July 22 2024

Deadline: 31 October

The Kurdistan Center for Arts and Culture (KCAC) announces the Qalat Awards, a yearly competition aimed at architects passionate about Kurdish architecture. The theme of the first annual Qalat Awards is Reimagining Kurdish Architectural Heritage. This competition invites participants – either students, recent graduates, or practicing architects – to submit proposals that are either created specifically for this competition, or are adaptations of senior theses or independent projects. The goal is to reimagine historical Kurdish architecture through innovation and sustainability, ensuring its relevance and preservation for the future.

Participants are encouraged to imagine Kurdish heritage through a broad range of perspectives. Potential projects may include innovative restorations of iconic landmarks such as the Qaysari bazaar, contemporary interpretations of traditional Kurdish houses, interactive archaeological parks, or futuristic architectural solutions which respect and celebrate Kurdish heritage. Proposed projects may focus on heritage sites in any of the four parts of Kurdistan.

The competition seeks proposals that not only showcase architectural skills but also demonstrate an understanding and care for Kurdish culture and history. Participants are encouraged to blend modern technologies with traditional craftsmanship, sustainable design principles, and community-focused approaches to create spaces which resonate with Kurdish heritage.

Awards and Incentives

Three winning candidates will be honored in a special ceremony with government officials, public figures, and decision makers present. Each winning candidate will receive an award of $2,500. In addition, winning candidates will be invited to participate in KCAC’s special architectural panel and will be given preference for collaboration on KCAC’s future architectural projects.

Eligibility Criteria

Participants must be students or graduates from an Architecture or Architectural Engineering program. Please note that this competition is open to all architects, whether they are students, recent graduates, or practicing professionals. Participants are required to compete individually. The proposal may be a new concept or an adaptation of an existing thesis or proposal.

Submission Materials

Participants are invited to submit a description of their proposed project of at most one thousand words accompanied by four to six landscape oriented presentation boards with sketches, renderings, illustrations, plans, sections, elevations, diagrams, and/or other presentation tools that aim to effectively aid in presenting their proposals.

Submission materials will vary depending on the nature of the proposed project. Participants may submit content from the categories listed below. Submission contents need not be limited to these categories.

• Site visuals: A diagram showing the current site and illustrations of how the proposed project is integrated or placed within the site.
• Concept development visuals: A series of key sketches, diagrams, or illustrations showcasing the development of the concept behind the proposal.
• Operational and enhancement visuals: If the proposal is focusing on an existing historical structure, we would be interested in a series of diagrams and illustrations showing the issues with the current state of the structure and its operations, paired with further details about their approach in facing them.
• Comprehensive plans and sections: A series of detailed plans and sections to convey the spatial organization and scale of the proposal. This should encompass a variety of viewpoints, both internal and external, to illustrate the quality of the spaces that have been designed.
• Environmental and climatic considerations: Any strategies or approaches for sustainable construction and operations, including energy efficiency, use of sustainable materials, and incorporation of green spaces. This may also be through how the selected materials contribute to the durability and upkeep of the proposed project, emphasizing how they are sourced and used responsibly.
• Visualizations: A series of renderings or illustrations showing the architect’s impression of the design. These visualizations should highlight the design in context with its setting and also demonstrate how the design contributes to the concept of the proposal.
• Feasibility and construction: Though this competition has a conceptual focus, we are interested in our participants’ ideas about what it might take for their projects to be implemented, and what may be the biggest obstacles in this process. This may be in the form of diagrams or illustrations.

 

Submission Deadline

All materials must be submitted by October 31st, 2024.

To Submission link: Click here