Architecture Monument Award
Young Visionary Architecture Competition 2021 - Winners
Winner
Charbel Etel | Lebanon
Project Title: Freedom’s Anchor – The Beirut Blast Memorial
Project Typology: Circular Plaza, Cylindrical Memorial, Hidden Functions
Freedom's Anchor represents an architectural response to one of the most massive explosions of the 21st century. Its monumental aspect expands beyond the symbolic realm of architecture to create recreational, cultural and educational functions embedded within the concrete entity.
The design is inspired by the story of the Beirut Blast that took place on August 4th 2020 at 6:07 PM.
The 4 pillars of the project are: meet, remember, interact, heal. Therefore, the goal is to break the barrier of silence and create a sense of healing
because it is not about the shape, but the performance of the shape.
1st runner up
Ivy Geleen Bautista | Philippines
Mrugaja Karandikar | India
Siddhi Chowgule | India
Project Title: Four modes of Sousveillance
Project Typology: Monumental Architecture
Four modes of Sousveillance reconstructs alternative histories and narratives in post-traumatic contexts to propose counter-narratives of Burj Al Murr. Beirut's memories expose the contestation for territory, power, and political monopoly, raising questions about its effects on their “identity”. At the centre of this lies the Burj-al-Murr, a tower abandoned along with its memories, whose complexities of relationships have been deserted through time. They respond to the critique of the Burj being excessively closed off and offer tools for exposing the structure while engendering the possibility of human connection, triggering people's minds to rethink and regenerate their identities.
2nd runner up
Sneha R | India
Project Title: UDAAN – Our collective will to take flight
Project Typology: Monument Architecture
Designed to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence, to express the essence of a new India. The design has been conceptualized as a multi-layered structure which celebrates the spirit of entrepreneurship and enterprise, while also serving as a call for action for people to be inspired, to articulate their vision, to collaborate in critical dialogue, and to take action in order to progress towards a truly inclusive, balanced society. The structure employs the power of stories in driving change and, is designed as an experiential storyboard, which doubles up as trigger for passive contemplation as well as active dialogue.
Honorable Mention
Benedict Chew | Singapore
Project Title: HYDRO-EMPOWERING BINCHE’s ST-ALBERT TOWER MONUMENT
Project Typology: Hardcore Heritage-monument, reconversion
Designing evocative and resourceful spatio-cultural scenographies in and around an iconic relic from the fossil fuel era through the medium ‘water’ as the far most indispensable but merciless heritage from the perspective of climate change, landscape urbanism and behaviorology.
Why build a new monument building when there’s already one that the people know? Tapping into a rich heritage history that is deeply connected with the people will only encourage the usage of it once again, breathing new life into historic monuments of the coal mining era. This would spark a new form of monumental-heritage architecture.