archasm invites architects, students, engineers, designers, artists and philosophers to send in their entries for our competition
•Idea based competition
•Single stage competition
•Team of maximum three members
•No professional qualification necessary for eligibility
•Teams can be interdisciplinary
Civil and social justice are the two most important fundamentals of human rights. The issues unequal civil rights and social injustice are not confined to a particular region and country but are a global phenomenon. These issues are a result of unequal resource distribution and unfair treatment of individuals with different traits i.e. race, culture, sexual orientation etc. Civil unrest broods violence and forces retaliation against the segregation and unfair laws and rules. The issues of civil and social injustice are more complex as they involve a wide category of issues such as a racial profiling, LGBT rights, equal opportunities (jobs and healthcare), ageism, criminal justice, freedom of speech, social security, immigration, internet privacy, bullying etc.
The importance of civil rights still remains a non-issue at the global level. The champions of civil rights and social justice are often portrayed as enemies of the state, to hide the government inefficiencies.
Liberty Enlightening the World (Statue of Liberty), is a colossal statue given to the United States by France in 1886, standing at Liberty Island, New York in the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbour. The statue is the symbol of civic freedom to the people of the world, since the civil war in USA. The broken shackles on the feet of the statue asks people to be free from oppression and resistance. Designed by Frederic Bartholdi, the statue was a modern day rendition of Roman goddess Libertas, who represented freedom from tyranny and oppression.
As the Statue of Liberty nears its 130th anniversary, the competition seeks to create a LIBERTY MUSEUM on the site of the legendary Statue of Liberty National Monument, located on Liberty Island in New York Harbour.
•The museum should strive to create a new-world ideal and symbol for the cause of civil rights and social justice. The museum should become an icon that would generate mass awareness on the aforementioned issues and provide an interpretive learning experience for the visitors on various aspects and events of the civil rights movement, becoming a 'virtual epicentre' for the resistance against tyranny.
•The architectural expression of the museum should be innovative, dynamic, accessible and contemporary. The aesthetic quality of the museum must be profound, powerful enough to teleport the visitor into another world. The spatiality and circulatory flow must be immersive and interesting, branching out beyond just organised space. It should not only provides the material built contexts within which museums exist, but also add meaning to the objects and interactions in the ‘spaces of encounter.' The museum should also respect the strong context around it, merging with the existing envelope, yet managing to create its own presence.
