The Balouo Salo Non-Profit Organisation has launched the 2022 edition of Kaira Looro Competition and is calling for architects, students, designers, engineers from around the world to design a Children's House in Africa.

The competition, themed as Children's House, tasks architects, students and anyone who wants to propose a solution to the theme, to design a welcoming place where activities aimed at preventing child malnutrition can be carried out in a rural environment of Sub-Saharan Africa.

The winning project for Children's House will be built in Senegal

The winning project in the international competition will be built in southern Senegal.

The Kaira Looro Competition is an international architecture competition for students and young architects, the objective of which is to grow up careers of new architectural talent, raise awareness in the international community regarding the topics of emergency, and support humanitarian projects. 

Open to architects, students, designers, engineers and anyone who wants to propose a solution to the theme, it is also possible to participate in the competition individually or in teams, with one requirement: the presence of under 35 years old on the team.

World Architecture Community is official media partner of the 2022 edition of Kaira Looro Competition and will share the results of the competition once the competition is ended.

Registration will begin on 15th January 2022. Early registrations can be completed before February 28, 2022, while late registrations will end on May 15, 2022. Registrations can be made on this page once the registration link is online. 

Organised by the Balouo Salo Non-Profit Organisation, engaged in charitable projects in Africa, the organizing committee said that all proceeds, including the registration fees obtained from the competition, will be donated to the construction of the winning project in a village in southern Senegal, where the organisation itself operates.

"The Children’s House" should be a welcoming place where activities aimed at preventing child malnutrition can be carried out in a rural environment of Sub-Saharan Africa. The children of today are the leaders of tomorrow; allowing them to develop properly is essential in order to build a better future," stated the competition. 

"Nevertheless, today, 149 million children in the world suffer from growth retardation resulting from nutritional difficulties caused by poverty, conflicts and the environmental crisis. An adequate diet, especially in the first 5 years of life, means facilitating the psychological and physical development necessary to develop all of the fundamental abilities to participate in social life."

The entries received will be evaluated by a jury made up of prominent architects: Kengo Kuma (Kengo Kuma & Associates), Mario Cucinella (Mario Cucinella Architects), Agostino Ghirardelli (SBGA | Blengini Ghirardelli), Benedetta Tagliabue (EMBT Miralles Tagliabue), Mphethi Morojele (MMA Design Studio), Alice Dietsch (AL_A), Giuseppe Mazzaglia (MVRDV), Sharon Devis (Sharon Davis Design), Ligia Nunes (Architecture Sans Frontières International), Saad El Kabbaj, Driss Kettani and Mohamed Amine Siana and an scientific committee made up of Raoul Vecchio (Balouo Salo), Sebastiano D’Urso (University of Catania), Moussa Soaune (CCAA Senegal), Mamath Ndiaye (Balouo Salo) and other specialist in architecture and nutrition.

Location of the project in southern Senegal.

Win a chance of internship at Kengo Kuma & Associates, Mario Cucinella Architects and SBGA Blengini Ghiradelli

The competition will distribute three awards: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners, as well as 2 Honourable Mentions, 2 Special Mentions, 20 Finalists, and 20 Top 50. 

While the winning project will receive a cash prize of €5.000, the winner will also have an internship at Kengo Kuma & Associates studio in Japan, as well as the construction of the project as humanitarian intervention. 

The other internships will be awarded to the 2nd place team at the Mario Cucinella Architects in Italy and to the 3rd place at the SBGA Blengini Ghiradelli, and respectively 2.000€ and 1.000€. 

All awarded teams will receive a certificate and will be published in the competition channels.

Furthermore, all of the projects will be published on the competition’s website and in its official book, transmitted to 30 of the competition’s global over 30 media partners, and shared with institutional partners.

The architecture of the "Children’s House" will be a space intended to prevent child malnutrition by providing nutritional material, the development of hygiene and healthcare awareness raising programmes, the organisation of paediatric and social care appointments, housing for at-risk patients, and the training of community nurses, who will guide local families on best practice in relation to prevention and nutrition.

The design will be constructed in the context of a humanitarian programme and it should meet some particular construction needs, namely: be easy to construct using sustainable technologies that are adaptable to self-construction; make use of natural and/or recycled materials available in the region; be integrated into the social and cultural environment of the location.

The architecture, of maximum 250 square meters, will need to host the following activities: administration, storage, hospitality, and recreation.

The project area is located in the south of Senegal: a western sub-Saharan African country bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Mauritania, Mali, Gambia, and Guinea. 

The national population is almost 17 million people, mainly concentrated in the larger urban centres and in the capital. Dakar. The southern region, in addition to the enclave of Gambia, is called Casamance, due to the presence of the river of the same name and is further divided into 3 administrative regions: Ziguinchor, Sedhiou and Kolda, with a total of approximately 1.5 million inhabitants.

Schedule for Children's House competition

Registration

Opening of “early” registrations | 15/01/2022 

Closing of “early” registrations | 28/02/2022 

Opening of “normal” registrations | 1/03/2022 

Closing of “normal” registrations | 10/04/2022 

Opening of “late” registrations | 11/04/2022 

Late registration closing | 15/05/2022

FAQ response deadline | 1/06/2022 

Project submission deadlines | 13/06/2022 

Publication of results | 11/07/2022

Download the competition guidelines, Child Malnutrition documents, all materials (available after registration) on the competition's website. Register to the Children's House competition on this link. 

All images © Balouo Salo Non-Profit Organisation 

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