GSEN BRIEF 2021-22

Re-wild [Habitat for urban wildlife]

Have you seen a sparrow? A parakeet on a tree? Bees and butterflies? Chased a squirrel? Heard crickets after rains? Dug ground to see the earthworms or centipedes? 

Today’s generations are growing up in an environment which is becoming a monoculture of us – humans, devoid of any remains of urban fauna which had co-existed for a long time with people even in urban settings. With the rapid advent of technology, the invisible radiations from telecommunication towers have visibly reduced the urban biodiversity. The modern form of high rises has taken away the nooks and niches that may have provided habitat for different species. The lack of planting diversity in urban neighbourhood parks hardly allows an urban kid to chase butterflies and squirrels. And the penchant for green lawn in modern housing societies is further deteriorating the soil condition and producing biologically poor environments. So, urbanisation and the development paradigm that is emerging represent a real threat to biodiversity. Many species benefit and proliferate from being in urban areas but there are many others that are not able to cope or have access to resources and have less of a chance of survival. 

The recent pandemic and the psychological impact of being forced to stay at home is creating the desire to reconnect with nature. Urban parks, which were closed for a long time, are seeing unprecedented footfalls as more and more people realise the importance of co-existence. With this in mind, can’t we bring back the urban wild tapping into the potential through underutilized, leftover or degraded sites? In high density areas with absence of ground space, can’t there be a rooftop urban wild network corridor? Can we think of architecture as a catalyst for housing bees, insects or bug farms in urban areas? Can design protect threatened or vulnerable species? Many cities across the world are expanding the concept of urban space and architecture, are studying and implementing housing requirements of urban fauna to recreate such forms.

Architecture or urban design can be a tangible response to society’s need for new ways of re-wilding and co-existing with biodiversity. 

Thus, the competition invites projects where you can imagine radical ideas for design of biodiversity or habitat spaces for one or more species. For this, there is no defined site, it can be a site of your choice: from degraded infrastructures, or retrofits on existing buildings or newly designed structures. 

Participating teams are encouraged to incorporate new technologies, materials, unique forms and aesthetics to create habitats that support urban fauna. We are interested in seeing how you are developing constructive relationships in your chosen site, for a particular species or different species and how the details in your intervention (architectural, spatial, or landscape based) are able to create home in the most creative way. 

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS 

JUDGEMENT CRITERIA 

PRIZE MONEY

Prize money of Two lakh Rupees is allotted to the trophy and it will be divided according to the number of the Citations and Special Mentions.

IMPORTANT DATES
Release of Brief: 22nd October 2021, Friday
Registration Deadline: 13th November 2021, Saturday, 1800 hrs IST
Queries Deadline: 27th November 2021, Saturday, 1800 hrs IST
Submission Deadline: 22nd January 2022, Saturday, 1800 hrs IST

GENERAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES 

Failing to comply with any of the guidelines may lead to disqualification at the discretion of the executive council. 

NASA INDIA LOGO GUIDELINES

Failing to comply with any of the guidelines may lead to disqualification at the discretion of the executive council.

CHECKLIST FOR SUBMISSION

  1. Online Submission
  2. Original Copy of Authentication Letter
  3. Original Copy of Declaration Letter
  4. Editable Format of the Sheets (Applicable if shortlisted)

OTHER INFORMATION 

Moderator and Authors

The Moderator for GSEN Trophy for 2020-21 is Mansi Shah (Adjunct Professor, Urban Design, CEPT University) and the brief is co-authored with Chandrani Chakrabarti (Program Coordinator, Landscape Architecture, CEPT University).

Any form of communication from the participants to the Moderator/Authors/Jurors will lead to disqualification. 

Annexure 1: References