Growing villages—the future is not metropolitan
Submission deadline: August 31, 2023
Nearly twenty years ago, the exhibition Shrinking Cities (curated by Philipp Oswalt) focused on the decline of major global cities (Detroit, Manchester, Halle/Saale, Iwanowo). Yet despite a weakening of urban dynamics due to population declines, as well as economic, political, and industrial crises, a certain capacity for innovation and creativity continues to thrive.
Two decades, a global pandemic, and a climate and energy crisis later, limits to quality of life in major cities are becoming clear. Other domains for living—such as small towns and villages—are gaining in appeal due to the amount of space they offer, their proximity to nature, and the rhythm of life. Factors like working from home and environmental emergencies are drawer greater numbers of young professionals and families to rural areas.
Learning from…the metropolis
How can these areas be designed without a reduction in quality? How can workers be drawn to the digital world and what alternatives are there to workplaces in high-rise buildings made of glass and steel? How can you “get around” in the countryside without public transport while protecting the climate at the same time? Can buildings be constructed using rammed-earth methods or other local and natural building materials? How can villages and small towns be developed without repeating the construction flaws of large cities?
Heimat, a slower pace, festivals, and video games
There are numerous cultural examples of the roles of rural areas: from the typical German village in the TV series Heimat (Edgar Reitz, 1984) to the utopian and visionary ventures of hippie communities in the 1970s (collectivization, self-sufficiency, geodesic architecture), to the new twenty-first century farmers who are committed to a slower pace of life. Not to mention the zany experiments from Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert, or the enormous success of the collaborative video game Minecraft, in which everyone creates their own village out of pixels.
The inspirations for establishing and developing villages—and new, small-scale urban communities on the outskirts of large metropolises—are numerous.
Applicants are invited to imagine the village of today or even that of the future. A village that evolves, grows, and prospers without turning into a big city. A social and societal domain that respects nature…
The aim is not to solve technical, economic, or logistical problems, but to create and invent new, utopian, surprising, and exciting scenarios.
The only limits are those of the competitors’ imagination!
Jury
–Olivier Gaudin, professor at the College of Nature and Landscape (École de la nature et du paysage - INSA CVL) in Blois, France
–Djamel Klouche, founder and main partner of AUC, a Paris-based architectural firm, and professor at the ENSAV (Versailles Architecture School)
–Christof Mayer, co-founder of raumlaborberlin and visiting professor at the Institute of Architecture and Urban Develop at the Berlin University of the Arts
–Antje Stokman, landscape architect and professor for landscape architecture and landscape planning at the HafenCity Universität Hamburg
Eligible applicants must
–be legal residents of France or Germany;
–be active in the field of architecture, landscape and urban planning, design or visual arts;
–have a tax ID number/No de SIRET;
–be at least 18 years old.
Applications will be submitted anonymously to the jury.
To be submitted
–three to six images (plans, drawings, cut-outs, collages, computer-generated images);
–a text of maximum 500 words in English only, as a PDF file;
–a fully completed and signed entry form.
Find the form and all the necessary information here. Please submit your applications no later than August 31, 2023 to: info.bdap [at] institutfrancais.de
The jury will pay particular attention to
–the creative quality of the project;
–how the project is integrated into the area, its sustainability;
–the social dimension, taking inclusion into account;
–the aesthetic quality of the proposal, but also humorous ideas.
Award
The ten best ideas will be exhibited at a public event at the AIT ArchitekturSalon in Hamburg in November 2023. In addition, the three best ideas will be awarded the following prizes: 5,000 EUR for first place, 3,000 EUR for second place, and 2,000 EUR for third place.
Timeline 2023
June 1–August 31, 2023: Publication of the competition & project submissions by applicants. / By October 23, 2023: Announcement of the winners. / November 23, 2023: Public event in Hamburg, Germany: exhibition featuring the ten best projects and awarding of prizes to the three best projects.
Contact
Bureau des arts plastiques—Institut français Germany, T +49 30590039244. Marie Graftieaux, director / Alix Weidner, cultural affairs officer. Contact person for questions: Alix Weidner alix.weidner [at] institutfrancais.de. Website. Concept development and consultant: Thibaut de Ruyter.
About PERSPEKTIVE fund
PERSPEKTIVE is a German-French fund for creative exchange launched by the Office of Visual Arts at the Institut français Deutschland in 2014.
In 2023, the foundation continues to evolve with a new format for architecture: an ideas competition. The competition is intended for young professionals residing in Germany or France active in the fields of architecture, landscape and urban planning, design and visual arts.
The German-French ideas competition is organized by the Office of Visual Arts at the Institut français Deutschland, with support from the German Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building, the Goethe-Institut e.V., the French Ministry of Culture, and the Institut français Paris.
