Modernism Memorial _ International Student Competition

Modernism Memorial _ A Funerary Monument for the Death of Modernism
An International, Anonymous, Single Stage, Conceptual Architectural Design Competition for Students

Modernism Memorial

A Funerary Monument for the Death of Modernism

-DECORBUZIERS-

ORGANISATION

Archstudies.gr and DeCorbuziers team are announcing an International, Public, Anonymous, Single Stage, Conceptual Architectural Idea Design Competition under the auspice of the School of Architecture of the National Technical University of Athens.

Websites: www.archstudies.gr
Event: http://lecorbusier.arch.ntua.gr
e-mail: arch_studies@yahoo.gr, submissions@archstudies.gr
tumblr:  decorbuziers-memorial.tumblr.com


INTRODUCTION

Within the framework of the global festivities for the 50th anniversary of Le Corbusier’s death (1965), the National Technical University of Athens, with the support of Fondation Le Corbusier and other cultural organizations, launches a series of events, part of which is “DeCorbuziers”. DeCorbuziers is an alternative pop, neo-goth initiative, inviting young architects, creative offices, artists and students of art and architecture worldwide to praise, disparage, decompose and criticize the Big Master in playful and creative ways.
Under this regime, the platform archstudies.gr as a member of DeCorbuziers team is launching an international architectural design competition for students under the title «Modernism Memorial: A Funerary Monument for the Death of Modernism». This competition aims to bring together contemporary interpretations concerning multidisciplinary approaches over Modernism and specifically over LC’s work, while explores possible themes and directions of the Memorial representation nowadays. Overall, in the spirit of a commentary rather than a tribute to Corbu, the competition will strive to seek out ideas on conceptual and theoretical levels exploring throughout a memorial monument the death of Modernism in the 21st century. 


COMPETITION CATEGORY

International, public, anonymous, single stage, conceptual architectural design competition for students. 


THEME

«Modern Architecture died in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 15, 1972, at 3.32 p.m. (or thereabouts), when the infamous Pruitt Igoe scheme, or rather several of its slab blocks, were given the final coup de grace by dynamite.»    

− Ch. Jencks, The New Paradigm in Architecture: The Language of Post-Modernism (1977)

Pruitt-IgoeHousing complex demolition, Missuri

Taking as our point of departure the declaration of the End of the Modern Movement, with the demolition of the AIA Award-winning housing project at Pruitt Igoe, on March 16, 1972, we can’t help but wonder: If Modernism is indeed dead and buried, what would a contemporary memorial for Modernism looks like? And, what could be actually its purpose nowadays in times of growing instability, immobility, technological innovation and abstraction? Over the last decades, the issue of «modern monuments» has ignited heated debates among architects and academics, while most monuments end up confronting with banality and clichés. Are there better ways to conceive monuments apart from their mere representational and symbolic character?
Moreover, when it comes to death celebration, new issues emerge regarding memorialization. Drawing from LC’s death anniversary, we try to speculate on new ways of celebrating the past. The main question that arises here is: Should we honor and remember or should we forget? In his short story Funes the Memorious, Jorge Luis Borges introduces the act of forgetting as the antithesis of memory. His protagonist, Funes, is a man who remembers everything and, overwhelmed by his memories, he is simply unable to endure any new experiences. The hero’s dilemma makes us realize how important forgetting is and think about the new possibilities that open through forgetting. All these considered, in a search of a new monumentality, should we praise (without forgetting like Borges’s hero) or can we un-remember? Is a contemporary memorial a point of awakening memories or a point of burial, celebrating the new and unexpected? 


TASK

The competition invites the participants to reconsider the role of the monuments today and especially the funerary ones. Moving from the white world of modern utopia, the competition is initiated to generate discussion over Modernism and especially LC’s work through a project that would act as an elegy (the Greek term elegeia = ἐλεγεία; from ἔλεγος, elegos,“lament”) to LC. At the same time, it attempts to cast the process of memorialization in a critical light. Memorials can be as simple as a potted plant, as intricate as a war memorial, and everything in between (see for example counter-monuments by James E.Young, Il Monumento Continuo by Superstudio or even virtual memorials that are becoming more popular these days). In other words, each project should seek to challenge the principles of Modernism trying to pose sinful questions, while stating «new monuments» in the wake of the 21st century.

GENERAL TERMS OF THE COMPETITION
 
ELIGIBILITY

Students in architecture and related fields are eligible to participate in the competition «Modernism Memorial» as individual authors or as a team. Interdisciplinary approaches are highly encouraged. Every individual or team has the right to participate in the competition with only one entry, which has not been published up to the date of the announcement of the competition results.

Members of the jury, organizers of the competition, as well as their close relatives are excluded from participating in the competition. 


SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All competitors are encouraged to submit all the information they consider necessary to explain their proposal (detailed drawings, photographs of models, diagrams, charts and texts). Each competitor should select a six-digit number as a code to represent their entry.

Each project submission must contain the following files:

- One (1) panel in A2 format (PORTRAIT) containing conceptual drawings, technical drawings, sections, plans, renderings, perspective or axonometric drawings in scale that represent the work appropriately, in .PDF file format, high resolution (300dpi).
- The same panel in .PDF file format, web resolution (72dpi).
- One (1) thumb image 900 x 900 pixels in .JPG format.
- A .DOC file containing a textual explanation of the design proposal (500 words max) and the unique six-digid number in the header.
- Contact details (name, six-digid number, email address, university) in .DOC file format.

The material must be compressed into a .RAR file, which will be named after the characteristic six-digit participation code displayed as shown below:

XXXXXX.rar


The folder must include five (5) files named after the six-digit participation code as shown below:

XXXXXX_300.pdf
XXXXXX_72.pdf
XXXXXX_thumb.jpg
XXXXXX_text.doc
XXXXXX_info.doc

 
OFFICIAL COMPETITION LANGUAGE

Official Competition language is English.

 
PRIZES

Special prizes soon to be announced, including Villa Savoye from the LEGO® Architecture series sponsored by LEGO® , The LEGO Group, and The LEGO Architect by Tom Alphin sponsored by No Starch Press!

All top 10 short-listed entries will be featured on archstudies.gr, plus on our blog and social media pages, as well as on other specialized journals and websites. Moreover short-listed and winning proposals will be displayed in the upcoming exhibition at ROMANTSO in Athens, Greece.

 
JURY

IKER GIL (US) – Director, MAS Studio // Editor-in-chief, MAS Context
ETHEL BARAONA POHL (ES) – Critic, writer and curator // Co-founder of dpr-barcelona
ANDREAS ANGELIDAKIS (GR) – Architect, artist, writer
ELINA KARANASTASI (BE) – Architect // director, Ex.S Architects // visiting professor, KULeuven
ARCHSTUDIES TEAM REPRESENTATIVE (GR)

 
SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

Participants are invited to send their proposals online at submissions@archstudies.gr using wetransfer or similar file hosting platforms.

 
Q/A

If you have any questions, please send them with the subject line “FAQ” to the following address: arch_studies@yahoo.com, before the 30th of September. We will publish answers on our site on 5th of October.

 
IMPORTANT DATES

15/09/2015              Competition official launch
30/09/2015              Deadline for questions
05/10/2015              Publication of answers
15/11/2015              Submissions deadline
30/11/2015              Announcement of the competition results
20-27/12/2015         Exhibition

 
EXHIBITION

The exhibition of the competition results will take place @ ROMANTSO, in Athens, Greece between 20-27 December  2015.

Opening Day: December 20, 2015, at 21:00.

 
IMPORTANT NOTE:

The above-mentioned terms of the contest might be subject to change. Any changes will be posted on the official competition websites. The organisers or any involved parties bear no responsibility on any potential changes.


Competition brief.pdf Download HERE