A traditional family in central Portugal, the Verde family have been producing homemade olive oil for many years. They have an intention to add a guest house to their property, complete with a communal olive oil tasting room in which guests can sample and enjoy their traditional oils.
Combine utilitarianism and local regional building materials to create a comfortable guest house that fits with the beautiful natural surroundings.
The Competition
Participants are asked to design a guest house centered around a multipurpose space that functions as an olive oil tasting room. To be located on the Verde family property, the guest house would need to accommodate a single, large family or group, consisting of 8 people in 4 bedrooms.
The Verde family would like regional materials to be used in the construction of the guest house to keep environmental costs down and to match the natural settings. This includes various types of wood from autochthonous trees – such as cork, olive trees, pine or oak – and red clay that is traditionally used for bricks or terra cotta roofs.
The olive oil tasting room will be the main gathering space, and so should be able to accommodate visitors around a table where they can experience and celebrate the exceptional craft of the Verde family’s homemade olive oil. For this space, there should be no individual seating, only benches in order to create a more communal experience. There could even be a gathering point like a fireplace included to create a greater sense of communion.
A separate space for meditation or prayer should also be included in submitted designs, with the best location to be decided by participants.
One of the main concerns of the design will be keeping the guest house and tasting room cool, especially during the harsh summer months. This is also important when designing space for storage of the olive oil barrels, and as such the family would like to include a cellar for the barrels, wine and other traditional gastronomical products.
The cellar should be considered as part of the guest experience, and low light solutions are preferred. External considerations for access also need to be considered. The site must be accessible by bikes and for car drop-off, but no car parking is required.
Building Programme
- Multipurpose space/livingroom/olive oil tasting room (capacity to host up to 10 guests)
- 2x en-suite bedrooms (double bed)
- 2x en-suite bedrooms (twin bed)
- Meditation/prayer space
- Cellar (50 m²)
- Kitchen (used by guests)
- Dining room
- Storage spaces (for guests and staff)
- Landscape, terrace, small garden etc (optional)
Prizes
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Monetary awards
3 winning proposals, 3 special award recipients and 6 honourable mentions will be selected. Buildner will award a total of 10,000 € in prize money to competition winners.
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Construction
As winning designs will be put forward for consideration for construction, the Verde family are asking participants to offer solutions that will best reflect the spirit of utilitarianism, while also being a prolific example of green building practices and sustainable design.
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Publicity campaign
“Seen by” one million, “Seen by” 800 000 more, Interview, Movie, Media partners
Important Dates
Preliminary Registration Deadlines
Early Bird Registration: November 17 – December 8
Advance Registration: December 9 – January 27
Last Minute Registration: January 26 – April 21
It is still possible to participate in this competition after the preliminary deadlines, however, a higher late registration fee will be charged.
Closing date for submission: June 2, 2023 (11:59 p.m. London Time)
Announcement of the winners: July 7, 2023
Eligibility
The competition is open to all. No professional qualifications are required. Design proposals can be developed individually or by teams (4 team members maximum).
People who have direct personal or professional relationships with jury panel members or organisers may not participate in this competition.
Presentation Deliverables Set
- Urban plan
- Street elevations
- Primary sections
- Primary floor plans
- Details
- Envelope
- Key materials
- Site or landscape
- Axonometrics providing information on building systems or illustrating key architectural concepts
- Perspectives
- Primary interior spaces
- Primary site locations
- Diagrams
- Circulation
- Public versus private space
- Landscaping
- Transportation
- Cityscapes/urban relationships
Please note the Presentation Deliverables Set listed above is a suggestion only. Participants can choose to use the entire list, a selection from it, or propose a completely different set that would explain their design in the most efficient manner.
Recommended submission content
- Proposed plans and sections, multiple internal and external perspectives demonstrating the spatial quality of the guest house, as well as operational needs and accessibility requirements.
- Demonstration of project construction, materiality, functions, management and maintenance; approach to environment, energy and sustainability, indoor environment and logistics.
- Visualizations; artist’s impressions to illustrate how their proposal fits in with the quality, value, and significance of historical and modern Portugal.
Visit the official website for full competition terms & conditions.
