fbpx

HOUSE OF THE DICTATOR

Submission: 25th May 2025 Registration: 22nd May 2025 Location: No-site Language: English Prizes: View website Type: Open

The house— a universal symbol of protection, intimacy, and identity— intertwines with the figure of a dictator, the embodiment of absolute power, control, and fear. This is not merely an architectural exercise, but an existential reflection: what is a house when it belongs to someone who wields unlimited power?

The “house of the dictator” is a paradox. On one hand, it is a fortress that conceals, protects, and isolates. On the other hand, it is a space of intimate vulnerability, a place where the dictator, whose figure is feared and alienated from the public sphere, reveals their humanity, with all its fragility and fears.

Today, the importance of questioning the relationship between power and private space is relevant than ever. In a world marked by deep inequalities, forced migrations, and instability, architecture becomes a lens through which to analyze the dynamics of authoritarianism, protection, and isolation. What role does space play in consolidating or challenging power? How are the fears and ambitions of a dictator translated into the form of his home?

What is the true nature of this duality? Is it a refuge that offers security and isolation, or a prison that stifles and traps its inhabitant? Which walls symbolize the dominion of authoritarianism, and which reveal its flaws and contradictions?

Date: January 22, 2025