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Monday, 27 March 2006 | Levent OZLER
VENICE 2006: 1st Urban Architecture Contest
ARQUITECTUM, enterprise dedicated to the organization of Architectural Contests, is pleased to welcome all architects from around the world to the 1st Urban Architecture Contest "VENICE 2006", which will take place from April to October of 2006.
ARQUITECTUM is the first international institution dedicated to the organization of architectural contests open to all professionals worldwide which allow their work to be known in architectural circles (institutional, editorial and governmental) around the world.
We have been organizing Landscaping Contests such as MACHU PICCHU, NAZCA and CHAN CHAN. The results as well as the submitted projects (each Contest has over 1,000 architects involved) can be seen on our website of "Architectural Contests".
For our 1st Urban Contest we hope to go much further: we hope to effectively bring the contest's winning architect closer to the possibility that their project becomes part of the valuable studies that a city takes into consideration. On this occasion we have managed to get the authorities of Venice, the Architect Roberto D'Agostino, president of the Sociedad Arsenale Spa (Urban Strategic Project, Development)- principal stockholder of the Venice Community to check the winning proposal.
The Place: The City of Venice
Venice (in Italian Venezia, in Venetian Venexia), the city of canals, is the capital of the Veneto region. It is located on a complex of islands that extend over a marshy lagoon in the Adriatic sea, between the mouths of the Po (south) and Piave (north) rivers, northeast of Italy. Venice is made up of 120 small islands linked by 450 bridges. You can reach Venice from the mainland via the trans-lagoon bridge that connects to the Piazzale Roma.
In ancient times this region was inhabited by the Veneto people. When the Germanic people started to invade Italy in the V century, the inhabitants of some cities (Padua for example) took refuge in these islands. They became established and developed their own government presided by 12 tribunes, one for each main island. Their greatest expansion and golden age took place in the XV century.
Venice is surrounded by low depth lagoons. This has always served as a great defensive barrier. In these waters vessels that didn't know the openings through the waterways ran aground easily, so it was as if the city was entrenched within great protective walls. The walls of Venice are the dangerous sand banks that sometimes become almost exposed at low tide. To get there from the Adriatic one has to know the way, which in times of peace was indicated with rows of poles that held lights at night. Since its founding the city has suffered the effects of periodic floods (currently the city is seriously threatened by the recurrent floods). In spring and autumn high tide happens twice a day and Saint Mark's Square gets flooded to the point that wooden walkways have to be installed so people can walk along them single file. The Italian government is preparing a project that will raise some moveable dikes that would close in case there was a rise in the sea level.
The Project, A Bridge-Museum
This architectural contest is promoted by ARQUITECTUM in order to evaluate the installation of a new bridge that will replace the existing one known as the "Academy Bridge", so that it serves not only as an axis that connects both sides of the canal and as entry portal to the "Rio Alto", but that also becomes a "City Museum" meant to show visitors the history, tradition and architectural splendor of the city of Venice. This museum will have a basic plan that will occupy a built area of approximately 1,000 mts2, and which will have the following areas: Entry Hallway, Temporary Exhibit Hall, Permanent Exhibit Hall, Storage, Restrooms, Maintenance, Security, Offices and Cafeteria.
Submission Requirements
Participants must deliver their proposal via Internet. This will consist of a single (1) digital image 750 Kb in size.
First Prize
· Two airplane tickets to Venice to attend the awards ceremony and VENICE 2006 contest exhibit to take place at the Architecture School of the University IUAV - Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, in October of 2006.
· Lodging for two nights in Venice
· Two entry tickets for the "International Architecture Biennale of Venice"
· Exclusive issue that the European magazine "Design Magazine" (www.designmagazine.it) will dedicate to the VENICE 2006 Contest, and particularly to the winning project, as well as complete coverage of the background and works of the winning architect(s).
· Exclusive issue that the Asian design magazine "HINGE" (www.hingenet.com) will dedicate to the VENICE 2006 Contest, and particularly to the winning project, as well complete coverage of the background and works of the winning architect(s).
Who Can Participate
All architects from around the world that have already finished their career and got an "architect" degree (as well as any team or architectural firm that has at least one architect that fulfills that requirement) are invited to participate.
Fees
Individual architects or architectural firms:
Early Registration: US$ 100
Late Registration: US $ 150
Language
The official languages of the competition will be English or Spanish.
Exhibition and Publication
ARQUITECTUM will organize a physical exhibit of the projects at the School of Architecture of the University IUAV (Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venecia) in October of 2006 in the city of Venice. At the same time a virtual exhibit that will include all of the projects presented will open in October of 2006 in the ARQUITECTUM website.
Schedule
· Contest Announcement: March 1st, 2006
· Contest Begins: April 1st, 2006
· Proposal Submissions Deadline: July 17th, 2006
· Winners Announced: September 1st, 2006
· Exhibition in Venice: October, 2006
Registration and Purchase of Rules
The Contest's website http://www.arquitectum.com, from where you will be able to download for free all the files needed to participate in the contest (history, aerial photos and plans) and where you must register, will be operational starting April 1st 2006.
VENICE 2006: http://www.arquitectum.com/concursos/venecia_en_1.php
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