answer questions about Street Seats Design Challenge. Webinars will be announced on our website.

Eligibility.

The Street Seats Design Challenge is open to both local and international individuals and teams.

Individuals, teams, professionals, and students are encouraged to contribute their designs. Multiple submissions from any one individual or team are permitted, although each entry must be submitted under a unique registration number.

Employees of Design Museum Boston and their immediate family members are ineligible to take part in the Street Seats Design Challenge. Immediate family members and employees of Jurors are also ineligible.

TERMS & CONDITIONS (1) Individuals or teams (“Competitors”) submit materials (each an “Entry”) for consideration by the Jury in this Competition without compensation and at their own risk. Design Museum Boston may delay, suspend or cancel the Competition at any time without compensation to any Competitor, and Design Museum Boston has no obligation to proceed with the selection of Top Designs or finalists or a winner, or to exhibit any prototypes at Factory 63, or to build any seat. (2) All decisions of the Jury are final and binding on all Competitors. The number of Top Designs, finalists, and winning Entries selected is within the sole discretion of the Jury. (3) Submission of an Entry constitutes a grant to Design Museum Boston by the individual submitting the Entry and by each individual on the team submitting the Entry of: (a) a worldwide, exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable, and sub-licensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, display, distribute, transmit, post, broadcast, and create derivative works of the Entry or any part thereof, in any medium now known or hereafter devised, in connection with the Design Challenge, in advertising, educational, or promotional materials relating to the Challenge; (b) semi-finalists release physical ownership of their final full-scale submission to Design Museum Boston with the right to use, donate, gift, or auction the piece (c) the right to use, in connection with the Challenge, the Competitor’s name and likeness and any other information that the Competitor provides to Design Museum Boston in connection with the Competition, including in credits for top designs, prototypes, and winning design.

(4) Each Competitor shall execute any additional documentation that Design Museum Boston reasonably determines to be necessary to allow it to use any seat or any part of any Entry as the Competitor has agreed herein. (5) All entries (including the photographs of work and written descriptions entered) become the permanent property of Design Museum Boston for use in the challenge or promotion of future contests or promotional materials at the sole discretion of Design Museum Boston. The ownership of the item transfers to Design Museum Boston while creative, design, and intellectual property rights remain with entrants. (6) Entrants will cooperate with Design Museum Boston’s request in connection with the Design Challenge and the fabrication of any prototypes or seats. (7) Although a Competitor may use his or her own previous research and development to inspire the submitted design, the submitted design must be unique to this exhibition. By submitting an Entry, each individual submitting the Entry and each individual on the team submitting the Entry: (a) represents and warrants that (i) the design of its seat is original, (ii) the design of its seat has not been previously fabricated, (iii) the Competitor owns all rights in the design of its seat, and (iv) no part of its Entry and no use thereof and no use of the proposed seat, violates, infringes or otherwise conflicts in any way with any copyright, trademark or any other right of any third party; and (b) waives all moral rights, if any, in its Entry in connection with the uses of such Entry and of the proposed seat permitted herein. (8) By submitting an Entry, each individual submitting the Entry and each individual on the team submitting the Entry agrees: (i) to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Design Museum Boston and its officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, consultants, and contractors for, from, and against all costs, expenses, losses, and damages, including reasonable attorney’s fees, incurred as a result of a claim, action, suit, or proceeding by a third party arising out of or related to such Competitor’s Entry or participation in the Competition; and (ii) to release, except as prohibited by law, Design Museum Boston and its officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, consultants, and contractors from any responsibility or liability for any damages arising out of or related to such Competitor’s Entry or participation in the Competition, including, without limitation, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages arising out of or related to such Competitor’s Entry or participation in the Design Challenge, whether such damages arise in contract or tort, even if such party knew or may have known about the possibility of such damages, except that no party’s liability will be limited for its gross negligence or willful misconduct resulting in death or personal injury. (9) Design Museum Boston is not liable for: (a) the inaccuracy of any information provided in connection with the Challenge, whether such inaccuracy is caused by a Competitor or by human or mechanical error or technical failure; or (b) technical failures or electronic errors of any kind, or any inaccessibility or unavailability of any telecommunications service or network hardware or software, in connection with the submission of Entries or otherwise. (10) Any and all applicable taxes, fees, and expenses related to the submission of Entries, the acceptance and use of any prize, or any other aspect of the Entrant’s participation in the Challenge are the sole responsibility of the applicable Competitor. No prize can be substituted, assigned, or transferred. By submitting an Entry, each individual submitting the Entry and each individual on the team submitting the Entry agrees to provide Design Museum Boston with all information and documentation required in connection with the Entrant’s payment of any applicable taxes, fees, or expenses. (11) By submitting an Entry, each individual submitting the Entry and each individual on the team submitting the Entry affirms that he or she has read and accepted these Rules and Regulations. Disputes or questions of interpretation of the Rules and Regulations of the Competition or concerning the registration or eligibility of any Competitor will be considered by Design Museum Boston, which will render a final determination binding on all Competitors. (12) The Competition is subject to all applicable laws and regulations and is void where prohibited. No resident of a state or country the laws of which prohibit the operation of a competition of this nature is eligible to enter the Competition. No resident of a country to which exports or payments from the United States are banned is eligible to enter the Competition. (13) By submitting an Entry, each individual submitting the Entry and each individual on the team submitting the Entry agrees that, except where prohibited: (a) any disputes or claims arising out of or in connection with this Challenge will be resolved exclusively in a court of competent jurisdiction in the state of Massachusetts; and (b) all questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Rules and Regulations shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Massachusetts without regard to its principles of conflicts of laws. (14) Failure by Design Museum Boston to enforce any of its rights under these Rules and Regulations at any time does not constitute a waiver of those rights.

Street Seats Design Challenge

Presented by:

designmuseumboston.org info@designmuseumboston.org @designmuseumbos 617.610.3664

September 2012