Reviving Silk Roots: A Cultural Center for all

Reviving Silk Roots: A Cultural Center for all now is over!

Reviving Silk Roots: A Cultural Center for all: Switch Competition recently has announced the new call for entries ’Reviving Silk Roots: A Cultural Center for all’, international competition invites all architecture students, and young professionals to develop and submit compelling ideas for the design of a cultural center for all, located in the soul of the Silk Road cities - Baku.

Short description

’Reviving Silk Roots: A Cultural Center for all’ is the new international competition organised by Switch Competitions invites all architecture students, and young professionals to develop and submit compelling ideas for the design of a cultural center for all, located in the soul of the Silk Road cities - Baku.
ABOUT THE SITE
As one of the most important trade exchange channels, the Silk Road was also a “cultural bridge” between Asia and Europe. The system has existed for over 2,000 years. The Silk Road represented a form of the global economy and spanned the Asian continent with widespread transmission of knowledge and ideas which had a profound impact on the culture. A network of mostly land but also sea trading routes, the Silk Road stretched from China to Korea and Japan in the east, Turkey and Italy in the west and linked China through Central Asia to India in the south.
For millennia, highly valued silk, cotton, wool, ornamentations, food, musical instruments, architectural, philosophical, and religious ideas traveled those routes. Trading activities along the Silk Road over many centuries facilitated the transmission not just of goods but also ideas and culture, promoting a socio-cultural economy.

Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, has remained the main administrative, cultural, political, trade and handicraft and centre of the region. The Architecture of Baku is not characterized by any genre or pattern; it is diverse and spans from Islamic to Russian and Postmodern Architecture. The city is located at the crossroads of the East and West is also a major seaport. The narrative of this competition design stems from revisiting the solid traditional roots and foundation as well as sculpting the community for the years to come. Designing a center that houses a network for all; a space that welcomes all and celebrates the notion of co-existence.

The participants must consider the context and culture, and how the society and social needs are developing. The overall design should be sensitive to the history and enhance the originality of an experience within this unique setting.

Submission requirements:

Proposal to be presented on one landscape oriented A1 (841 x 594mm) sheet in Jpeg format, maxium file size 8Mb.

The winners will be announced on 28th August, 2021.

Who may enter?

This competition is open to everyone in the world (architects, students, engineers etc.). You can participate individually or in a team. A team can have a maximum of three members only.

Prize:

➜ 1st prize winner - EUR 1200
➜ 2nd prize winner - EUR 800
➜ 3rd prize winner - EUR 500

Apart from the winners, the jury will select ’10 Editors’ Choices’ who will be featured on the official website and several other international magazines and websites across the world. The winners and Editors’ Choices will be provided with an honorary certificate.

Entry fees:

Entry fee during the Standard registration (1st May 2021 – 30th June 2021) is 60 EUR + taxes (PER TEAM) for International partecipants and for Indian Participants is 1800 INR + taxes (PER TEAM). After that period ends the amount of fee will increase.