Tuesday, March 29, 2011
House design competition is celebration of New Harmony's bicentennial
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Contact for more information:
Wendy Knipe Bredhold Media Relations Specialist, News & Information Services 812/461-5259 Jurors for the competition include Bernhard Karpf, associate partner in the New York-based firm of Richard Meier & Partners (designer of New Harmony's Atheneum) and Charles Durrett, co-owner of The CoHousing Company, who, along with his wife Kathryn McCamant, introduced the concept of cohousing to the U.S. with their book Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves. Winners from the first round will be exhibited at the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art from August 20 through September 24, 2011, during which time the top three finalists will be chosen by public vote. The first place winner will receive a prize of $2,000, second place $1,000, and third place $500. The winning design will become the property of the town of New Harmony and will be given free of charge to anyone seeking to build within the town limits or immediate environs. "The concept of designing the ideal community is what makes New Harmony world famous, so it's fitting that one of the activities to celebrate its bicentennial would engage the town plan," said Connie Weinzapfel, director of Historic New Harmony. "New Harmony is a designated National Planning Landmark, so any new construction has the ability to add to the landscape. This project will offer an affordable, green home plan free of charge to anyone interested in building in New Harmony." All applicants must register by June 15, 2011, to be eligible for the Bicentennial House Competition. The registration fee is $50 and must be submitted with the registration form. The Bicentennial House Design Competition is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, go to www.usi.edu/hnh/bicentennialhouse.asp. About New Harmony In 1814 a group of German millennialists purchased 20,000 acres of land in Southwestern Indiana Territory to fulfill their destiny as proscribed by a biblical prophecy. Their second of three towns built in the New World, New Harmony, was designed with a perpendicular street plan and contained 180 structures built over the course of their 10-year habitation there. In addition to churches, factories, granaries, and barns, the Harmonie Society constructed four community houses for single men and women and 28 single family dwellings made with half-timbered traditional construction and insulated with wooden boards covered with straw and mud. Painted plaster covered the interior walls, while either hardwood clapboards or bricks sheathed the exteriors. Wood shakes covered the roofs. A footprint of 20 by 30 feet was the norm in each two-story house. More historical background is available at www.newharmony.org. About University of Southern Indiana The University of Southern Indiana is a public university with undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, education, engineering, liberal arts, nursing and health administration, and science. A portion of the University's mission is outreach and engagement in southwestern Indiana. USI's Historic New Harmony and New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art conducts workshops and seminars and schedules events to preserve the utopian legacy of New Harmony in cooperation with the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. Go to www.usi.edu for more information. |
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