DEPARTMENT: Center City Development & Operations Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: John Jacks
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: District 1
SUBJECT: River Barge Design Competition
SUMMARY:
Briefing on the status of the River Barge Design Competition for a new fleet design. The new river barge fleet is anticipated to be constructed and fully operational for the City's Tricentennial celebration.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The current river barge design originates from San Antonio's 250th anniversary celebration during the 1968 World's Fair. In 2018, San Antonio will celebrate its 300th anniversary. This occasion prompted a desire by City leaders to re-imagine the river barge experience with a newly-designed, more sustainable, modular fleet using innovative technology that can respond to the needs of both tourists and residents.
The City partnered with The American Institute of Architects, San Antonio Chapter (AIA San Antonio) to implement a two-phased international design competition for a new river barge design. The competition launched on October 30, 2015, with initial conceptual design proposals due February 5, 2016. A panel of 11 distinguished jurors reviewed the 12 anonymous submittals for the first phase of the competition and selected three finalist teams to move into the second phase of the competition based on design innovation, functionality, operational considerations, constructability, and sensitivity to San Antonio's culture. The three finalists, listed below in alphabetical order, submitted their developed design concepts on March 18.
* Luna Architecture + Design (San Antonio, TX) with Lay Pittman & Associates (Neptune Beach, FL)
* METALAB (Houston, TX)
* Sadi Brewton + Jonathan Davies (Austin, TX)
AIA San Antonio held an open house on March 28 for community members to view renderings & 3-D models of the three finalists' barge designs, meet with the three finalist teams, and provide feedback on the designs. Community feedback was ...
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