[HONG KONG] Alternative Car Park Tower

Project ///

INTRODUCTION
The parking structure has captured the imagination of novelists, photographers and film-makers, an yet it remains peripheral to our culture - best understood as forbidding fictional setting or often as an imposing silent building that we encounter along the way.

Car parks are not very appreciate by users (too cold, too dark, too insecure etc.) and this competition hopes to offer a new take on this type of building that is far too quiet.

Hong Kong situated on China’s south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. And with a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Much of Hong Kong’s terrain is hilly to mountainous with steep slopes of which less than 25% of the territory’s landmass is developed and about 40% of the remaining land area is reserved as country parks and nature reserves.

AIM OF THIS COMPETITION
The aim of this International competition is to design an iconic and Alternative Car Park Tower in the heart of Hong Kong. The new tower will include several possibilities for events such as concerts, art exhibitions, fashion shows, ceremonies dinners, cinematic projections, etc.

The architecture of this new building should reflect contemporary design tendencies, standing out for its uniqueness as a car park design, while meshing in with the surrounding Hong Kong urban tissue. This competition hopes to achieve the following:
_Encourage and reward design excellence on a large scale, which integrates function, structure, details, etc.
_Research, respond to and highlight the unique aspects of designing an original car park incorporating an alternative program.
_To generate the discussion of ideas regarding car park security and all the phobias associated with it such as fear of dark, dirty, cold, etc.
_Encourage the employment of sustainable design in all aspects of the proposal.

COMPETITION STRUCTURE
This is a single stage Competition with the aim of identifing the most appropriate proposal, which best satisfies the general and specific objectives of the contest.

This is an open international competition hosted by [AC-CA] to generate progressive contemporary design ideas. There are no plans for the Alternative Car Park Tower to be built.

Schedule ///

_Competition Officially Announced - 15^th June 2011

_Start of Competition and Early Bird registration - 1^st July to 12^th August 2011

_Late Competition Registration - 13^th August to 15^th October 2011

_Dead line for Questions - 15^th September 2011

_Closing Date for Submissions - 15^th October 2011

_Jury Evaluation - 19^th October - 27^th October 2011

_Announcement of Winners and posted on www.ac-ca.org - 30^th October 2011

Fee ///

Early Bird Registration: US$ 80 from 1^st July to 12^th August 2011

Late Registration: US$ 120 from 13^th August to 15^th October 2011

Entrants may register by filling the form and submitting with payment by Debit/Credit card through a secure gateway.

Prizes ///

Winning participants will receive prizes totaling US$ 5,400 with the distribution as follows:

1^st PRIZE: US$ 3,000 (THREE THOUSAND US DOLLARS)

2^nd PRIZE: US$ 1,600 (ONE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED US DOLLARS)

3^rd PRIZE: US$ 800 (EIGHT HUNDRED US DOLLARS)

There will also be 7 honorable mentions

Publication:

1^st Prize, 2^nd Prize and 3^rd Prize will be published in following magazines as well as on the [AC-CA] website:

• About:Blank Architecture Magazine (Portugal)

• wettbewerbe-aktuell Magazine (Germany)

• Blueprint Magazine (UK)

• Concept Magazine (Korea)

• Australian Design Review Magazine (Australia)

• Monitor International Magazine (Germany, France, Russia)

• aROOTS Magazine (France)

• Earch.cz Architecture Magazine (Czech Republic)

More info HERE.