The power of suggestion

摘要

Perhaps it was Selo's provision of a financial incentive to the entrants of the third RIBA Journal Eye Line competition that had the judges wondering what the colour of money was - it seemed to be yellow. The £2000 first prize has created more of an international pull too, with significantly more entries from Europe and the US - a fact reflected in the following pages. But the colour? After sifting the initial 217 entries to a final 40, RIBAJ editor Hugh Pearman wondered if the move away from monochrome might be due to the fact that this year's projects are 'less dystopia and more fairground'. This lemon curd optimism resulted in the Hokusai-cum-Metabolism of Adam Roberts' 'Kyomachiya Futures', Michael Powell's Plutostratum and Mery Hermita Samosir's 'Boolean Strategy' but it was the sunflower caramel of a sugar arcade proposal that finally whetted the judges' appetites. Dystopias continued to make their presence felt however, generally in their signature black and white. Charlotte Wilson gave us a challenging view of central London fracking, Dominic Dickens posited the unrelenting grid of his 'Drop Dead City' and Soon Min Hong gave a prescient re-reading of the thrill ride experience in colour with his 'Risk Theme Park'.