In a decade’s memory of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, Archdais, an Architecture networking platform in India, call for ideas for the 'Taj Amity Pavilion' design. Archdais is a social network platform for the Architecture fraternity and people. The website is a digital enterprise growing larger, now conducting competitions and eventually conferences. 

The Competition

Despite terror attacks in Mumbai, the city’s spirit remained high held. The competition looks for pavilions that exhibit the unbreakable spirit of Mumbai and depict important struggles and events through which the city has grown.

The Archdais team, in efforts to commemorate the lives lost in Mumbai, a decade after the terror attacks, wishes to pay tribute to the city’s high held spirits alongside the Architecture fraternity. The event’s mark becomes 10 years on 26/11/2018.

Archdais surveyed the impact of the attacks encourages participants to inculcate it into the design, spreading a strong message to the world. In this sense, the brief appeals and challenges for effective design outcomes, hence taking charge to message the world of how design can spread peace.

Gateway of India, 1924 (courtesy of The Creativity Engine)

Context-Mumbai and its heritage

Mumbai, ‘the city of dreams’, boasts of architectural styles that transcend several eras. Today, Mumbai is a melting pot of lifestyles. Such is its recognition, that people across the world consider Mumbai as India’s symbol.

The Gateway of India precinct is one of the oldest and most popular tourist friendly areas of not just the city, but also of the nation. The precinct hosts hotels, art galleries, historic buildings and other businesses catering visitors within and outside the city. It has become a tourism hub with a variety of heritage landmarks and a vital street life. The precinct has a poignant history making it a prominent locality today.

Events have time and again tested the city’s resilience. The attacks of 26/11, shook the nation and broke the city’s spirit for months. An attack of such an intense magnitude wrenched through every Indian heart, left a stain in the country’s timeline.

Archdais

Archdais aims to tap into the potential of design across the country via five domains-architects, students, interior designers, real estate developers and people in general. Beyond networking, Archdais provides chances for students and architects to get employed, compete, grow and build digital portfolios, putting themselves on the dais.

Opportunities on Archdais:

For Students – Jobs, Internships, market place to sell their creative products to potential audience on the dais.

For Architects, Interior Designers – Jobs, Getting freelance projects, market place to sell their creative products to potential audience on the dais.

For Real Estate Developers – Finding Architects or Interior Designers for their upcoming projects, Buy/Sale Lands, buy/sale TDR, A market place to sell their units to potential audience.

Brief’s Demands

Mission statement aims for the Creation of a distinctive pavilion to symbolize the strength and resilience of the city.

-Represent the spirit of a memorial for lives that were claimed during the attack:

The pavilion should pay homage to the soldiers who valiantly fought against the terrorists, and the people who lost their lives during the attack. The pavilion should also represent the reverence and honour that we feel for the soldiers who fight for the nation against all social evils.

The main purpose of the competition is to design a temporary pavilion that holds the virtues of peace and amity in its essence, built in honour of the several valiant soldiers who lost their lives fighting the corrupt ideas of terrorism. The pavilion should be temporary in nature, constructed in a way that responds to its environment in an eco-friendly way.

-Creation of an iconic pavilion in terms of architectural expression:

Architecturally, the pavilion should be dynamic in nature, having the qualities of an innovative and accessible structure. The aesthetic quality of the structure should be profound and poignant enough to represent the magnitude of the events that had occurred in its precinct. The design of the pavilion should be such that it is monumental in nature, creating a unique architectural expression. The design should respect the context and the existing landscape of the precinct, while being flexible enough to respond to a wide variety of activities.

-Reinforce and enhance the quality of space in the precinct:

The pavilion should be an artistic dialogue with the public, instead of being a predefined space. The materials used and the volume of the pavilion should transform the community fabric of the area such that there is a sense of identity to it, while paying respect to the history of the surroundings.

-Creation of an iconic pavilion in terms of architectural expression:

Architecturally, the pavilion should be dynamic in nature, having the qualities of an innovative and accessible structure. The aesthetic quality of the structure should be profound and poignant enough to represent the magnitude of the events that had occurred in its precinct. The design of the pavilion should be such that it is monumental in nature, creating a unique architectural expression. The design should respect the context and the existing landscape of the precinct, while being flexible enough to respond to a wide variety of activities.

Eligibility and Awards

Architects, Architecture Graduates, Students or Engineers are eligible to participate. Interdisciplinary teams are also encouraged to enter the Competition. Submissions can be the work of an individual or a group of up to 3 members. There is no age limit, however, entrants under 18 years of age must be lead or entered by someone over the age of 18. Awards Winning participants will receive prizes totalling INR 2,00,000 with the distribution as follows:

15 Honourable mentions

Winners and honourable mentions will be published on Archdais website and several architecture magazines and websites partnered by us.

Schedule

Start of Competition and Early Registration: 1st July 2018

Early Registration ends: 15th August 2018

Standard Registration starts: 16th August 2018

Deadline for Questions: 30th August 2018

Standard Registration ends: 31st October 2018

Closing day for Submissions: 1st November 2018

Announcement of Winners: 15th November 2018

Note: All deadlines are 11:59 pm - 00:00 IST (India)

Early Registration

For Indian National: INR 1500 (per team)
For Foreign National: USD 50 (per team)

Standard Registration

For Indian National: INR 1800 (per team)
For Foreign National: USD 70 (per team)

Entrants may register by filling registration form and submitting it with the appropriate payment through the secure gateway on Archdais.

Team Credits

The Writer of this brief is Ar. Aishwarya Morwal. The Design Team Includes Ar. Rushikesh Kothari & Ar. Abhijeet Bhogade. Marketing & Promotions Team includes Ar. Sameeta Shelke & Aishwarya Bhogade.

All images courtesy of Archdais

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