The International Union of Architects (UIA) has announced the results of the Great Green Wall (GGW)

23 Dec 22

The International Union of Architects (UIA) has announced the results of the Great Green Wall (GGW) single stage student ideas competition. This is the official student competition of the 29th UIA World Congress of Architects that will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark on 2-6 July 2023.

The jury met in Copenhagen on 6-8 December 2022 to evaluate over 150 entries from 49 countries. The members were impressed with the overall quality of the entries and concurred about a series of collective observations, including the awareness of climate change as well as the innovative approaches demonstrated in every scale.

The first prize was awarded to Altynai Isaeva from the Kyrgyz State University of Construction and Architecture (KSUCTA), Kyrgyzstan for the project “Sustainable housing for Africa” in Sauga, Burkina Faso. The jury lauded the entry for being “a very mature and correct proposal, able to redeploy typological memory and conceptual clarity through a simple configuration of a solid base. It is easy to imagine that this project could grow into a village incrementally, when families expand, following the architectural language of the initial house. The beautiful presentation was also highlighted by the Jury, as was the meticulous attention to detail.

About the competition

The objective of the competition was to spotlight innovative design ideas for providing simplified affordable housing within the 8000 km long, 16 km wide living region stretching across the Sahel-Savanah desert region from Dakar to Djibouti known as the Great Green Wall (GGW).

This competition was initiated by the UIA’s Region V to engage the global community of architecture students in the effort to harness the benefits of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to architecture in the service of the GGW. In conjunction with the long-term aims of the Initiative, architecture students are encouraged to harness the benefits of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to respond to the realities of climate change by creating affordable, resilient dwellings and sustainable, rural livability while sustainably rejuvenating the cultural and historical landscape.

This competition, conducted according to the UNESCO Standard Regulations for International Competitions and the UIA best practice recommendations (See: Competition Guide for Design Competitions in Architecture and Related fields), is approved by the UIA.

THEME AND OBJECTIVES

The task was a design proposal for a Sustainable Dwelling for up to 25 people. This was to be conceptually arranged in a combination of about 5 dwellings in the sense of a cluster of urbanisation, while one dwelling was presented in more detail. This enlargement would include the definition of community/public space as context for the dwelling proposal. Communal dwelling should enhance the ongoing development of the greenerypercentage around the selected site.

A participatory approach in design was recommended to review the courtyard system/cultural synthesis of the many tribes along the Sahel-Savanahshelterbelt. Further study of the Cultures along the region would help propose architectural solutions for the civilisation on the GGW belt.

The competition encouraged participants to view the environment as a design resource for innovation, through the use of sustainable materials and novel design approaches for change investigations. Participants were expected to trigger many opportunities and explore solution-driven approaches to indigenous architectural challenges. Learning opportunities would include design that respond to realities of climate change, climate actions, peculiar contexts in urbanism and the making of culture-sensitive productive rural landscapes while taking into account the need for affordable shelter, resilient dwelling, and sustainable livability in twenty -first-century rurality