Plastic has a huge contribution in the making of the modern man. It has revolutionized human activity and living because of its versatility as a material. It made space travels possible. It has revolutionized medicine. Daily, it saves millions of people making food resources safe and accessible to the poorest populations of the planet. Modern life is addicted to and dependent on this versatile substance, which is found in everything from cars, planes, computers and equipment to clothes made of polyester and nylon, to the adhesive seal on most teabags. 

Since 1950’s, plastic production has almost outpaced that of almost every other material. Much of the plastic we produce is designed to be thrown away after being used only once. As a result, plastic packaging accounts for about half of the plastic waste in the world. Our ability to cope with plastic waste is already overwhelmed. By nature, plastic waste is indestructible and currently there is an incalculable amount of it on the planet. Human beings are losing the fight against plastic waste. 

Every year, we produce around 300 million tons of plastic waste. That’s nearly equivalent to the weight of the entire human population. Of a ‘mere’ 9.2 billion tons of plastic to deal with, more than 6.9 billion tons have become waste. And of that waste, a staggering 6.3 billion tons never made it to a recycling bin. An astounding 8 million tons of plastic ends up in the world’s oceans every year. If current trends continue, our oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

However, plastic is and never was the real enemy. What is needed is not a world without plastic. What is needed now is a revolutionized awareness about waste management and the way it is practiced.  Our materialistic society has created a problem of consumption and a destructive cycle of overuse.  Architecture should lead by example and generate awareness about recycling waste and sustainable practices that can make way for a utopian setup.

Tomb of waste aims to create a powerful and a poetic architectural installation that raises awareness about the impact of plastic waste on our planet. The installation should captivate public attention and elevate people’s perception by promoting single use plastic as a valuable, versatile and an accessible material that can be used to creatively transform our built environment.

Tomb of waste competition should create an object to show the world the consequences of disposable culture. It should eradicate the concept of ‘waste materials’ and raise awareness of our own wasteful consumption of single use plastic. Architectural design should play an important role in supporting the circular economy of recycled plastic materials thus keeping plastic in the supply loop and out of our ecosystems.

The competition should rethink the relationship between sustainability and architecture contrary to the common understanding of sustainability as a cosmetic concern. The competition aims at designing an icon that explores sustainability as a tool for critical thinking. The installation should have an immersive and symbolic impact on the context and should strive to become a strong reference point. 

Prizes

Prizes worth EUR 2500 are up for claim with the distribution as follows:

First prize: EUR 1200

Second prize: EUR 800

Third prize: EUR 500

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

Registration

The 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.

Early registration: - 1st March 2020- 30th April 2020

For foreign nationals: 60 EUR PER TEAM

For Indian nationals: 1500 INR PER TEAM

Standard registration: - 1st May 2020- 30th May 2020

For foreign nationals: 80 EUR PER TEAM

For Indian nationals: 1800 INR PER TEAM

Submission deadline: 31st May 2020

Result: 25th June 2020

*All deadlines are 11:59 PM- 00:00 IST (India)

Group discount

As a part of our initiative to encourage more student participation, we offer great discounts if a minimum of 5 teams register from one particular architecture school/university. Contact us at [email protected]. to avail the offer.

Regulations

Switch reserves the right to modify the competition schedule if deemed necessary.

Participant teams will be disqualified if any of the competition rules or submission requirements are not considered. Participation assumes acceptance of the regulations.

Team code is the only means of identification of a team as it is an anonymous competition.

The official language of the competition is English.

The registration fee is non-refundable.

Contacting the Jury is prohibited.

Terms and Conditions

Please see the terms and conditions section on the website. 

Disclaimer

This is an open international competition hosted by Switch to generate progressive design ideas. There are no plans for any proposal to be built. The competition is organized for education purpose only.

Download the competition brief from here: Briefs_Tomb of Waste.pdf

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