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THE HOUSE OF GRIEF

Submission: October 26, 2016
Registration: October 26, 2016
Language: English
Location: Colectiv – Str. Tabacarilor 7, Bucuresti, Romania
Prizes: 1st Prize: €500, 2nd Prize: €300, 3rd Prize: €200 
Type: Open

 

Almost one year ago, on October 30th, 2015, a terrible tragedy happened in Bucharest, Romania. It was Friday evening and in the Club “Colectiv” gathered around 400 people, most of them young… and a good number of architects and students of architecture.

There was a fire and in the tragedy 64 people lost their lives, and many were severely hurt. Six teaching architects from UAUIM (the University of Architecture and Urbanism “Ion Mincu”) died… one of them was a member of the group that was performing that night, launching their newest album, one song being called: “The Day We Die…”

We cannot forget this tragedy. Another proof how fragile, indeed, is the human existence.

THE HOUSE OF GRIEF

How to translate grief…?

It is an indelible pain… the pain of losing someone dear.

We grieve… since we cannot do anything else.

We suffer.

Words are weak, when pain is at its highest.

We do not work with words, but with bricks.

We ask you to imagine The House of Grief.

How would it be…?

Would it be a “convenient” house…?

Would it have to respect all the rules and regulations…?

Would we design it with Neufert on our desk…?

How would it be…?

What would Neufert have to say about grief…?

And could indeed grief be externalized through architecture…?

Why not…?

Why shouldn’t architecture be able to evoke feelings that are not of a measurable nature…? But are feelings ever otherwise…?

Six people from The University of Architecture and Urbanism died. And others were severely hurt.

We ask you to design THE HOUSE OF PAIN.

THE HOUSE OF GRIEF.

In memoriam.

Like an Architectural Requiem.

To pay homage to those who are not, any longer, our colleagues, who, at the mercy of a malevolent Fate, vanished beyond the threshold.

What threshold…? The threshold that separates Life and Death, the threshold between the “here and now” and “there and then…”

Design, as an architectural eulogy, THE HOUSE OF PAIN, THE HOUSE OF GRIEVANCE, THE HOUSE OF DANCE, FIRE AND DEATH, if we are to be more explicit.

Design in order to alleviate the pain.

And to pay homage.

Lament, dear architect, through your building.

The Taj Mahal was built in memory of an emperors’ beloved wife. We are not emperors, nor are we so emphatically concerned with permanence. But we still can, reflecting on death, imagine a building that would eulogize the colleagues who are not, any longer, between us…

This competition is organized in partnership with The Romanian Union of Architects. To register and to receive more information, please write to us at info@icarch.us. There is no registration fee. All works should be done on A0 formats, as many as you like. The deadline to receive your works will be the 23rd of October. On the 26th of October we will make a presentation at the Architectural Biennale in Bucharest with the best works received. Afterwards we will have an exhibition with all the works received at UAUIM (The University of Architecture and Urban Planning “Ion Mincu”). There will be three prizes: first prize (500 Euro), second prize (300 Euro), third prize (200 Euro).We will also publish all the works received on our website.

This is a call for entries for just the first phase of the competition, searching to develop a portfolio of ideas to be presented to the administration of the city. If the discussions will prove successful, and if the administration would be persuaded to implement one of the best projects, we will probably organize a second phase, where more detailed work will have to be submitted.

Go to the competition’s website