2009 Oculus Editorial Calendar
If you are an architect by training or see yourself as an astute observer of New York’s architectural and planning scene, note that OCULUS editors want to hear from you! Projects/topics may be anywhere, but architects must be New York-based. The themes:

Spring Issue: Elevating Architecture / Design Literacy for All. Closed.

Summer Issue: AIANY 2009 Design Awards and AIANY/BSA Biennial Building Type Awards
02.06.09: Registration Deadline

Fall Issue: Carbon Neutral Now. The new green frontier, carbon neutrality, researched, explored, planned, and designed at all scales by New York architects.
06.01.09: Suggestion Deadline

Winter Issue: Health & Architecture. Architecture designed to promote fitness, health, and wellness will be profiled. Projects selected from within this growing field will demonstrate sensitivity to generational and demographic issues, sustainability, and technology.
08.01.09: Suggestion Deadline

If you have suggestions, please contact OCULUS editor-in-chief Kristen Richards.

01.13.09 Call for Entries: 2009 Lumen Awards / IES Illumination Awards
The IES Illumination Awards (formerly the International Illumination Design Awards) recognize professionalism, ingenuity, and originality in lighting design based on the individual merit of each entry. The judging system is based entirely on how well the lighting design does or does not meet the program criteria.

01.30.09 Call for Entries: Richard Kelly Grant
Established by the NY Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society in 1980, this grant was originally conceived as a scholarship program and later opened to young persons working in lighting in North America.

02.06.09 Call for Submissions: Center for Architecture Exhibition Designers Shortlist — Open Call!
The Center for Architecture is creating a shortlist of designers for upcoming exhibitions. Center for Architecture Exhibition Designers will work with curators, graphic designers, and Center staff to create exciting, immersive, and interactive exhibitions. Submit an expression of interest, qualifications, and a pdf portfolio to Jonah Stern, Exhibitions Coordinator, jstern@aiany.org.

02.09.09 Call for Entries: 2009 New York City Cultural Innovation Fund Competition
The Rockefeller Foundation annually awards $2.7 million in grants — ranging between $50,000 and $250,000 — to spur and support cultural innovation in NYC’s creative sector. Project categories include: creative engagement with the issues shaping NYC’s future cultural and civic agenda; programming and premieres of new artistic work in the visual, performing, and media arts; new partnerships among cultural organizations, community-based institutions, universities, and the private sector; and interventions designed to confront bottlenecks and limitations to the expansion of cultural vitality.

02.15.09 Call for Proposals: Andes Sprouts Society Sustainable Studio Design Competition
ASsociety farm is looking for submissions for three resident/studio structures for its expanding artist in residency program. Freestanding structures will house resident artists as well as enhance existing farming activities. ASsociety resident artists will develop media art projects with crossover activities in organic farming. This call-out encourages collaboration between artists, architects and engineers to demonstrate and promote unique, functional, and inspiring approaches to sustainable design and post-crash housing technologies.

02.23.09 Call for Entries: 2009 NYC Student Lighting Competition
NYC design students are invited to participate in a citywide lighting design competition to explore light as an art form, demonstrate light as a stimulus, and prove light is a valuable medium.

03.06.09 Call for Applicants: Van Alen Institute New York Prize Fellowship
The Van Institute seeks critical inquiry and experimental practices that expand conventional definitions of public architecture. Fellows receive three-month residencies where they generate projects on the significant issues shaping public life and the built environment. Five project areas include: Land Use and Development, Forms and Materials, Information and Communication in partnership with the Social Science Research Council, Systems and Ecology, and Culture and Politics. The Prize includes project support, stipend, work and gallery space, and publication in the Institute’s annual series Projects in Public Architecture.