Balouo Salo, through its Kaira Looro non-profit initiative and with the intention to promote gender equality in Africa, organizes the 2021 international architecture competition — Women’s House.
Kaira Looro is an international architecture competition for students and young architects, the objective of which is to launch the careers of new architectural talent, raise awareness in the international community regarding the topics of emergency, and support humanitarian projects.
Awards will be given to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, 2 honorable mentions, 2 special mentions, 20 finalists, and 20 Top 50. The winning project will receive a cash prize of €5,000 and an internship at Kengo Kuma, as well as a space measuring a maximum of 200 square meters, with only a ground floor, built with natural materials and using sustainable technologies in a process of self-construction with the benefiting community itself.
All awarded projects will receive a digital certificate and will be published in the official book of the “Kaira Looro 2021 – Women’s House” competition, presented and discussed at national and international institutions and authorities (Ministries, UN Women, Africa Union); transmitted to magazines and architecture portals; exhibited in events, fairs and seminars.
The objective of the competition is the creation of a “Women’s House” within a symbolic and environmentally friendly structure that is inspired by local traditions. A space in which associations and members of society will be able to meet and discuss the topics of equality and human rights, guaranteeing involvement and emancipation of the female community in favor of the region’s social, economic, and political development.
The aims of the “Women’s House” is to host meetings, seminars, labs, and any other activity that could be useful in reducing forms of discrimination, strengthening and promoting gender equality, creating awareness and knowledge, and stimulating involvement by all parts of society. The project will be self-constructed with the benefiting community and will therefore need to meet certain construction criteria. The structure will need to accommodate the following activities, which will correspond to certain areas that have been designed to be independent from or connected to one another, depending on the concept of the designer.
Architects, designers, engineers, and students from around the world may participate in the competition. It is possible to participate in the competition individually or in teams, with one requirement: the presence of individuals under 35 years of age on the team.
Partners of Kaira Looro 2021 include international institutions from the “Gender Equality” sector, among which: WGDD of Africa Union Commission, UN Women West and Central Africa e il Ministry of Women of the Republic of Senegal.
Kaira Looro 2021: Women’s House – Architecture Competition – Fees
The fee varies depending on the team’s registration period, as indicated below.
- Early registration (until 28 February 2021) – €60/Team
- Normal registration (between 1 March 2021 and 28 March 2021) – €90/Team
- Late registration (between 29 March 2021 and 30 April 2021) – €120/Team
