Monsoon City – Placemaking Competition | Living Monsoon | Monsoon Architecture Festival & Award

Monsoon City – Placemaking Competition

The Monsoon Architecture Awards conceived as part of the Living Monsoon series, by the Indian Institute of Architects, Cochin Centre, now proposes the Monsoon City - Placemaking Competition as a new and separate award category. IIA Cochin Centre invites architects practising in Monsoon Climatic zones around the globe to reimagine placemaking ideas that are resilient and sensitive to the Climate, Environment and Society of these zones. The competition seeks to harness design ideas drawn from exemplary architectural and urbanism practices and as envisioned for the area specified below. An Eminent Jury of international repute will evaluate the entry proposals. Awards will be presented at the Monsoon Architecture Festival on 28th /29th March 2025.

Context

The chosen area, measuring approximately 750 x 500m, is located in Kaloor (Kochi, India). It falls within the proposed Transit Oriented Development Zone and partly under flood Risk Zones of the Master Plan for Kochi Municipal Corporation Area - 2040. A railway station and railway line defines its western boundary. A metro corridor with two metro stations and a bus terminal define its southern edge. The Perandoor Canal which runs through it is proposed for inland canal navigation with a canal boat terminal for commuters. The area is characterised by parcels of under-utilised public and private sector land. The master plan identifies a few site specific proposals for some of these sites - these include railway station redevelopment, market redevelopment, an exhibition cum commercial centre, a waste reuse facility, etc.

Competition Scope

Participants may choose an area within the dashed red line area of the Monsoon City TOD Zone Kaloor illustrated plan (attached below) and develop a placemaking proposal. The proposal should include, as a minimum, a mixed use building with a land area of 2500 sqm/ 0.25 Hectares and a public space of 300 sqm. The proposal should incorporate design references to an architectural project completed by the respective Architect in the Monsoon climatic zone in the last 10 years.

Work Files for Participants

For all registered competitors the following materials will be available via direct-download.

Site area (in .dwg file format) of the competition site.

Sketch Up model (in .skp file format) of the area.

A2 MC Sheet Template

Monsoon City TOD Zone Kaloor

Aerial videos of the area.

KML file showing location of the specified area.

Promotional video showing existing context and scope

Eligibility Criteria

Participating Architects shall be members of the recognized Council or Association or Institute or Society of Architects in their country of practice.

Project(s) referred to by the respective Architect should be located in the Tropical Monsoon or Tropical Rainforest regions of the world (ref: Koppen Geiger Climate Classification) and should have been completed in the 1 April 2015 - present period.

Winner(s) will be invited to present their winning entry at the Monsoon Architecture Festival scheduled for 28th/29th March 2025 at Kochi (Kerala, India). Cash awards for winner(s) are subject to in person participation at the Monsoon Architecture Festival 2025.

Key Dates

Registration and Submission: Open
Submission Deadline: January 2025
Jury Evaluation: January 2025
Announcement of Finalists: February 2025
Final Presentation and Award Ceremony: 28/29 March 2025

Material Copyright Declaration

All Materials submitted shall become the property of IIA COCHIN CENTER and may be displayed or published at the discretion of IIA COCHIN CENTER. (However use of such material will be only for non-commercial purposes and with due credit to the Architect). Therefore Architects making entry submissions should have the copyright to the material they submit.