The site is located at the gateway to New York City's storied West Village neighborhood and blocks from the Chelsea neighborhood, on a triangle of land bounded by Seventh Avenue, West 12th Street and Greenwich Avenue. The cultural significance of this site cannot be overstated; it stands at the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic in New York City through its adjacency to the former St. Vincent's Hospital. St. Vincent's is the single site most associated with the AIDS crisis in New York City. The hospital figures prominently in The Normal Heart, Angels in America, As Is and other important pieces of literature and art that narrate the stories of the plague years in New York. The area is also in close proximity to the LGBT Community Center, where ACT-UP and other AIDS advocacy/support groups first organized. The memories, personal stories, and associations with the hospital run very deep. This triangle was the location of the Loew's Sheridan movie theater until the late 1970s when it was demolished to make room for the hospital's expansion including a loading facility, medical infrastructure and below-grade storage space. St. Vincent's hospital tragically went bankrupt in April 2010, and the entire former medical campus is being redeveloped into a new luxury residential development. As part of that redevelopment, this site is being redesigned as new public open space. For many years, the community has expressed desire that the site be turned into a public park. The West Village, like most of Lower Manhattan, is starved for public, green, open places for relaxation. The significance of the location, coupled with this redevelopment, creates an unprecedented opportunity. We strongly believe that the time has come for New York City to recognize this important history with a living memorial park that connects current and future generations and guides us forward.

We are looking for designs that function simultaneously as a useable park for the surrounding park-starved neighborhood and a significant memorial to the AIDS Crisis. Designs will be evaluated in their success at creating a functional park, available for both passive and active recreation, and a significant memorial with a strong commemorative narrative. Designers should consider reusing existing below-grade space to expand and extend the commemorative narrative: As a space for exhibition, teaching, meditation, or memorial elements. The park, memorial features, and any use of below-grade space must be integrated both functionally and aesthetically. Additional evaluation criteria call for park designs that:

• Creatively and comprehensively integrate the important commemorative narrative into the fabric and essence of the park to create a living memorial
• Seamlessly integrate any adaptive reuse of the below-grade space, including issues of access/egress and ventilation
• Are welcoming, accessible and usable by all
• Seek to maximize planted areas and gardens
• Include ample seating and pedestrian walkways

This is a very challenging site for several reasons. The triangle is bound on two sides by subway trains. The below-grade space is raw and existing ceiling heights are approximately 10 feet. Issues of access, egress, locating mechanical and HVAC equipment, and bringing daylight to the below-grade space must all be addressed. Two underground passageways exist that connect the below-grade space with neighboring buildings. One runs under Seventh Avenue to the East Side existing hospital building; the other connects to the O'Toole building under West 12th Street. Both are city-owned, and proposed designs should explore their reuse potential for access/egress and housing mechanical equipment. The ground plane of the site is 16,000 square feet and currently houses a loading dock, medical gas storage tanks, and a small community garden that will be demolished and cleared for the construction of the new park. Because the site is in the Greenwich Village Historic District, all park plans must be approved by New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission.

There is a $50 USD registration fee for this competition. Competitors may register via PayPal.

The competition is open to all individuals and firms, regardless of geographical location and level of experience. Submissions will be anonymous and digital, sent to an email address that is included in the registration packet one receives upon paying for entry. Upon registration, a packet containing images of the site, a technical drawing and submission email address will be delivered digitally. Please allow 12-24 hours for delivery of materials. Submissions should be a one page PDF (under 5MB) scalable to ledger paper (11x17'') oriented horizontally and contain the following:
- Overall plan and representative section
- At least one rendering, at eyelevel or birds-eye (at competitor's discretion)
- Project description of fewer than 500 words that is legible in printed ledger size
- Registration number sent from Architizer

Registration opens November 29th, 2011
Question and answer period submission deadline December 15, 2011
Question and answer responses posted December 19, 2011
Registration deadline January 20, 2012
Project submission deadline January 21, 2012 at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time.
Results notification February 1, 2012

The jury is chaired by Michael Arad (Partner, Handel Architects; Designer of the National September 11 Memorial) Additional jury members include:
Kurt Andersen (Journalist and Host Studio 360)
Barry Bergdoll (Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, Museum of Modern Art)
Kenneth Cole (Fashion designer; Chairman of the Board, amFAR)
Elizabeth Diller (Partner and Co-founder, Diller Scofidio + Renfro)
Robert Hammond (Co-founder and Executive Director, Friends of the High Line)
Regan Hofmann (Editor in Chief, POZ.com)
Brad Hoylman (Chair, Manhattan Community Board 2)
Whoopi Goldberg (Actress, entertainer and activist)
Thelma Golden (Director and Chief Curator, The Studio Museum in Harlem)
Amy Sadao (Executive Director, Visual AIDS)
Ken Smith (Founder and Principal, WORKSHOP: Ken Smith Landscape Architect, P.C.)
Suzanne Stephens (Deputy Editor, Architectural Record) The jury is subject to additions. All registrants will be notified of future jury changes through November and December 2011.

There are two monetary prizes and an additional selection of honorable mentions. First prize will receive $5,000.
Runner-up will receive $2,000. Top submissions not limited to the winners will be exhibited at an exhibition in a prominent gallery space in Manhattan in early 2012.