“Home for All” – International Architectural Students Competition Brief
After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the “Home for All” project consisted of 16 homes built across towns in Sanriku. After the Kumamoto earthquake that occurred in 2016, a total of 93 “Home-for-All” were built within the region’s temporary housing site.
The “Home for All” had initially intended to be a small gathering place for the victims of the disaster and their children, to provide a place of comfort where the disaster-stricken people who have lost their homes can talk, eat and live closely with one another.
As we continued to develop the “Home for All” project however, we began to contemplate how it harbored a more profound and significant meaning. That is, it does not simply support people affected by the disaster, but also posts a question to architects themselves: what does sociality mean for architects? For whom is the architecture meant to be? Most architects would respond to this question with the answer, “for society.” How could we determine then, that this perception of “society” is not based on the self-righteousness or satisfaction of the architect? Aren’t architects simply looking upon society in an abstract way, detaching themselves from reality with a third-person’s point of view? I believe that it is necessary for architects to observe the actual society from within, make proposals that relate to the same perspective as the people who live there.
The “Home for All” is a project that is built upon the premise of “thinking together and creating together” with the community. It is an architectural manner that goes further than simply supporting the people affected by the disaster to question the most fundamental meaning of the future of public architecture. I would like students to present proposals that build from and go beyond the concept of “Home-for-All” from a perspective that takes into consideration of people living in our society today.
Awards
The First Prize : ¥1,000,000 and Certificate of Merit
The Second Prize : ¥500,000 and Certificate of Merit
The Third Prize : ¥100,000 and Certificate of Merit
Commendations : Certificates of Merit and prize gift
Eligibility
- International Entries are welcome!
- Applicants must be under-graduate or post-graduate students at universities or at tertiary institutions (on 8 December 2018). Tertiary institutions include: junior colleges, colleges of technology, and other relevant vocational schools.
- If selected at the initial jury, the applicant must be available to participate in an open presentation (the final jury) to be held in Tokyo on 8 December 2018 (Saturday).
※Transportation and accommodation costs for participation in the final jury will be paid for one person per entry.
