UIA announces Great Green Wall student ideas competition winners

The International Union of Architects (UIA) has announced the results of the Great Green Wall challenge, the official student competition of the 29th UIA World Congress of Architects that is set to take place in Copenhagen between July 2nd and 6th of next year. 

Five prize winners and nine honorable mentions were selected out of a group of more than 150 entries that were evaluated by the jury in the Danish capital between December 6th and 8th. 

This year’s brief called for students to design a dwelling for up to 25 people located in the Sahel-Savanah desert region known as the Great Green Wall (or GGW) that stretches from Dakar, Senegal, to Djibouti. According to a press announcement, “The members were impressed with the overall quality of the entries and the awareness of climate change as well as the innovative approaches demonstrated in every scale.” 

The group was led by 1st prize winner Altynai Isaeva from Kyrgyzstan’s Kyrgyz State University of Construction and Architecture (KSUCTA) for the project "Sustainable housing for Africa" located in Sauga, Burkina Faso. It was followed by Harvard GSD student Yuto Takenaka's "Dandelion ARC Journey." Each will be invited to attend and be displayed at the Congress in Copenhagen next year. Scroll down to see more about the select group of prize winners.

1st prize ($5,000): "Sustainable housing for Africa" in Sauga, Burkina Faso by Altynai Isaeva from the Kyrgyz State University of Construction and Architecture (KSUCTA) 

Jury citation: “A very mature and correct proposal, able to redeploy typological memory and conceptual clarity through a simple configuration of a solid base. It is easy to imagine that this project could grow into a village incrementally, when families expand, following the architectural language of the initial house. The beautiful presentation was also highlighted by the Jury, as was the meticulous attention to detail.”

2nd prize ($4,000): "Dandelion ARC Journey" by Yuto Takenaka from the Harvard Graduate School of Design

Jury citation: “a compelling proposal that actually frames the entire African Great Green Wall as a site. Its fantastic narrative explores the possibility of being both general and specific, contextual and generic.”

3rd prize ($3,000): "Green Colonies" in Niger by Tian Haoran, Yang Mohan, Wu Ruopan and Cao Chuangwei supervised by tutors Hou Shuai, and Ren Zhonglong from Inner Mongolia University of Technology

Jury citation: “[Proposes] a solution by transforming the courtyard house typology into an organically growing habitat. It intends to do so in Zinder, Niger – an environment where rainwater is scarce, and desertification is a problem.”

4th prize ($2,000): "Co-Living" in Burkina Faso by Quan Dao and Quang Ngo from Hanoi Architectural University

Jury citation: “An elegant tropical solution that reminded the jury of Kéré’s work, and acts as a living obstacle to the Sahara progress.”

5th prize ($1,000): "The Gidajen Laka" in Nort-eastern Nigeria by Abdulhameed Yakubu, Khadija Oyanki, Rayyan Garba and Amina Musa from Ahmadu Bello University

Jury citation: "[It] successfully incorporates a courtyard as a living space in a single-family."