Design Against The Elements 2010

Design Against the Elements is a global architectural design competition meant to find a solution to the problems and threats presented by disasters caused by climate change. The challenge is to develop a master plan and detailed design for a socialized housing community – considering the effect of the development towards the community, environment and its biodiversity, develop a high performance structure (energy efficient and optimization of resources) with an extended life cycle and a design that is appropriate to the changing climate to withstand the rigors of the Philippines’ typhoons and consequent flooding, made worse by the increasingly alarming effects of climate change. The extended life cycle of the residential dwelling resulting from an excellent physical structure and the social support system offered by a well-planned neighborhood development will not only provide shelter from the elements, ensuring the safety of its residents; it
will also give them a sense of security and hope that life can proceed unhindered by the onslaught of natural calamities.

The competition shall be divided into two categories: the Professional Category (Category 1) shall be open to registered and licensed architects and the Student/Graduate Category (Category 2) shall be for senior students and graduates of an architecture course.

A total prize fund of US $32,500 will be awarded for up to four entries in the two categories. Moreover, the top winning design in the Professional Category will be built as a prototype master planned disaster-resistant eco-village in Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The village will be the first green and disaster-resistant community in the country and will provide an archetype model for possible replication in vulnerable areas of the developing world. The completed project will house a climate-refugee community of teachers working in the same area, who were displaced by Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) and is meant to give them a sense of security and belonging as well as pride and ownership and awareness of sustainable practices that can be practiced at all levels of their everyday lives.

All the entries to the competition will also be compiled into an encyclopedia of architectural and planning solutions to address climate change, which will be made publicly available as a reference of future designers and researchers worldwide. Thus the competition will synthesize many solutions to various issues resulting from climate change, at the same time will address the need for socialized housing in a creative, innovative, and fully sustainable manner that can be replicated by other concerned citizens in the near future.

Competition Website: http://designagainsttheelements.org