Submission: January 31, 2017
Registration: January 05, 2017
Language: English, Spanish
Location: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Prizes: 1st Prize: $5000, 2nd Prize: $3000, 3rd Prize: $2000, 4th Prize: $1000
Type: Open
TAFER is a forward thinking leisure and hospitality company with an ever-growing and evolving collection of award-winning hotels, resorts and boutique villas. Tafer’s founders have launched this competition because their brands rely on excellent design as well as being at the forefront of what is happening in the field of architecture and design. The site that is open for intervention neighbors Tafer’s existing Garza Blanca luxury beach resort development, contouring the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountain range and fronting a sandy Pacific Ocean beach. Taking these factors into consideration, the site is open to a vast range of opportunities for commercial and residential use.
OBJECTIVES
Participants are asked to create ground-breaking and inventive projects with the intention of provoking and questioning our perceived notions of hospitality. Furthermore, this intervention should not be treated as solely an architectural opportunity; it should also stimulate human psychology in relationship with the conception of space (SCALE) and environment (CONTEXT) while addressing design solutions (ARCHITECTURE). Recently, new initiatives have proposed renewed interpretations of the function of hotels, developing successful business models while providing exciting experiences for users; on the other hand, opportunities for the tried and tested hotel/residences model have yet to be fully explored taking into consideration the advancements in technology.
PROPOSALS
Participants are encouraged to create element-fusing, programmatic innovations and valuable design tools. The proposal can range in size, form and function and is therefore open to any number of creative projections, including but not limited to: a series of PAVILIONS, a collection of BUILDINGS, a THEMATIC PARK , a RESIDENTIAL project, URBAN LANDSCAPES and more. All of these concepts should be structured in a critical thought MASTER PLAN. Likewise, the scale of the project is left for the participant to determine in relation to the specific requirements of the proposal.
SITE
Careful consideration of the site’s location is vital for the design strategies because of its geographic features and its distinctive topography. On the east side, the site skirts the base of the Sierra Madre Occidental, a vast mountainous area covering over 400 acres of green landscape, including waterfalls and rivers. On the west side, we have a sandy beach facing the Pacific Ocean. Finally, edging the site on the north border is Tafer’s existing Gar za Blanca resort development, which may perhaps be used as an opportunity to enrich the scheme by linking the design proposal (open).
PROJECT CHARACTER
The proposal for this competition must develop a place for human interaction with nature as well as creating a unique experience. In addition, the participants must produce a thoughtful architecture proposal that is appropriate for its context, proposing creative and
inspiring activities for the activation of the spaces. Lastly, this being a competition for the development of ideas, it is not vital to showcase detailed projects (unless necessary). Rather, the purpose is to generate architectonical conceptualizations and originality. TAFER encourages participants to experiment and explore formal and spatial concepts, betting on proposals that are original, creative, contemporary and risky from an architectural point of view.
SCHEDULE
The competition will take place during the following dates:
● Competition Opening: October 20th, 2016
● Registration phase 1: October 23th, 2016 (free registration)
● Registration phase 2: October 30th, 2016 (fee)
● Registration Closes: January 5th, 2017
● Project Submissions : January 31st, 2017
● Jury Summoning: February 7th, 2017
● Winners Announced: February 8th, 2017
● Publications and Prizes: February 16th, 2017
AWARDS
The Prizes are the following:
● 1st place: $5000.00 USD prize.
Publication on the website at: www.taferesort.com, local exhibition at the Hotel Mousai gallery Space.
● 2nd place: $3000.00 USD prize.
Publication on the website at: www.taferesort.com, local exhibition at the Hotel Mousai gallery Space.
● 3rd place: $2000.00 USD prize.
Publication on the website at: www.taferesort.com, local exhibition at the Hotel Mousai gallery Space.
● 4th place: $1000.00 USD prize.
Publication on the website at:www.taferesort.com, local exhibition at the Hotel Mousai gallery Space.
Honorable Mentions: Publication on the website at www.taferesort.com, local exhibition at the Hotel Mousai gallery Space.