WPA 2.0

Year: 2008–2012

WPA 2.0: Working Public Architecture began as an open design competition seeking innovative, implementable proposals that place infrastructure at the heart of rebuilding our cities. It provides global access to the range of new ideas and resources gathered throughout the competition, workshop, and symposium.

The competition, organized by cityLAB, was inspired by the Depression-era Works Projects Administration and the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Given the $150 billion dedicated to infrastructure, the largest investment in public works in the United States since the Interstate Highway system, designers were asked to envision a new legacy of publicly-supported infrastructure – projects that explore the value of infrastructure not only as an engineering endeavor but as a robust design opportunity to strengthen communities and revitalize cities. Nearly two hundred teams from 13 countries and 25 US states entered the professional competition; another 200 student teams submitted projects. The six final proposals represent some of today’s most progressive plans for transforming existing urban infrastructure with an emphasis on better public spaces, more conscientious energy and water use, and turning detriments into resources.