Architecture Competition

Emergency Operations Center


For the resolution of humanitarian emergencies in Africa

Emergencies strike suddenly and without warning. They level cities to the ground and tear down buildings as though they were made of sand. In almost no time at all everything is destroyed and all that remains is the realisation that you have to get up and start all over again from scratch. In recent years the occurrence of deluges and flooding have increased dramatically. Analogously, conflicts and financial crises persist and lead to the development of serious humanitarian emergencies which put the lives of millions of people at risk. Resolving an emergency of any kind means re-establishing peace and security. The crisis must be dealt with in a timely and coordinated manner that includes reception, sensibility, and awareness. What we are looking for, therefore, is the design of a structure that will house an EOC (Emergency Operations Center) and that can help to facilitate the humanitarian operations of international organisations, allowing them to act with the utmost efficiency.

Prizes

1st Prize 5.000€ - Internship at Kengo Kuma, Tokyo, Japan
2nd Prize 1.500€- Internship at SBGA, Milan, Italy
3nd Prize 1.000€- Internship at Johannesburg, South Africa
Honourable Mentions 100€
n.5 Special Mentions
n.20 Finalists

Calendar

Early Registration 24th Jan - 15th Feb
Normal Registration 16nd Feb - 7th Mar
Late Registration 8th Mar - 31st Mar
Submission Deadline 27th Apr
Jury Evaluation 3rd May - 9th May
Result announcement 16th May

Download

Guidelines
en | fr | it | es | pt | de | 日本語 | 中文 | العربي

Studying materials
Emergencies examples

The Jury

Kengo Kuma

Kengo Kuma

Kengo Kuma & Associates - Tokyo

One of the most prominent Japanese architects. Director of Architecture Depertment in Tokyo University. Winner of 2016's “Global Award for Sustainable Architecture”

Agostino Ghirardelli

Agostino Ghirardelli

Blengini Ghirardelli Associati - Milan

Founder and Director of SBGA. Teacher in Euporean Univiersities. Collaborator with Libeskind for the CityLife Master plan of Milan and other international projects.

Lígia Nunes

Lígia Nunes

Architecture Sans Frontières International, Madrid, Spain

Head of ASF International Architecture. Teacher since 1997 in the areas of Project, Theory, History of Architecture and Cooperation for Development in Architecture.

Mphethi Morojele

Mphethi Morojele

MMA Design Studio, Johannesburg, South Africa

Founder of the MMA Design Studio. He serves on many international architecture juries including for the Union of International Architects (UIA), the European Union, the Holcim International foundation, The African Architecture Award.

Walter Baricchi

Walter Baricchi

CNAPPC, Roma, Italy

Head of Department Cooperation, Solidarity and Civil Protection of CNAPPC. Active in social voluntary and qualified in the seismic emergency management coordinator for the Emilia-Romagna Civil Protection

Philippa Nyakato Tumubweinee

Philippa Nyakato Tumubweinee

University of Cape Town, South Africa

Head of School (Hos) at Architecture, Planning & Geomatics, University of Cape Town. In 2013 she served on the National Judging Panel for the prestigious AfriSAM Sustainability Awards.

Mantey Jectey-Nyarko

Mantey Jectey-Nyarko

Kwame Nkrumah University, Kumasi, Ghana

Director in charge of the conservation of Cultural Heritage as well Assessment of Project Designs for the Rural African Development Foundation

The scientific committee

Raoul Vecchio

Raoul Vecchio

Balouo Salo

Architect and founder of the Organization Balouo Salo and Kaira Looro, specialized in Architecture for development and emergencies in developing countries.

Sebastiano D'URso

Sebastiano D'Urso

University of Catania

University professor and researcher in Architectural composition and landscape, at the University of Catania, Italy. Among the co-organizers of the first edition of Kaira Looro.

Moussa Souane

Sedhiou institution

Doctor in food biology with doctorate in Korea. President of the Sedhiou Chamber of Commerce, humanitarian operator in the field of nutrition and resource development.

Join the competition

Register and design your Emergency Operations Center

Official Media Partner

Archilovers Archiportale

Kaira Looro Past Editions

Peace pavilion

Sedhiou, Senegal, Africa

Intercultural hostility and the exploitation of resources on the African continent have triggered a succession of armed conflicts resulting in millions of innocent lives lost and refugees seeking hope in a better life elsewhere. Communities annihilated. Villages and cities torn to the ground. Nations in chaos. Remembering the victims through the universal value of peace can help to lay the foundation for the creation of an inclusive and cohesive society. Contemplation, memory, and compassion are the values that commemorative architecture must convey in order to build a better world.

Cultural Center

Sedhiou, Senegal, Africa

Hundred-years old cultures give birth to Communities, being transmitted through rhymes of those who are narrating it and interpretating tha past through wisdom. One's accomplishments result from rituals and metamorphosis, bonding the human being to its own roots through dance, history, music, colours, flavours, materials and landscapes.

Sacred Architecture

Tanaff, Senegal, Africa

Introspection, spirituality and divinity. These are the elements around which the sacred architecture revolves. The light and the lightness of the materials join sacred and profane, creating an architecture that, through spaces and forms, try to invite the humans to an interior research.

Workshop '16

Catania, Italy, Europa

The event represented an international architecture workshop organized in september 2016 together with In/arch Sicilia and CA2Lab from University of Catania, aimed to support the Dam-Bridge project, addressing international community and developing architectural projects to be donated to Tanaff Valley.