Premise

Last year, we held the first Voen Foundation Architecture Competition which included over 100 contestants from around the world. We asked contestants to design floating housing solutions for communities-in-need, which was inspired by the Makoko Community. The various winners and submissions from the 2020 competition were not only incredible but also inspiring. This year we would like to switch the theme of the competition to focus on the issue of plastic pollution which is an issue in various megacities, including Lagos. Plastic pollution has been a growing issue for decades and there have been various solutions presented by different global actors and bodies such as governments and international organisations. As architects and urban designers, it is important for us to be involved in this process and Lagos is a city that has seen bleak and limited amounts of solutions that respond to the context of the city. This is what led us to this year’s competition theme.

Challenge

For this year’s edition of the Lagos Architecture Competition, you are asked to design creative architectural solutions to the problem of plastic pollution. We are not going to limit the scale or type of architecture your design should represent.

The only requirements are that your designs must aim to solve the issue of plastic pollution and must use Lagos, Nigeria as a context. Whether your design is a single house that makes efficient use of recycled or upcycled plastic, a master plan for a community that engages in plastic recycling and uses it as their way of generating income or even an industrial building or master plan that presents a creative way to combat plastic pollution. Unlike the previous competition, Lagos: City of Water, your design does not need to have a relationship with water. The context can be any part of Lagos whether on land or water.

It is also important for your design to engage with the local Lagos community and urban context and should not be an alone piece of architecture. The top designs will not only address plastic pollution and the point mentioned above but also take microplastic into account as well as the harmful fumes plastic can emit when exposed to heat. The competition is open to students, recent graduates and young architects around the world.

Prizes

1st Place Winner – International Contestant - €500

1st Place Winner – Nigerian Contestant - N300,000

2nd Place - €250/N150,000

3rd Place - €150/N90,000

10 Honorable Mentions

20 Finalists

Founder’s Choice

Key dates

June 10th – Competition Announcement 

June 20th - Registration Begins - FREE 

July 30th - Submissions Open 

August 20th – Registration Closes | Submissions Close 

September 20th – Winners Announced

Registration

Registration for this competition is FREE throughout the competition. To register, fill in the registration form and you will receive a unique registration code within 5 days of registering.

You can click on the link for registration.

Top image © Voen Foundation.

> via VOEN associates