STREET A FLOAT Floating Market Competition
STREET A FLOAT was a 2021 ideas competition organized by ARCH8. It asked participants to imagine a small street market on water in the year 2400, when boats had become part of everyday access and commerce.
The climate scenario formed part of the design premise rather than a scientific forecast. The architectural question was how a compact public market could remain accessible, stable and secure in an aquatic setting.
Design brief
Participants were asked to design a floating market containing 10 to 15 shops. The brief assumed a water depth of 4 metres and required visitors to approach the market by boat.
- Provide safe access from boats.
- Protect goods and trading spaces.
- Respond to waves and movement on the water.
- Keep the market compact and legible.
Submission requirements
The proposal had to be presented on one A2 landscape sheet and include a plan, section, view and design explanation of no more than 150 words. The unique identification code had to appear in the upper right corner.
Entries were to remain anonymous, without the participant’s name, school or organization. Dimensions could be shown in metric or imperial units. The final sheet was required as a JPEG file no larger than 5 MB.
Eligibility and assessment
The competition was open to architecture students, architects, interior designers, civil engineers and other interested designers. Participants could enter individually or in teams of up to three people.
The announced judging criteria were originality, innovation, problem solving and presentation.
Registration and timetable
The archived brief listed fees for Indian and international entrants. Early registration was INR 350 or USD 7, standard registration was INR 420 or USD 10, and late registration was INR 540 or USD 15. Fees were described as nonrefundable.
The brief listed 15 April 2021 as the registration deadline, 25 April 2021 as the submission deadline and 30 April 2021 as the planned results date. It also stated that the schedule could change.
Entries were submitted to hello@arch8.in with the participant’s unique identification code used as the email subject and filename.
Prizes
The announced cash fund totalled INR 15,000. The winner was allocated INR 7,500, the first runner up INR 4,500 and the second runner up INR 3,000. Ten honourable mentions and participation certificates were also included in the brief.
Related reading
For a built design perspective on life over water, see ArchUp’s coverage of the Lucia floating home on Lake Como. More historical calls can be found in the architecture competitions archive.
