TIKAL 2011 Ecological Hostel

THE PROJECT THE ECOLOGICAL LODGE:

The “Ecological Lodge” to be designed is meant to be a new worldwide prototype model of lodge housing, its main purpose being the enjoyment of the landscape and environment, not the level of comfort it brings. Within this scheme, the “Ecological Lodge” is more a place to be, rather than a place to be in: of enjoyment of the context before the enjoyment of the infrastructure. In this way the environment is freed of excessive contaminating residues produced by the heavy rotation of visitors.

Higher value is placed on the temporary and active experiencing of the event itself (observation of the citadel) rather than on the efficiency and complexity that the installations may offer for a longer term stay.

This Ecological Lodge is meant to be a next generation type of lodging, a self sufficient refuge whose service plan is based on contemporary parameters of “zero ecological impact” which will promote a new kind of habitability, such as self service or self generation of energy; of basic maintenance, with a minimal team of employees for cleaning and medical needs; and the virtual elimination of waste residue through communal hygienic facilities, classification of residue according to biodegradability, and use of clean energy sources.

The goal of this shelter is to promote a new model of lodging in which tourists, with a minimum of luggage, can enjoy a clean, safe and economical place where they can spend a night and wake up around of the Citadel as well as enjoy, as part of their permanence- a trip inside the Maya’s Cultures in special museum incorporated inside the own Lodge.

The contest is trying to promote the development of a forward thinking consciousness in as far as lodging; tourism and ecological culture are concerned so the knowledge produced through it may be used at a later for the development of a project initiative.

The “Ecological Lodge” will have a basic plan that will occupy a built area of 1,500 square meters (16,145 square feet).

EXCEPTIONS:

ARQUITECTUM considers that “Academic” Contests are an excellent field for experimentation, discussion and architectural speculation. In this sense our parameters are always fairly open, flexible and, in a way, referential. Given that our interest is to motivate architects to give their “point of view”, often said vision may involve the very subversion of the rules defined by the contest. In other words, each architect is free to explore how far they can overlook – or even break – the rules, of course risking disqualification in the attempt.

THE SITE:

The project must be located nearby the archeological site of TIKAL

Country: Guatemala

Location: Peten Region

Latitude: 17° 13‘ 20” North

Longitude: 89° 37‘ 25” West

Altitude: 230 meters above the sea level

Minimum temperature (night): 15° to 22° C (59° a 72° F)

Maximun temperature (day): 28° to 35° C (82° to 95° F)

Humidity: 81% Average

Annual Precipitation: 1281 mm

Winds: 4km/h (calm) Visibility: 10 Km

AVAILABLE FILES:

For a better understanding of the Citadel of TIKAL and the exact location of the site where the project is to be done, you can download the free files available on our website

AWARDS

These are the awards:

1st Prize:

• US $ 3,000 (THREE THOUSAND AND FIVE HUNDRED AMERICAN DOLLARS)
• An appearance on the German design magazine “Wettbewerbe Aktuell” (www.wettbewerbe-aktuell.de) on the TIKAL 2011 Contest, and particularly of the winning projects.
• An appearance on the edition of Latin American architecture magazine “ARQ•: procesos” on the HONG KONG 2011 Contest, during the year.
• An appearance in the edition of Spanish magazine of architectural contests “FUTURE (www.arqfuture.com)”.

2nd Prize:

• US$ 1,000 (ONE THOUSAND AMERICAN DOLLARS).

3rd Prize:

• US $ 500 (FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS)

9 HONORARY MENTIONS

SCHEDULE

START OF COMPETITION

September 26th, 2011

SPECIAL REGISTRATION

from September 26th until October 10th, 2011

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION

from October 11th until November 07th, 2011

LATE REGISTRATION

from November 08th until December 05th, 2011

ANSWERING OF QUERIES

Replies updated on the website’s FAQ section during the competition

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE

December 05th, 2011

WINNERS ANNOUNCED

December 19th, 2011

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

All of the projects must be sending to tikal@arquitectum.com until the end of December 05th 2011 (23:59, local time in Lima, Peru: GMT -5). Competitors will be responsible for the arrival of their proposals within the corresponding deadlines and no proposal will be received one day after the date previously stated.

JURY

ROOZBEH TABANDEH, M.Sc, Arch
HALEH VEDADI NEJAD, M.Sc, Arch
SAHAR TABANDEH, M.Sc, Arch Architecture

Team based in Irán/Shiraz, winners of various Architecture Competitions , such as:

• London International Competition (Arquitectum) , 2008 (Honorable mention project)
• Mashhad Architecture Competition , 2011 (4th place)
• Mexico-DF International Competition (Arquitectum) , 2011 (First prize)

JUDGING PROCESS

The judges will review and evaluate the proposals and choose the winners. The judges will base their decision on their own experience and on the information provided by the contestants which will come with the images submitted. Each jury member will review all the submitted proposals.

ARQUITECTUM’s General Advisor will observe and participate in each meeting of the judges to insure that the development and follow up of the objectives of the contest are met.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The criteria for the evaluation of the projects will be based on the following:

• Originality of the proposal and quality of architectural design.
• Coherence of the proposal in terms of the aim and general –and specific– norms of the competition.
• Exploration of new sensations and spatial experiences.
• Clarity and quality of presentation. It is clearly stated that the jurors reserve the right to reward any project which omits –or breaks– the stipulated parameters in the brief –such as parts of the program, heights, etc.–, if this is justified by a substantial theoretical contribution for the project. Nonetheless it is clear specific commission of this competition is an “Ecological Lodge” in Tikal but also of a Landmark within the context. The contestants must arrive to this architectural fact, able to be constructed. Therefore each contestant is responsible for the licenses they may legitimately take within their project, and it is their own decision to circumscribe –absolutely or relatively– the parameters already described.

ELEGIBILITY

Eligible for participation in the competition are:

• Architects and from all around the word, working as individuals or in collaboration, as long as they have completed their studies. It is not mandatory to be a registered or associated architect, but they can also participate.
• Architecture students are also eligible, but only under the direction of an Architect (could be a professor, but is not mandatory).
• Multidisciplinary teams may also take part in the competitions (designers, engineers, artist, etc.) as long as they have an Architect as Team Leader. Note: At any given case, teams should have six (06) members at most.

REGISTRATION PROCESS

The participants must register for the “TIKAL 2011” competition for their proposals to be accepted. The only way to register at the competition is through our webpage (fill the registration form) on the REGISTER section. To make their registration official the competitors must pay the competition’s tariff. There are two forms of payment which will be detailed in the METHODS OF PAYMENT section.

FEE

Special Registration: From September 26th to October 10th 2011: US$ 100.00
Early Registration: From October 11th to November 07th 2011: US$ 150.00
Late Registration: From November 08th to December 05th, 2011: US$ 200.00

NOTES:

• The cost of participation is per team and not per participant. The team can be a group of six (06) members at most.
• The competitors will be able to present as many projects as entrances they acquire, since each proposal will have a different REGISTRATION NUMBER.
• The participants must make the corresponding payment within the corresponding dates. In other words, if they have registered “Offline”, before one of the registration periods, then they must pay the sum corresponding to the “type of Registration” for which they are eligible at the time.
• Through the system for electronic payments, the cost of participation in the competition does not include sales tax (IVA or IGV) and nor does it include the commission due to the credit card company in question. It should therefore be clearly understood that the total amount that will be debited from the account of the credit card holder will be the amount which appears in the competition regulations, plus the aforementioned taxes and commissions. If you wish to pay the flat rate, without taxes, then you will be able to do so via the “Offline Registration” system.
• From the day of inscription until the day the projects are submitted, the teams may change their members. If members are changed, the final list of competitors should be sent to registro@arquitectum.com, indicating the names, surnames, e-mails, countries of origin, ages and telephone numbers of each one of the members of the group. At the registration moment, the team will receive a PASSWORD, which is to be used only if the team members do not remain as originally registered. It is clearly stated that if the members of the team remain as originally listed from the beginning of the registration until the submission of the proposals, it is NOT NECESSARY to send said email.

FURTHER INFORMATION

www.arquitectum.com