FREE ENTRY / Architecture For Life After: Futurarc Prize 2024

Launched in 2008, FuturArc Prize is the first international Green building design competition in Asia open to professionals and students. It aims to trigger continuous change and creativity in the art and science of building design, showcasing innovative ideas and solutions for a sustainable future. With a highly respected international jury and tremendous industry support, the Prize enables Green building design ideas and practitioners to emerge on the regional stage. Winning entries from the competition are published in both the Journal’s annual Green edition and on its website. Year after year, the competition attracts an increasing number of participants from more than 15 countries.

FUTURARC PRIZE (FAP) 2024 asks entrants to propose architectural solutions for the continuation of life after either ONE or BOTH of the following scenarios:

A) Climate Destruction: Any significant/extreme climate-related disasters triggered by hydrometeorological (e.g., floods, storms, heat waves) or climatological (e.g., droughts, wildfires) causes.

Consider how the current year’s heatwaves have broken historic records around the world, with scientists postulating that it is Earth’s hottest-ever climate in at least 120,000 years. The reality of a global-scale climate disaster is not far off—in fact, large-scale ones have long affected vulnerable populations. How can architecture respond to this?

B) Endings: The end of lifespans—be it of humans; non-human species; ecosystems such as forests, coral reefs, drylands; etc., due to famine, disease, massive extraction, etc.

All living beings perish. Current methods of treating expired matter tend to be carbon-intensive or require much land, a resource that is scarce. At the urban level, facilities such as graveyards/crematoriums are still negatively perceived. Can the end of life, for humans or ecosystems, be handled in a way that brings hope and renewal for the future?