Submission: June 19, 2022
Registration: June 19, 2022
Language: English
Location: Global
Prizes: Please see the details below
Type: Open
When it comes to great architecture, the most important thing isn’t always the building or its surroundings. Often what makes the biggest difference is the so-called “grey spaces.” These transitional, in-between elements such as staircases, hallways, porches, eaves and vestibules can blur, or even eliminate the boundaries between the inside and outside. They play a major role in determining whether a development is functional, or a living, breathing environment.
Contemporary architecture embraces grey spaces, such as open ground floors and terraces, to provide shelter from the wind and rain, or sunny places where people can relax and interact in comfort. The idea is not a new one. Traditional Chinese residences frequently feature grey spaces, including colonnades and corridors, windowed verandas, platforms, porches, waterside pavilions and boat houses. Classical Chinese gardens in towns on the southern reaches of the Yangtze River are often defined by their creative use of grey spaces.
In fact, grey space is a perfect representation of the Chinese philosophy “Unity of Man and Nature.” Rather than emphasising its existence and tangibility, grey space conjures images and creates an emotional connection between the building and its nearby environment when people are exposed to varied landscapes with every step they make.
Modern cities feature many underutilised grey spaces on public or private lots including areas under expressways, open spaces between residential buildings, unused parts of shopping malls, hidden corners in leisure plazas and public spaces inside hotels. The question is how to unlock the potential of these grey spaces through creative design? How to create more rest areas and leisure spots in bustling cities? Building upon the motto “We Create a Lifestyle”, HKR International (HKRI) strives to provide the best solution.
PRI²DE Creative Camp
HKRI launched the “PRI²DE Creative Camp” Young Designers Development Programme in 2019, with the aim to build a platform for showcasing creative work and provide opportunities for young designers and artists to put their work into practice.
Hosted jointly by HKRI and the international competition platform, Young Bird Plan, the initiative is aimed at collecting design works of movable chairs from around the world. Using HKRI’s successful projects in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Bangkok as launchpads, the key thematic element “45” was chosen to celebrate HKRI’s 45th anniversary.
With the goal of creating a sense of place and delighting users through creative works from talented designers worldwide, the competition is aimed at bringing vitality to a variety of indoor and outdoor public spaces in Discovery Bay of Hong Kong, HKRI Taikoo Hui and The Sukhothai Bangkok. It also showcases the forward thinking and creativity of the HKRI brand through online and offline publicity, which helps increase awareness among the global design industry practitioners.
Panel of Judges
Wei Ding
Founder of Moma Design
Dean of Future Design OGI of Shanghai Tsinghua International Innovation Center
Director of Industrial Design Innovation Center Around ECUST
Jamy Yang
Founder and design director of YANG DESIGN and YANG HOUSE, Collector, Most Influential Chinese Industrial Designer by Forbes.
Joeri Reynaert
Founder & Creative Director of JRS
Jackie Tang
Managing Director of HKRI
Fellow Member of The Hong Kong Institute of Architects
Isa Ye
Founder of YoungBird
Founder of designverse
Design Requirements
1. The Entrant is required to choose either Discovery Bay, HKRI Taikoo Hui or one of the hotels from The Sukhothai Hotels & Resorts (in Bangkok or Shanghai) as the scene for its design. The design for the movable chair should revolve around eco-friendly towns or grey spaces in commercial projects in the core areas of the city, including shopping malls, residences, hotels, clubs, waterfront promenades, and leisure squares. Whether they are intended for indoor, semi-outdoor or outdoor use, the chairs must be easy to carry and display.
2. The design should reflect HKRI’s brand story, revealing in particular the theme element “45,” which celebrates HKRI’s 45th anniversary.
3. There are no restrictions in terms of materials, but the use of recyclable and environmentally friendly materials are encouraged.
4. Practicality and functionality of the chair design shall be taken
Eligibility
1.The Competition is aimed at nurturing and supporting young designers. Entrants may participate as individuals or in groups. However, each group shall not exceed 3 persons. The team leader of each Entrant shall be under 35 years of age.
2. The Competition is open to professionals, students and amateurs with a background in design and art, including but not limited to product design, interior design, architectural design, landscape design and public art.
3. Each registration number can submit a maximum of 2 entries. If you wish to submit more than 2 entries, you should register separately to obtain another registration number.
4. All team members must register on the designverse’s official website in advance, and then be invited by the team leader to complete the team formation. For frequently asked questions, please browse the Q&A section on the official website.
Timeline
2022.4.14 Call for entries
2022.6.19 Submission deadline
2022.6.29 Release of shortlisted winners
2022.8.01 Release of Top 10 & public voting
2022.8.14 Public voting deadline
2022.8.17 Release of Top 3, the Champion & Special Award for Sustainable Materials
The above timeline is for reference only. The specific timing is subject to the designverse’s official website.
Awards
Champion (1 winner): A prize of RMB 50,000 (pre-tax) + Prototype for Work + Certificate of Honour
Runner Up (1 winner): A prize of RMB 20,000 (pre-tax) + Prototype for Work + Certificate of Honour
Second Runner Up (1 winner): A prize of RMB 10,000 (pre-tax) + Prototype for Work + Certificate of Honour
Special Award for Sustainable Materials (1 winner): A prize of RMB 10,000 (pre-tax) + Certificate of Honour
Top 10 (7 winners): Prototype for Work + Certificate of Top 10 Honour
Shortlist: Honourable Shortlist Certificate
