FuturArc Prize 2024: Architecture for Life After

FuturArc Prize 2024: Architecture for Life After asks entrants to propose architectural solutions for the continuation of life after either ONE or BOTH of the following scenarios:

A) Climate Destruction: Any significant/extreme climate-related disasters triggered by hydrometeorological (e.g., floods, storms, heat waves) or climatological (e.g., droughts, wildfires) causes.

Consider how the current year’s heatwaves have broken historic records around the world, with scientists postulating that it is Earth’s hottest-ever climate in at least 120,000 years. The reality of a global-scale climate disaster is not far off—in fact, large-scale ones have long affected vulnerable populations. How can architecture respond to this?

B) Endings: The end of lifespans—be it of humans; non-human species; ecosystems such as forests, coral reefs, drylands; etc., due to famine, disease, massive extraction, etc.

All living beings perish. Current methods of treating expired matter tend to be carbon-intensive or require much land, a resource that is scarce. At the urban level, facilities such as graveyards/crematoriums are still negatively perceived. Can the end of life, for humans or ecosystems, be handled in a way that brings hope and renewal for the future?

Proposals must contain the following:

➜ WHERE: Pick a site located in Asia. The site area should be a maximum of 5 hectares (50,000 square meters).
➜ WHICH: Choose which scenario/s (either Climate Destruction or Endings or both) will be addressed based on the selected site.
Explain the ways it affects the site’s context in terms of physical/spatial conditions; community/population conditions; socioeconomic conditions; and ecological/natural conditions.
➜ WHAT: is the proposed sustainable architectural solution? These solutions may be new builds or adapt to existing buildings and can be of any typology.
➜ HOW: is the solution to be applied and carried out.

Judging will be based on a clear explanation of the following corresponding to the task:

• RELEVANCE: The selected scenario/s (climate disaster and/or ending of lifespans) and the solution must be relevant to the site conditions and context, fulfilling the brief in terms of design and functions, supported by thorough analysis.
• INTEGRATION: Layers of interacting natural and human-made systems, including but not limited to climate responsiveness/resilience, socioeconomic considerations, etc.
• IMPACT: How the proposed solution affects the community and the environment, including but not limited to the optimization of resources, improvement to health and well-being, biodiversity, etc.
• INNOVATION: Originality of solutions proposed, including adoption of technological tools, application of regenerative principles, low-carbon strategies, etc.
• You need to submit 5 panels per entry (4 for the design proposal + 1 for citations/references).
• The maximum file size of all 5 panels to be submitted is 15MB, in A2 size, PDF format. If you are selected as a winner/merit, you will need to provide high-resolution individual images of your panels.
• Images should consist only of drawings, rendered images, photographs, and thumbnails.
• The total site area; actual images of the site; and geographical coordinates must be included.
• Scales that are necessary to comprehend certain drawings must be shown as graphic scales next to the drawing.

The contents of the panels should be sufficient to impart a clear understanding of the proposal and be presented according to the stated evaluation criteria.