The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission must receive all submissions by no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on January 15, 2010. This is not a postmark deadline. The actual boards must be received by the given date and time.

Entries may be either shipped or hand delivered to:

Valley Ideas Competition
Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
60 Congress Street
Springfield, MA 01104-3419

(413) 781-6045

Entrants bear responsibility for the proper and timely delivery of their submission. The sponsors recommend competitors contract with a shipping or delivery service that guarantees delivery and provides a tracking number. Deliveries may be made in person to the same address. Neither PVPC or WMAIA nor any of their agents or consultants, are responsible for any materials that arrive late or in a condition that renders them unsuitable for display or judging.

Presentation Content

Proposals should address design and planning strategies at multiple scales:

Site Planning Scale, where proposals indicate overall site development potential, incorporate site context, and demonstrate exercise of flexible site design options as advocated by AIA Center for Communities by Design and PVPC Smart Growth Principles, where relevant.

Site Design Scale, where proposals communicate design character, environmental sensitivity; and innovation in implementation of the suggested development program on the site

Use of Site, where proposals indicate the program of functions as they interact on site and relate to the broader site context and community.

Building footprint area, total building area including any below grade area, total building height, total residential units, if any and build-out of site including all paved surfaces. All area calculations need to be in square feet or linear feet.

Each entry must include:
Name of Competition Site + Project Title
Merits of Submittal Statement that specifies key design elements and principles, including smart growth based design concepts and building strategies that support livability and sustainability (400 words maximum in format detailed under PCCompatible CD-ROM Requirements)
Site Plan including illustration of how the plan has a thoughtful and meaningful relationship to the community.
Scale and North Arrow

Do not include any identification for the design team on the presentation board or the entry will be disqualified.

Additional, recommended presentation elements could include:
Site section(s)
Diagrams describing conceptual and functional aspects of your project scheme
Perspective drawings describing experiential aspects of your project scheme
Detail drawings of key design elements (plans, sections, elevations, etc.
Other representations that are important in communicating key design principles.

Presentation Board Requirements

Each team should submit two 24 x 36” (610 mm x 915 mm) presentation boards, composed side-by-side so that the overall horizontal dimension is 36” (915 mm) and the vertical dimension is 48” (1220 mm). Individual boards are landscape format and the presentation as a whole is portrait format.

The boards should have a maximum thickness of .25” (6 mm) and weigh no more than five pounds (6.8 kilograms) each. The boards must lie flat against an easel or wall and may not include anything that projects more than .125” (3 mm) from the surface or that might damage other boards when stacked.

Entries not in compliance with this format will be automatically disqualified.

PC-Compatible-CD-Rom Requirements

To facilitate the creation of future publications and exhibitions, a PC-compatible CD-ROM must be provided with the following files in the formats specified. All images are to be saved in JPEG format:
One JPEG of entire entry at 300 dpi resolution. (CMYIC) saved as “EH.JPEG
One JPEG of presentation board 1 at 300 dpi resolution (CMYK) saved as “1H.JPEG”
One JPEG of presentation board 2 at 300 dpi resolution (CMYK) saved as “2H.JPEG”
One “Merits of Submittal Statement” text file (400 words maximum). Explains in English how your presentation addresses the Smart Growth Design on the site selected category in which it was entered. Include competition category entered and entry title. Save as a simple text file.

Contact Information- Teams + Individuals

Each entrant will submit the following information on a contact information sheet in a sealed envelope that will accompany each submittal. Names of entrants, whether individuals or teams, should not appear on the presentation boards or on any other materials except the contact information sheet. Contact information sheet must be sealed in an envelope and taped to the backside of one of the presentation boards.

Contact information sheets must include:
Full contact information for all team members. Include name, firm or school name, address, telephone number and email address as they should appear in publication and exhibition materials.

Invoice number (if you registered online for the competition or paid with a check or money order prior to submitting your entry) or the nonrefundable registration fee check or money order made payable to PVPC Smart Growth as specified.

Anonymity Requirements

All presentations boards and CD submittals will bear no identification, - name, symbol, insignia, logo or mark that might serve to reveal the identity of the author(s) of the submission. Failure to comply with this rule will lead to immediate disqualification. No entrant may otherwise directly or indirectly reveal the authorship of any design concepts to any jurist, competition staff member, competition consultant or member of the press. Such identification, occurring at any time prior to design award event, will be grounds for disqualification.

Ownership and Copyright

All drawings, photographs, photocopies, discs and other physical materials submitted to the Competition shall become the property of PVPC + WMAIA and may be retained for archival purposes and possible exhibition and publication (see “Exhibition and Publication”). Individuals and firms retain standard ownership of their intellectual property. By participating in this competition, each participant acknowledges and agrees that PVPC + WMAIA shall have the right to photograph the submitted materials and/or use the materials on the disc for any non-construction purpose—including archival, public relations or marketing. PVPC + WMAIA shall have the right to release any of the submitted materials to the media or otherwise publish and distribute the design materials and will credit the individuals or firm responsible for authoring the material.

Return of Entires

The Competition Boards and CDs will not be returned. Competitors who wish to retain a record of their work are advised to make copies prior to sending their submission.

Questions and Communication

Participants may not communicate directly with PVPC and WMAIA, the participating municipalities or any member of the Jury for the duration of the competition. Until the winners have been identified, the Competition Coordinator will serve as the sole liaison with the entrants. All communications should be addressed to info@valleyideas.org

For the purposes of announcements and other communications, each team or individual registering for the Competition must identify a point-of-contact who will serve as the organizers’ only liaison throughout the course of the competition. It is the responsibility of the point-of-contact and not PVPC+WMAIA, nor any of its agents or consultants, to notify the members of that competitor’s team about any clarifications or announcements.

All critical Competition announcements and incoming questions will be posted on the Competition’s website.

Disqualification

No partner, associate, family member or employee of any jury member may participate in the competition, nor may any jury member compete in association with, advise or assist a competitor in any way.

Submissions will be deemed invalid if: they arrive after the deadline; fail to fulfill the stated programmatic requirements; are incomplete in any significant fashion; or contain any inappropriate visual or written material.

Teams participating in the Competition who fail to observe the provisions in these rules will be declared ineligible. All decisions in respect to disqualification shall be final and binding on all parties.