‘in January 2009 the uK government announced that a third runway should be built at heathrow. two days before this announcement greenpeace revealed that it had purchased a piece of land – airplot – on the proposed new runway site.
This marked the start of an epic battle.
The government has committed the uK to an 80% cut in climate changing emissions by 2050. yet airport expansion
will make this target impossible to reach. The new heathrow runway also threatens to subject londoners to increased noise and air pollution, and destroy the local communities of sipson, harmondsworth and harlington.
In rising to the challenge of climate change, many architects, designers, urban planners and engineers are already streets ahead of the politicians that represent us.
The ideas, ability and ingenuity is out there, yet backward government decisions, like the one to support a third runway at heathrow, threaten to undermine the quiet revolution that is already underway. In a low carbon world, carbon intensive infrastructure, such as a third runway at heathrow, have no place.
This open ideas competition invites architects, landscape architects, architectural students, engineers, artists and other design professionals to help us. Greenpeace is seeking a winning design to fortify the airplot that will help us to finally defeat the third runway plans for good.
The winning entry will be an exemplary piece of sustainable design: a practical solution with cultural and aesthetic power to match the depth and importance of what’s at stake.
Join the good guys in a battle of the architects. The opposition – baa – is planning to spend millions on its development. Our budget may be smaller, but we have the future on our side. only one building will be left standing at the end. And if your design wins, thousands of people are ready to put their bodies in front of baa’s bulldozers to make sure it is yours.’
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/airplot/contest/heathrow-contest
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/autofrontpage
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/pdfs/climate/airplot-contest-brief.pdf
