The Charles Brooks Memorial Peace Fountain Student Design Competition is organized and adjudicated by PARTISANS, a Toronto-based architecture studio. PARTISANS has been hired by the City of Windsor to reimagine the Peace Fountain.

The goal of the competition is to generate a wide variety of unique, innovative, and thoughtful design ideas for the Peace Fountain from the student design community. Involvement from young designers in the design process is critically important if the fountain is to have meaning, importance, and relevance to upcoming generations for the next 40 to 50 years. It’s also critically important to involve young designers in imagining the broader context of the image of Windsor and programming along the City’s incredible riverfront parks. We encourage entries that look to the future, present innovative ideas and approaches, and address the major project themes of Community, Environment, and Memory.

Design Challenges & Considerations

• The existing Fountain floats on the Detroit River, and is removed from the water every October, and reinstalled in May due to icing on the river. It’s an expensive process, and it limits winter programming opportunities. How can the Fountain be designed to be used throughout the year without being removed from the water?
• The existing Fountain is an energy hog. How can a reimagined Peace Fountain reduce energy use? How can on-site energy generation be incorporated?
• The existing Fountain has been an icon of Windsor for more than 40 years and is cherished by the community. How can the Fountain address it’s historical importance to the people of Windsor?
• The Detroit River is polluted, and is home to endangered and threatened aquatic species. How can the Fountain improve these ecological conditions?
• The Detroit River is a major shipping channel and the Peace Fountain must not interfere with its operations.
• The boardwalk around the fountain, as well as some low-lying areas of Reaume park, flood occasionally.
• The water level in the Detroit river varies by up to about 4’ (1.2m). The average water velocity on the surface is about 1.25 m/s, and about 2.5 m/s under the water.

Submission Requirements

• 2 page 11×17 PDF digital submission, not to exceed 5MB in file size. The submission must include a description of the design concept in less than 250 words, at least one rendering, and any supporting diagrams or technical drawings. Vector drawings must be rasterized.
• Email entries to: submission@peacefountain.ca

Eligibility

• The competition is open to all current students
• Entries can be submitted by individuals or groups

Prizes

• First Prize: $2,000 CAD + opportunity to work with the design team on the Peace Fountain project
• Second Prize: $750 CAD
• Third Prize: $250 CAD