Van Alen Institute (VAI) is an independent nonprofit architectural organization whose mission is to promote inquiry into the processes that shape the design of the public realm. The Institute develops programs that inform debate through design competitions and fellowships, related forums, publications and exhibitions.
VAI has sponsored, managed and facilitated regional and national public design competitions since 1904 – identifying critical issues and contested sites and developing responsive partnerships so that designers, policymakers, journalists, students, and interested citizens can better understand and engage the public sphere.
Today the Van Alen Institute both honors its considerable legacy and fulfills its contemporary mandate through its design competition initiatives and programs, which include related conferences, forums and public exhibitions. The entire competition process is synthesized in the publication of a Van Alen Report.
For more information on Van Alen Institute's commitment to public design competitions, visit: The Politics of Design: Competitions for Public Projects.
VAI has sponsored, managed and facilitated regional and national public design competitions since 1904 – identifying critical issues and contested sites and developing responsive partnerships so that designers, policymakers, journalists, students, and interested citizens can better understand and engage the public sphere.
Today the Van Alen Institute both honors its considerable legacy and fulfills its contemporary mandate through its design competition initiatives and programs, which include related conferences, forums and public exhibitions. The entire competition process is synthesized in the publication of a Van Alen Report.
For more information on Van Alen Institute's commitment to public design competitions, visit: The Politics of Design: Competitions for Public Projects.