Recently, the Western New York Land Conservancy will announce the winners of the DL&W Corridor International Design Ideas Competition. The Land Conservancy received nearly one hundred design idea proposals from individuals and teams across the region, the country, and around the world.
These winning designs acknowledged the ways that the new nature trail and greenway can create an anchor for investment while creating opportunity, connectivity, and prosperity for local neighborhoods and the
region.
A jury of community leaders and international experts in design, community engagement, and infrastructure reuse reviewed each of the designs submitted and selected the top proposals for monetary prizes. The winner of the Community Choice Award was selected by the community through online voting as well as in-person voting at an Open House at M&T Center, and at a series of smaller exhibitions in the Valley, First Ward, and Perry neighborhoods.
The Land Conservancy is pleased to announce the following winners of the juried design ideas competition:
First Place Design: “All Aboard! Reclaiming Hill & Del” was submitted by MNLA, a NYC-based landscape architecture firm. Their design was created by team members Molly Bourne, Greg Leonard, Katherine Cannella, Ilana Cohen, Katie Drummond, Sonya Gimon, Emily Gordon, Rae Ishee, Johanna Phelps, and Yelena Zolotorevskaya. (Entry #0348)
Second Place Design: “The Dell, The Link & The Wander” (DLW) was a joint effort by: Marvel Architects – a NYC-based Landscape Architecture, Architecture & Placemaking firm with team members Yadiel Rivera, Tyler Silvestro, Yanick Lay; Buro Happold – Planning & Engineering firm with team members Alice Shay, Cristobal Correa; Patrick Cullina – Horticulture & Design firm; and NOWHERE Office – Graphic Design & Wayfinding firm with team member Yeju Choi (Entry #1324)
Third Place Designs: The Jury determined that two designs tied for third place: “Rail n ” and “The Loop Line.”
“Rail n” was designed by a team of 6 graduate students of Landscape Architecture from Beijing Forestry University, including Ou Xiaoyang, Ni Yongwei, Lin Qiao, Liang Shuyu, Li Jiayi, and Ai Xin. (Entry 4190)
“The Loop Line” was designed by Kerry O’Connor of OSA, an emerging design practice based in Brooklyn, NY. (Entry #7836)
Honorable Mentions
“Del Buffalo: Connecting and Reconnecting” was designed by a Buffalo-based team comprised of Seth Amman, Dylan Burns, Nicole Lipp Duffin, Matt Wattles, Stephanie (Cole) Adams, Daniel Seiders (Entry 2535)
“The Verdant Vein” was designed by team ‘Echo’ which is comprised of four master students in the field of Landscape Architecture from Cornell University, including Lingyi Xu, Zhuohan Xie, Zhuojia Lou, Zikun Zhang (Entry #0770)
The community has selected the following designs as the recipients of the Community Choice Award:
First place: “The Del: A Steel and Rail Heritage Trail” was designed by Matt Renkas, who has a degree in Landscape Architecture from SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry. Matt is currently a firefighter for the City of Buffalo. (Entry #9163)
Second Place: “Del Buffalo: Connecting and Reconnecting” was designed by a Buffalo-based team comprised of Seth Amman, Dylan Burns, Nicole Lipp Duffin, Matt Wattles, Stephanie (Cole) Adams, Daniel Seiders (Entry #2535)
Third Place: “The Del-Line” was designed by Cannon Design of Grand Island & Supermass Studio of NYC. Team Members include Michael Tunkey, John P. Reed, Taewook Cha, Luke Johnson, Mark Nowaczyk, Nhan Bui, Ryan Koella, Sean Eno, Luyao Kong, Nicole Sowinski (Entry #9190)
Land Conservancy Executive Director Nancy Smith said, “These designs boldly capture the essence of this place as it is now, and all that it could become. They point the way forward for a corridor of connections –
connecting our community with the Buffalo River, with nature, and with emerging regional destinations. They promise to help define Buffalo as a place where nature leads the way towards renewal and economic vibrancy.”
To view the winning designs, as well as the others submitted to the competition, please visit wnylc.org/dlw-design to access the design ideas gallery.