Announcement
FOREWORD:
Sustainable Architecture is a 2021 Architecture Essay Competition, organized by Archiol. Sustainability in architecture is achieved with the use of design strategies in the built environment that reduce the negative environmental impact. Environment that is built based on ecological principles and resource efficiency. The competition, Sustainable Architecture was looking for essay submissions on the topic of sustainability in architecture.
This competition aimed at exploring Sustainability in Architecture.
Read full articles and winning entries on the organizer’s WEBSITE
1st Prize Winner
Name: Mohamad Alamin Younis
Title: Towards the Metamorphosis of the Landfill: Turning Garbage Dumps into Proactive Parks
Are people truly aware of the serious impact that the rapidly growing mountains of trash have on the natural and built environment? If we look at how waste is segregated, collected, and finally disposed, we could see how unsustainable this is for the built environment. Most cities around the globe follow a linear model in their operation: a flow of input/supply- be it energy, water, people, food, vehicles, and material – is processed and consumed resulting into an output flow of sewage, garbage, waste, and pollution. Such an unsustainable operation necessitates that every city designates a “backyard” to dispose of its output on a site that is out of its sight. The impact of such statement is seen at the social and urban level of most cities, where the public is totally absent in these highly industrial areas. It is safe to say that when the flow of the public is cut from the waste management sector, people are less likely to know about their anthropic actions.
2nd Prize Winner
Name: Raquel Mena
Title: Sustainable ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶m̶i̶s̶l̶e̶a̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ architecture
Sustainability. Probably the word we’ve been hearing the most these past few years; yet not everyone seems to understand its meaning. We often come across with misleading affirmations which end up blurring the real meaning of the word. If we add architecture to the topic, things get even fuzzier. How can architecture and sustainability go hand in hand?
3rd Prize Winner
Name: Anvi Singh & Samruddhi Shendurnikar
Title: Approach to Indian Architecture: the Conundrum of Modern and Traditional Sustainability.
The field of architecture is one of the chief harbingers of transformation and transition in several aspects of society. The architecture of a nation whether modern or traditional, is a mirror that reflects the social, economic and cultural conditions of a country. To determine a country’s approach to architecture, it is vital to respond to the challenges that it faces. Hence, the debate of “the old and the new” has now manifested to include the biggest global challenge that people are grappling with – climate change.
Honourable Mention:
Name: Tasbeeh Alaqtum & Manal Elryalat
Title: Water Celebration in the Sonoran Desert: Sustainable Landscapes& Indoor Spaces
Water is essential for sustaining our lives and its quality is identified as one of the nine foundations of healthy buildings. Water harvesting and reuse have been of interest for current and ancient civilizations. Ancient Egyptian civilizations developed around the Nile River while taking advantage of its annual flooding that ensured a rich soil for growing crops. Indians constructed stepped wells as storage cisterns; to help conserve as much water as possible in the arid region of Rajasthan. Other examples of monumental water reservoir structures include Chinese large dams, Greek water supply systems, and Roman aqueducts. Unfortunately, water is becoming a scarce resource, affecting a wide range of cities around the world, especially those located in arid regions. Thus, applying ecological principles and focusing on resource efficiency can alleviate water scarcity. Architecture has engaged with water in endless innovative ways by serving aesthetic purposes and/or promoting sustainability.
Honourable Mention:
Name: Carla Calderon, Hiba Bu Ali & Maria Alejandra Moreno
Title: How architectural site analysis helps efficient design
As society began to discern the ecological and environmental concerns on our planet, we grasped the need to overcome rapidly these problems caused by human beings. It has been proven that building operations and construction constitute the 38% of the total global CO2 emissions and contribute to water scarcity and pollution. Therefore, to overcome this situation; architects, engineers, and designers decided to create an ecologically or “green” responsive design called Sustainable architecture. Architecture sustainability has a wide approach making various elements key to accomplish its goals, such as site analysis, construction, and designing techniques, and use and impact of construction materials. In this article, we are going to look further into the importance of analysing the chosen site for projection; the geographical position, the climatology, the surrounding area, and how it contributes to the efficiency of the design.
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