The 'Hourglass' is a warning sign, called for better design
Time’s running out. Hourglass - Result story
Storyline
After 200-300,000 years of our presence on the planet, we have evolved and raced ahead of other species in no time. In an inevitable evolution to survive and thrive, humans (homo sapiens) have come to the age of advanced technology and lifestyle. In this trail of progress, we have caused the past century’s warming of the earth, by releasing gases that trap heat energy in the atmosphere.
These gases, known as greenhouse gases are now at their highest levels than they have been in the past 800,000 years. These greenhouse gases cause a rise in the Earth’s overall temperature causing “Global Warming”.
Since the damage has been done chronically the initiative to undo the damage must also be at the same pace and efficiency, so how do we create a sense of awareness and prepare for a future that does not diminish soon.
Can a physically built memoir of the earth help create a sense of awakening?
Global warming, pollution, and the subsequent damage to the environment that occurs were broadly identified in the 19TH Century when the temperatures were rising dramatically. Yet, the measures to control the same has not been sufficient enough to reduce their content in the atmosphere.
Challenge
People are often unaware of the role their actions play on a daily basis that affects the environment directly or indirectly. Hence, actions that can actually make a difference are still unidentified. The long-lasting impact of environmental threats is also not experienced by all equally. Therefore the responsibility of an individual is thus hidden due to a lack of knowledge and unawareness.
The brief asked participants to make an attempt to create a worldwide acknowledgement of the planet’s deterioration the participants must envision a memorial for the Earth.
This memorial was supposed to be more than a monument. It could be a dynamic reminder of great changes taking place across the world and at the same time be an object for the future of human civilization.
The Challenge here was to create a worldwide acknowledgement of the planet deterioration, the participants envisioned a memorial for the earth, which would be more than for a monument.
The jury for the competition consisted of esteemed designers, professionals and academicians from around the world. The Lead Jurors for the competitions were as follows:
Tomaso Boano, Founder, Boano Prišmontas, United Kingdom
Jonas Prismontas, Director, Boano Prišmontas, United Kingdom
Kazumasa Takada, Co-founder, Architect, PAN-PROJECTS, DENMARK
Juan Pablo Aschner, Principal Architect, Juan Pablo Aschner, Colombia
Yuriko Yagi, Co-founder, Architect, PAN-PROJECTS, Denmark
Javier Gonzalez, Principle, Balmori Associates, United States
Some of the Best of competition projects are:
Winning Project: Global Warming
By: Xiaolong Xue & Ziyu Zhao
Description: We use the principle that carbon dioxide can react with lime water to form stalactites, and present global warming with dynamic chemical reactions.
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Runner - Up: The Scar
By: Jiajie Wang
Description: I have left a scar-like symbol on the desert, indicating the scar we made to our mother nature and ourselves.
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Honorable Mention: Nile plastics and earth pavilion
By: Havar Cemal
Description: The proposal is a structure that encourages transcending and reflecting. Emphasising on parameters such as time, place and identity. Encouraging to build in an ecological way by the use of local natural material but also by focusing on plastic waste and solutions of how we can clean up our rivers and oceans.
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Honorable Mention: Hourglass
By: Agata Holdenmajer
Description: Nowadays, our society to lost the ability to stop. My memorial design works as a reminder and a signpost in the spatial and historical time without any digital distractions. The main goal was to create a permanent structure that displays a piece of land as a work of art. My proposal for a monument is free of interests or specific function. Placing earth in the center and allowing visitors to take a break and admire what was given to them and what is often underestimated and forgotten.
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People Choice: The Fortune of Human Beings
By: Juntong Hu & Q Shao
Description: The garbage pollution and the resultant global warming is the more and more serious environmental issue to impact the world and, of course, human beings. The design tries to alert the seriousness by a mindful design language of a dynamic display strategy. For the eternal property of the memorial construction, a special shape which is of endless repeating a motif has been used as the original point of the design.
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Editor’s Choice: THE FINAL MEMORIAL
By: William Radburn-Todd
Description: The bisected spherical structure conveys the context clearly: the earth, the planet we have inhabited for millions of years - is becoming less habitable for everything that lives on it. We are entering the final phase of our last chance.
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Editor’s Choice: The spiral of the beginning and the end.
By: Timofey Tikhonov & Irina Zhemaitis
Description: This project represents the concept of the Global Warming Monument in El Giza, Egypt. It is no coincidence that the spiral shape was chosen as the basis of the project, which in Ancient Egypt symbolized the cycle of emergence and disappearance, birth and death.
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Editor’s Choice: Timeless Variation
By: Nathan Barré, Louise Aimonetto & Gregoire Boinay
Description: Between ephemeral architecture and eternal homage, we do not know what will continue to exist in this memorial. By traversing this memorial, the visitor becomes spectator of the degradation of humans interventions, the witness of the Earth’s capacity to regain its rights. Inscriptions in stone aim to raise awareness climate change hazard around the world.
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Editor’s Choice: Pandora
By: Михаил Степучев
Description: Water from melting glaciers raises the level of the world's oceans. Water presses from below. Water tears the surface of the earth and throws its parts up, just as the boards of the pier come off and take off under the onslaught of waves during a storm. Pandora's box is open. The “boards” freeze in an upright position, leaving a void that fills with water.
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Editor’s Choice: Memory Mountain of Iceberg
By: Danhua Liang, Weikun Dai & Shida Wang
Description: In the desert of Egypt, you can see a white pyramid. There seems to be an iceberg inside, but you can't see the iceberg. All you see is a pool of water on the ground and the sound of dripping water echoing in the exhibition space.In the middle of the exhibition hall, there is a huge iceberg corpse.
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Editor’s Choice: SOLAR STEAM
By: Ge Zhou & Sean Kim
Description: The Solar Steam, a memorial, is a critical reflection on human activities. It attempts to expand the definition of climate change, tries to redefine the climatic changes, and puts a spotlight on leisure activities, such as sauna, and their impact on global climate conditions.
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Discover the design brief here: https://uni.xyz/competitions/hourglass/info/about
Discover the full results here: https://uni.xyz/competitions/hourglass/entries
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