Architecture of Necessity

Vt http://www.virserumskonsthall.com/architecture-of-necessity-invitation/

An international triennial for sustainable community building – invitation

During the autumn of 2009, Virserum Art Museum launched the international manifesto on the Architecture of Necessity. 143 entries from 28 countries were submitted for the 2010 exhibition, 42 of which went on display. In 2013 300 entries from 43 countries were submitted and 98 were displayed. Now the Architecture of Necessity is an international triennial for sustainable community building.

The jury in 2013 stated that it had given a certain priority to built projects, considering the well-known “implementation deficit” in sustainable building. The jury also would have liked to see more contributions on upgrading of housing estates from the 1960s and 1970s around the world, a highly pressing issue in the near future. Projects which propose sharing of resources in the form of co-housing would also have been welcome.

These statements of the jury are the main issues for the call for entries for 2016. Besides these we are also interested in projects which discourage abandoning the country, more flexible housing and where the social issues are addressed.

What can be submitted?

Entries can be buildings or city and community planning projects of all sizes. Submissions have to fall within the scope of the manifesto Architecture of Necessity. Entries are accepted from professionally active individuals or legal persons such as building contractors, architectural bureaus, local government, construction firms or other companies. The submitted projects must be dated between 2013 and 2016, but do not have to be realised.

How should the entries be presented?

Entries should be presented, mainly in pictures with a short text explaining how the five criterions of the Architecture of Necessity have been taken into consideration. The presentation should be on four A3 pages, landscape format, in one PDF document. Maximum file size 20MB. The text should be in English or Swedish in 12 p. Every entry must be submitted only once, via email. This email should contain: Complete contact details of the participant (name, telephone number, mobile phone number, postal address and current email address), as well as the motto of the entry. The project should be attached to the email as a single PDF document. Please have the motto included in the text as well as in the name of the file submitted.
Please submit entries to:

Participation

Entries should be submitted to Virserum Art Museum no later than 11 March 2016. Entrants chosen for inclusion in the exhibition will be notified no later than 29 March 2016. Successful participants are then required to supply high-resolution material as instructed by Virserum Art Museum. A jury will select three to five winners. Winners will be notified within a reasonable time prior to WOOD SUMMIT SMÅLAND, 29 to 30 June 2013, where they will be expected to present their entries. Taking part in the first selection process is free of charge. Entrants who are chosen for the exhibition will be required to pay a euro 250 service charge per chosen project. The service charge is payable to Virserum Art Museum no later than 8 April 2016.

Publication

The winners will be announced during WOOD SUMMIT SMÅLAND, 29 to 30 June 2016. Entrants whose projects are chosen for presentation at the summit will be reimbursed with euro 1200, plus travel expenses to Virserum and WOOD SUMMIT SMÅLAND, as well as accommodation for one person.

Jury and exhibition

An international jury is responsible for the selection of entries and the winners. The jury is led by Claes Caldenby, professor of architectural theory and history at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. The remaining jury members will be presented later. The exhibition will be held at Virserum Art Museum between 15 May and 4 December, 2016, as part of WOOD 2016.

For more information, please contact:
Carolina Jonsson, producer +46 (0) 49 53 15 36,