International Competitions are one of the EZBET Activities, that are offered to students and fresh graduates from different disciplines. All themes and topics of the competitions are based on real projects. Such activities are the real application of linking university students’ projects with the current needs in urban development for underprivileged areas. Moreover, it helps the students to understand their vital role in urban development programs after graduation and when they enter the workforce as architects. Students will develop the skills of selfreliance and team work, and will be able to make decisions affecting a real sustainable development project. The competition and the exhibition at the end of the project will also provide the opportunity for participating students to improve their academic knowledge through various seminars and discussion sessions.
The Goal of International Competitions
The goal designing such student competition is not only to develop architectural and urban designs ideas and concepts, but also to engage the students and young generations in the decision making of the implemented projects. It also facilitate connect them with real projects and real achievements. by offering and joining such activities, Students work in groups and can be more creative from one side but also realistic and think of details of implementations and strategies to integrate the community in the implementation process.
The Objective of the Competitions
Is to compile an array of the best applicable designs, which could be implemented in phases. The design concepts acknowledged and integrated the participation of the local inhabitants together with technical and professional support for the construction process.
The Type of Competition
The type of the competition are defined based on the topic and the concept of the competition. for example for the community center, it was mainly architecture and urban design students. However, multi-disciplinary teams and working groups are always a plus and wished.
The Jury Process
The Jury Committee Members was comprised of reputable professors, multi-disciplinary experts and architects from Egypt, Germany as well as other experts and professors from around the world. The jury committee included also representatives (among others) from international organizations in Egypt, who are concerned with the topics of the competition. The committee also include members and representatives from the community. based on the topic and the context of the competition, the active civil societies are invited to be part of the conjure committee. other representatives from governmental organizations is made based on the scale of the project.
COMMUNITY CENTER COMPETITION
About the Competition
Ezbet Community Center Competition started in 2011. The aim of this project was to build a prototype of a sustainable building unit for the informal areas of Ezbet Abu Qarn. Employing low-cost, environmentally efficient building techniques, and employing local materials and construction technologies would produce innovative and sustainable architecture. This building then aimed at providing the basic facilities for educational, medical and cultural activities in Ezbet Abu Qarn, and serve Ezbet’s inhabitants. This community center aimed to become the nucleus from which an entire Ezbet Center could develop and expand to include other needed facilities.
The participation of an Egyptian university, represented by Ain Shams University (ASU) Urban Planning and Design Department (UDUPD), together with a German university, represented by University of Stuttgart – Städtebau Institut (SI), aims to enrich the scientific and technical content of the competition and thereby achieve the best possible results. The goal of this competition was not only to choose a plan for this community center, but to design it with the cooperative spirit of young Egyptians and Germans. The resulting models were rich with innovations and architectural beauty.
The type of competition
The competition is designed for architecture and urban design students. The competition’s results were adapted and implemented in the second phase.
Competition Procedure
The competition consisted of two stages: — The first stage is a student competition, which was a call for ideas, and resulted in detailed concepts for the community centre. — The second stage is the design adaptation workshop in Cairo, which focused on refining and developing the best designs. Furthermore five teams from Germany and Egypt were chosen to work together in Cairo to adapt and integrate their ideas for the implementation and the construction of the project.
The Objective of the Competition
The objective of the competition was to compile an array of the best applicable designs, which could be implemented in phases. The design concepts acknowledged and integrated the participation of the local inhabitants together with technical and professional support for the construction process.
Theme of the Competition
The theme of the competition was sustainable architecture and urban design as an application at the Ezbet Community Centre and its surrounding area. The functions of the building and sustainable design concepts as adapted to the environment are the main themes of the competition.
Task Description
The utmost important tasks of the competition included both architecture and urban design for facility buildings.
Architectural Design
The main task is the architectural design of the community centre and its surrounding urban spaces. The centre tobe built over three attached areas near the youth and sport centre of Ezbet. Two plotareas (parcel-lands) in the site are directly attached to each other while the third is located on the other side of the street. The path in between is to be designed as an urban open space for the community centre. The competitors were required to achieve and develop comprehensive architectural concepts for the community centre areas and urban design and landscape designs of the pedestrian axes which approach the centre.
Urban Design and Street Furniture
The second task was to develop applicable concepts and designs for the urban street furniture for the two defined pedestrian axes from the Salah Salem Street to the Ezbet district. The relationship between the new developed community centre and its urban space should be connected and linked with the different land uses around the plot area. Examples, among others, include the interactive relationships between the community centre and the youth and sport centre in the interlinked area. Thus, these two integrated tasks should result in a new prototype for sustainable facility buildings and urban context in informal areas.