About Competition
The Cuban Square: Architecture Competition | Located in the Vedado district towards the west side of Old Havana, Plaza de la Revolución is not only one of the largest public squares in the world – 72.000 square meters – but also a place of great historical relevance. The square has been the stage of several of the main events of the Cuban Revolution and the place where up to a million people have congregated at once during civic gatherings.
This immense concrete surface that was once a lively place, has neither been able to evolve in time, nor been capable of reinventing itself to host possible new urban programs. Laying inert and unused most of the time, the square has become a sort of “public void” where tourists just step by to take the classic picture with Che Guevara’s mural on the background, to then go back to the beach.
The goal of this competition is to explore the potentialities of Plaza de la Revolución, in order to come up with a design proposal capable of giving it a new life. How could it be transformed into a place for community life and social interaction? What kind of intervention might turn the square into a livelier area, accessible and functional for both local dwellers and international tourists?
The Cuban Square aims at reinterpreting a space full of history and cultural value through innovative and original projects. Designers are therefore completely free to decide the programs and the type of interventions they want to experiment on the site. Be creative and do not hesitate to “revolutionise” the square!
About the Organizer
TerraViva Competitions has been recently opened as a new branch of TerraViva Workshop: an international didactic platform active since 2015, born under the guidance of professor Richard Ingersoll at the Politecnico di Milano university. This new section proposes a series of “unconventional” design competitions in line with the topics addressed throughout the past years in the architecture workshops.
Mainly directed to students, young creatives and professionals, TerraViva Competitions works as a cultural hub focused on innovative ideas linked to design, architecture and urbanism.
Firmly believing that creativity is the most powerful tool to trigger new design practices and to feed the debate on present and future issues, this series of competitions aims to promote original projects with a conscious vision about environmental and social sustainability.
Competition Website: https://www.terravivacompetitions.com/the-cuban-square-competition-2022/
Submission / Key Dates
Early registration from July 18th to September 9th – 11.59 AM CET
Standard registration from September 9th to October 21st – 11.59 AM CET
Late registration from October 21st to November 18th – 11.59 AM CET
Results: on December 19th 2022
