Think Global, Build Social - Improving Informal Settlements through Design
Register/Submit Deadline: Monday, Mar 26, 201811:59 PMIST
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Rapid urban growth, migration and displacement of people owing to socio-political conflict and climate change, have all contributed to the burgeoning number of urban poor and fuelled a global housing crisis. Social disparity is on the rise as the lesser privileged section of people end up choosing to live life “on the edge” - both literally and figuratively - in fringe areas along urban water bodies and other equally sensitive zones, in a bid to stay connected to the possibilities offered by a city. They not only place themselves in vulnerable positions with respect to natural hazards, but also compromise the environmental sustenance and quality of life for the rest of the city, by encroaching upon the city’s common areas, reservoirs and flood buffers.
Life in such informal settlements means dealing with poor infrastructure, congestion, pollution, segregation and the insecurity arising from fear of eviction. However, all lives in a city are interconnected and therefore, we need to realise that improving the social housing situation can, by itself, be a viable tool to improve the collective well being of the city.
However, some of the commonly used “solutions” such as evicting families living in informal settlements to stacks of concrete tenements on the city’s periphery, only uproots them from unemployment, education and transportation links that the city offers, curbing their socio-economic prospects and leads to further marginalisation.
Given the magnitude and complexity of the condition, is it possible for us to come up with sustainable and innovative solutions that address not just budgetary constraints but that are also environmentally and socially responsible? Can we come up with ground breaking new ways for the city to accommodate not just the increasing population but also their everyday realities, from access to basic resources to the aspiration for growth?
This design competition calls out to student architects with a vision, who can think out of the box to subvert status quo and produce architecture for the common good. Each team shall identify as their target group, a community of informal settlements averaging 100 dwellings along the Buckingham Canal in Chennai. Following a comprehensive study of the underlying issues. the team shall come up with a design intervention that can enhance their prospects for a decent living and social upgradation. Designing a robust system or process, would be as important as the product or designing the architecture itself.
Together, let us explore how design can be a tool to better lives and reduce inequality in society.
Eligibility : Architecture Students (The participating teams should be limited to a maximum of three members)
Format & Orientation : 2 x A1 size posters
Registration until 20.03.2018
Submission by 26.03.2018
Registration : Please send an email with your details to [email protected]. On registration, each team will be given a code number. ONLY CODE NUMBERS SHOULD BE MENTIONED in the final submissions.
Submission : Soft copies to be sent by the deadline to [email protected]. Hard copies to be sent to Goethe Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, 4, Rutland Gate, 5th Street, Chennai - 600 006.
Jury & Awards : A jury of resident experts will decide the best projects. The three best entries will be awarded CASH PRIZES.
For further information, visit Think Global, Build Social - Improving Informal Settlements through Design
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