Gowanus Connections is Gowanus By Design's inaugural international ideas competition, inviting speculation on the value of urban development of postindustrial urban lands, and the possibility of dynamic, pedestrian-oriented architecture that engages with the Gowanus Canal and the surrounding watershed. This competition, the first of a series, focuses on the design of connections in and around the canal, and the residual moments around these connections. One of GbD’s objectives is to generate a discourse about urban issues that are currently relevant to the Gowanus Canal community. The competition was designed to generate a spectrum of possible solutions. The applicants were judged by an independent jury of award-winning practitioners including landscape architect, Julie Bargmann of DIRT Studios; architects David J. Lewis of LTL Architects and Greg Pasquarelli of SHoP Architects; urban planner Richard Plunz of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture,Planning and Preservation; Andrew Simons of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy and Joel Towers, Dean of the Parsons School of Design. The jury’s criteria included focusing on designers who explored their design sensibilities while tackling complex urban challenges specific to the canal. The competition and exhibition are supported by the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation (gowanus.org), Soho Reprographics (www.sohorepro.com) and SET Gallery (www.setgallery.org/).

First Place
Project Name: Gowanus Flowlands Team Members: Tyler Caine, Luke Carnahan, Ryan Doyle, Brandon Specketer Location: New York, NY

Second Place
Project Name: [f]lowline Team Name: Aptum/Landscape Intelligence Team Members: Gale Fulton, Roger Hubeli, Julie Larsen

Honorable Mention
Project Name: Domestic Laundry: Flush Basin Curtain Mattress Pillow Team Name: Agergroup Team Members: Claire Ji Kim, Shan Shan Lu, Winnie Lai, and Albert Chung

Honorable Mention
Project Name: Made in Brooklyn: Bridges For Local Artisans & Industry Team Members: Nathan Rich and Miriam Peterson

Honorable Mention
Project Name: B.Y.O.B. (Build Your Own Bridge) Team Name: Austin+Mergold LLC Team Members: Jason Austin, Alex Mergold, Jessica Brown, Sally Reynolds

Honorable Mention
Project Name: Gowanus Canal Filter District Team Name: burkholder|salmons Team Members: Sean Burkholder, Dylan Salmons