What is a hotel? Competition , Indien

WHAT IS A HOTEL? - IDEAS COMPETITION

The aim of this competition is to question the very notion of a hotel and confront the stereotypes and conventions of this building typology. The competition encourages the participants to explore new possibilities and come up with innovative and unorthodox solutions that can enhance and change the boundaries of hotel architecture. This is an idea competition where the participants are free to create their own vision for a hotel that could be manifested in the form of architecture, art, system, poetry, product etc. The participants are free to re-interpret the idea of a ‚hotel‘ w.r.t to its program, function, architecture wherein the scale of intervention, functional program, specifications, dimensions and site are not given and they can be arranged by the participants to better suit their proposal.

By its dictionary definition, a hotel is ‚an establishment providing accommodation, meals, and other services for travellers and tourists.‘ This is a basic idea and perception of what a hotel is at the present. However, the competition encourages participants to debate the course of hospitality in the future or as we can put it, WHAT CAN A HOTEL BE?

There have been many innovations in the recent past that have widened the horizons of the hotel typology. Where the hotels are becoming more and more well equipped self sustaining units that can provide a wholesome experience to the users, there have been radical innovations like airbnb which have reduced hotels to mere commodities against their sharing models. They have changed the idea of a traditional hotel room and are even offering castles and houseboats as places for stay. These maverick innovations have pushed us to ask some serious questions on the essence of a hotel typology that can help the participants frame their narrative.

– A hotel is a place where you stay temporarily. If the stay is temporary, should the hotel be permanent? Can there be any such thing as a pop-up hotel or temporary pavilion-like hotels?
– Does a hotel need to have a designated building? Or can we propose any kind of habitable sleeping space as a ‚hotel‘? Can it be a ‚network of rooms‘ scattered around a place? Can it be reduced to the size of an object, like say a bed? Can it be a big, comfortable vehicle?
– The function of a hotel has become very elaborate with time. It is a whole unit in itself that can provide you a variety of experiences. So are they in a way hindering the experience of the context and the environment they are located in? Should a hotel be a bare minimum part of the contextual experience or a different experience in itself? How should a context influence the hotel?
– Can a hotel not be organised as a conventional rooms around a walking aisle. Should sleeping be a private activity? Should it be restricted to the standard version of a room? Can sleeping happen in a common space? Can there be different types of sleeping spaces at the disposal of users based on their resting needs during the day?
– Can the notion of duration of a stay in the hotel be further shortened. Can there be an exclusive hotel space for an afternoon siesta?
– Should a hotel have to be rented? Can people exchange sleeping spaces? Can barter be a vector to get access to a hotel space?

The competition encourages participants to develop original scenarios for their interpretation of a hotel. They are free to choose their context, program and scale of intervention. We are not searching for any profound technical detailing, but some original, creative and risky architectonic conceptualisations.

PRIZES
Prizes worth EUR 3000 are up for claim with the distribution as follows:

FIRST PRIZE: EUR 1500
SECOND PRIZE: EUR 1000
THIRD PRIZE: EUR 500

Apart from the winners, the jury will select ’10 Editors’ Choices’ who will be featured on our website and several other international magazines and websites across the world. The winners and Editors’ Choices will be provided with an honorary certificate.

REGISTRATION
The competition is open to everyone in the world (architects, students, engineers etc.). You can participate individually or in a team. A team can have a maximum of three members only.

Early registration: 60 EUR PER TEAM - 1st October 2018 - 31st December 2018
Standard Registration: 80 EUR PER TEAM - 1st January 2019 - 30th January 2019
Submission deadline: 31st January 2019
Results: 25th February 2019

*All deadlines are 11:59 PM- 00:00 IST (India)

GROUP DISCOUNT
As a part of our initiative to encourage more student participation, we offer great discounts if a minimum of 5 teams register from one particular architecture school/university.

Contact us at queries@switchcompetition.com to avail the offer.

REGULATIONS
– Switch reserves the right to modify the competition schedule if deemed necessary.
– Participant teams will be disqualified if any of the competition rules or submission requirements are not considered. Participation assumes acceptance of the regulations.
– Team code is the only means of identification of a team as it is an anonymous competition.
– The official language of the competition is English.
– The registration fee is non-refundable.
– Contacting the Jury is prohibited.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Please see the terms and conditions section on www.switchcompetition.com

DISCLAIMER
This is an open international competition hosted by Switch to generate progressive design ideas. There are no plans for any proposal to be built. The competition is organized for education purpose only.

OTHER DETAILS
Website: www.switchcompetition.com
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