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Nepal

Disasters are always associated with destruction and grief. The April 2015 earthquake was not different for Nepal; it caused havoc in lives of millions of Nepalese people. It disrupted their lives, damaged their homes, many lost their lives and livelihoods. But it is also said that disasters also bring opportunities to make things better and improve lives. The story of Kalpana is such testimony that how the extremely poor and vulnerable families got support from everyone and could build her own house even in crisis.

Austria

Mother Arkah A Filmic Allegory on the Rise and Fall of Ideologies ‘Mother Arkah’ is an 18-minute animated short film exploring a speculative climate-apocalypse scenario and the hypothesis of the posthumanist ideology ‘Bio-Technoism’. The project investigates concepts on prohibiting the ‘religion of growth’, future power structures shaped within the ‘Posthuman Convergence’, AI-driven symbiogenetic evolution and autopoietic architectures. The film serves as an allegory on mechanisms behind political belief systems, while posing questions about how deep the ‘urge for innovation’ is rooted within us humans and therefore how much humanness our planet can take. The virtual film production is executed in Unreal Engine 5. Media: Film, Sculpture, Publication — Info: for this competition I'm submitting the 1-Minute version to the whole film.

Albania

The film aims to portrait The New Bazaar: a modern public space; a lively scene with many happenings; inclusive for the people; a space that makes no seggregation between those who visit. But as you look at it, the design itself has no link with the Old Bazaar: the booming point of the whole city of Tirana, that has existed for over 300 years, and was demolished in 1959. As you walk around, the glass structure reflects the old mosque, an element that recalls the fact that before the new buildings composed this space, less than a hundred years ago, other buildings, another bazaar lived there, and they shaped the collective memory of the habitants. But there is no other sign. No translation of the history into the design itself. The film tends to implicate the fact that the new bazaar as a public space has proven to be successful in terms of inclusivity for the people. But it is just as important for the design to represent the history of the old bazaar, which people cared about and remember with nostalgia, but risks to be just a vague memory, and for which new generations 100 years from now will have no idea about.

United Kingdom

Ilford is a diverse and growing neighbourhood of London. Access to green and public spaces in the heart of Ilford however, is greatly compromised. According to the English Indices of Multiple Deprivation, it features amongst the 10% most deprived areas for access to high quality local living environment. Wilderness Street is a temporary living urban landscape which was installed in Oakfield Road in Ilford in 2022, launching the town centre as a cultural destination at London's north-eastern fringe. Before large-scale urbanisation started from the C19, the Ilford, Barkingside and Hainault area was characterised by forests, fields and meadows. Our design strategy seeks to temporarily revive these lost landscapes. We have selected Uphall Camp Beacon, the former Royal Forest of Hainault and the Essex Grazing Marshes as blueprints for plant species and landscape character to be replicated by our proposal for Oakfield Road. The project advocates for the preservation of ancient natural landscapes and their role in maintaining biodiversity and supporting well-being. The legacy strategy will see all planting including trees and shrubs given away to community organisations and Ilford residents at the end of the project. Enticing local people to adopt the plants will see elements of the ancient Essex landscape re-instated in public places in Ilford, in peoples gardens, front gardens, planters and allotments.

Azerbaijan

Due to public shaming, lack of awareness and education, and exclusive spaces, disabled communities struggle the most and turn into home prisoners at some point. The integration of disabled people into society is very limited in Azerbaijan and the film highlights a deaf person’s perspective on daily life. Due to little to no existing inclusive infrastructure in Baku, most disabled people find it hard to go out of their houses without being dependent on a helper. Also, those who feel comfortable going out are always subjected as someone “in need” and get many offers from the public for help which the person did not even ask for in the first place. Many also assume that people with disabilities are in need of money and often offer them some financial help as well, which leaves many in an uncomfortable situation. The public authorities who are responsible for the city design and institutions working with people with disabilities are usually very irresponsive and the needs of the community have been unfortunately neglected for years with many empty promises to provide necessary design and tools around the neighborhoods to make life easier for them.

Russia

A film about the village of Matreshkino. This film shows the project of a modern village for people with different financial capabilities to live in. To preserve the barren forest, all the buildings were erected around it, forming the shape of a matryoshka doll. And to maintain the environmental friendliness of the city, an equestrian complex was designed, on whose horses you can arrange walks in the forest part of the village.