Kaira Looro Competition Announces Results of its 2020 Edition

Written by Christele Harrouk
Published on May 26, 2020

The Kaira Looro Architecture Competition to support humanitarian projects has released its full list of winning projects for an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Sub-Saharan Africa. The contest, already in its 4^th edition, aims to raise awareness among the international community about emergencies in developing countries, and support humanitarian projects in Africa.

Tackling the theme of emergency, a subject of global interest, this year’s Kaira Looro competition challenged contestants to design an Operational Centre for the management of humanitarian emergencies in Sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, the original brief states that “the architecture is intended to house and facilitate the main activities which international organizations and local authorities must implement in order to solve emergencies and provide aid to affected communities”.

Organized by the Balouo Salo Non-Profit Organization, with the collaboration of Kengo Kuma & Associates, SBGA | Blengini Ghirardelli, MMA Design Studio, amongst others, the nonprofit competition has generated, in past editions, designs for a Sacred Architecture (2017), a Cultural Centre (2018) and a Peace Pavilion (2019).

The winners were chosen by an international jury made up of:

Kengo Kuma (Kengo Kuma & Associates, Japan)
Agostino Ghirardelli (SBGA | Blengini Ghirardelli, Italy)
Lígia Nunes (Architecture Sans Frontières International, Spain)
Mphethi Morojele (MMA Design Studio, South Africa)
Walter Baricchi (CNAPPC)
Philippa Nyakato Tumubweinee (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
Mantey Jectey-Nyarko (Kwame Nkrumah University, Ghana)

A scientific committee joins also the listed team, made up of Raoul Vecchio (Balouo Salo), Sebastiano D’Urso (University of Catania) and Moussa Soaune (Senegalese institution).

Read on to discover the winners of the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd prize, as well as the honorable and special mentions. For the full list of finalists, check here.

1ST PRIZE

DRABELAND691/ Aleksandra Wroble, Agnieszka Witaszek, Kamil Owczarek

Poland

Given the unpredictable conditions of emergencies that may threaten the Sub-Saharan region, the Foldable Emergency Shelter is conceived to embrace those challenges being a simple yet functional framework in which architectural identity brings humane values to affected communities. Aiming at providing immediate relief after the disaster, the key characteristics of the shelter are those of an easy assemble and disassemble process, a compact and flexible structure, and adaptability to rapidly changing conditions. […]

2ND PRIZE

SSEONONES729/ Clarisse Gono, Tsunxian Lee, Nathan Mehl, Katherine Huang

Philippines

Following an emergency situation such as a natural disaster or an epidemic in Africa, architecture plays a crucial role in facilitating humanitarian operations to reconstruct the community as well as respond to the needs of those affected. Therefore our aspiration for this project is to create an affordable and sustainable architectural solution for an Emergency Operation Centre. Systematized and Adaptable Fabrication for Emergency House endeavors to address these solutions by having the ability to adapt, both in terms of function and material, to various situations, climates, and topography within Africa. We cannot foresee every calamity but we certainly can always be prepared. […]

3RD PRIZE

ELEINIALY273/ Michele Baldini, Marco Barzanti

Italy

Nature and its elements may sometimes represent a danger, much more often they turn out to be in fact a source of salvation and reassurance, a clear example of this are the large trees that with their characteristic umbrella cover offer shelter and protection to those who take refuge under it. The evocative meaning of these concepts is the guide and the cornerstone of our design proposal, the intention is to create the individuality of all these factors that is able to dialogue at the same time with the requirements of the project and with the habits of the population. […]