Emergency Operations Center For the resolution of humanitarian emergencies in Africa 

 

Emergencies strike suddenly and without warning. They level cities to the ground and tear down buildings as though they were made of sand. In almost no time at all everything is destroyed and all that remains is the realisation that you have to get up and start all over again from scratch. In recent years the occurrence of deluges and flooding have increased dramatically. Analogously, conflicts and financial crises persist and lead to the development of serious humanitarian emergencies which put the lives of millions of people at risk. Resolving an emergency of any kind means re-establishing peace and security. The crisis must be dealt with in a timely and coordinated manner that includes reception, sensibility, and awareness. What the competion is looking for, therefore, is the design of a structure that will house an EOC (Emergency Operations Center) and that can help to facilitate the humanitarian operations of international organisations, allowing them to act with the utmost efficiency. The EOC structure is intended to be a model which supports the countless humanitarian initiatives that international organisations implement in an effort to create a better world. 

 

"Kaira Looro Competition" is an international architecture competition with the aim of raising awareness among the international community of architectures for emergencies in developing countries. The object of the 2020’s competition is to design an operational centre for the management of humanitarian emergencies in Sub-Saharan Africa. The structure is intended to house and facilitate all of the most important initiatives which international organisations and local authorities must implement in order to deal with emergencies and provide aid to affected communities. The spaces must be versatile and multifunctional, capable of adapting to specific needs and to the type and context of the emergency. The structure must be designed as a temporary or semi-permanent structure, eventually capable of being dismantled and reassembled if need be, in order to manage the logistics of the emergency as well as possible, whether on a small or large scale. 

 

The competition is organized by the Balouo Salo No Profit Organization, engaged in Africa to develops humanitarian projects, with the collaboration of structures of international importance. The participation is opened to architects, designers, engineers and students from all the world. It’s possible participate in a team or individually, with at least the presence of one member under 35 in the team. The proposals will be evaluated by a international jury made up by: Kengo Kengo Kuma (Kengo Kuma & Associates), Agostino Ghirardelli (SBGA), Lígia Nunes (Architecture Sans Frontières International), Mphethi Morojele (MMA Design Studio), Walter Baricchi (CNAPPC), Philippa Nyakato Tumubweinee (University of Cape Town), Mantey Jectey-Nyarko (Kwame Nkrumah University). 

 

There will be project awarded for the 1st , 2nd and 3rd place, honorable mentions, 5 mentions and 20 finalists. The winning project will receive a cash prize (€ 5000) and an internship at the prestigious Kengo Kuma & Associates in Tokyo, Japan. The second and third team will receive respectively cash prize and an internship at the SBGA in Milan, Italy, and Mopheti Morojele Design in Johannesburg, South Africa.  All the awarded projects will also be published in the official book. 

 

 

Kaira Looro Architecture Competition by Balouo Salo Association www.kairalooro.com  - www.balouosalo.com | info@kairalooro.com 

The objective of the competition is the creation of an architectural model 500 metres squares that can facilitate the interventions of international organisations during humanitarian emergencies in SubSaharan Africa, and to sensitise the international community to the role which architecture plays in development and in emergency resolution. 

 

The competition is organized also to support the humanitarian activities of the Balouo Salo non-profit organization, to which the entire proceeds will be donated. 

 

The competition will officially open on January 24, 2020 and will follow the following calendar: 

 

Registrations: Opening “early” registrations | 24/01/2020  Closing “early” registrations | 15/02/2020 (h 23.59 GMT)  Opening “normal” registrations | 16/02/2020 Closing “normal” registrations |7/03/2020 (h 23.59 GMT)  Opening “late” registrations | 8/03/2020  Closing “late” registrations | 31/03/2020 (h 23.59 GMT)  

 

Deadline for replying to FAQ  | 10/04/2019 Submission deadline |27/04/2020 (h 23.59 GMT)  Jury summoning| 3-9/05/2020 Results announcement | 16/05/2020 

 

For more information go to official website: www.kairalooro.com