The long-term goal of the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) is to design and construct a series of land/environmental art installations that uniquely combine aesthetic intrigue and artistic concept with clean energy generation.
The LAGI viewing platforms will be tourist destinations and educational facilities, drawing people from around the world to experience the beauty of the collaborative artworks. At the same time, the art itself will continuously distribute clean energy into the electrical grid, with the sculptures having the potential to provide power to thousands of homes in the United Arab Emirates.
The winning proposal will be the first in line to be constructed. Once completed, it will be the first of its kind in the world.
Objective
The LAGI call is to design a pragmatic art installation for one of three pre-selected sites that fulfills the following criteria:
- Is a three dimensional form that has the ability to stimulate and challenge the mind of the viewer on a contemplative level.
- Embodies a sense of beauty and concept in its built form that is derived from the artistic sensitivities of the design team and from an acute attention to details.
- Captures energy from nature, converts it into electricity, and has the ability to store, and/or transform and transmit electrical power to a power grid connection point to be supplied by others.
- Does not create secondary emissions other than electricity and does not pollute its surroundings.
- Is safe to people who would view it. Consideration must be made for viewing platforms and boundaries between public and restricted areas.
- Is pragmatic and constructible within reason and employs technology that can be scalable and tested. There is no limit on the type of technology or the proprietary nature of the technology. The Land Art Generator Initiative will endeavor to reach contractual agreements with any company and/or patent holder that is specified as a part of a successful design entry. It is recommended that the design team make an effort to engage such entities in preliminary dialogue as a part of their own research and development of the design entry.
- Does not negatively impact the natural surroundings. Each entry should provide an environmental impact assessment in order to determine the effects of the project on the ecosystem into which the installation is to be constructed. Mention should be given to a mitigation strategy that will address any foreseeable issues.
- Uses all or any portion of the site. There is no requirement or restriction on size other than those of the plot limits themselves and the environmental footprint of the design.
The designs should be considered first and foremost as art installations. The consideration for energy generation should come in a very close second. What this means is that the installations are art first, power plants second. There may need to be sacrifices to be made in terms of efficiency of energy generation in order that the design function primarily on a conceptual and aesthetic level. The objective is not to design and engineer a device that provides the cheapest KWh or the most energy per square meter of land.
Judging criteria:
- Adherence to the brief.
- The integration of the work into the surrounding environment and landscape.
- The sensitivity of the work to the environment and local ecosystems.
- The estimated amount of clean energy that can be produced by the work.
- The way in which the work addresses the public.
- The embedded energy required to construct the work.
- The originality and relevance of the concept.
Prizes
The Prize Award Money is a $15,000 cash payment to the winning designer and is not related to costs of construction of the work. The amount is subject to change upward.
Rules
- Teams may submit one entry to the competition. Individuals may not be on more than one team.
- The entry must not be in use in any other context and it must not have been previously published or exhibited anywhere in the world.
- The design must be kept confidential until the results of the competition are published.
- Designs that have already been made public or are found to plagiarize any existing design, may harm public safety or social morality or which are found to infringe the intellectual property right of others will be disqualified.
- If any award winning submissions are found to fall under any of these categories later, the award will be cancelled and the prize money withdrawn.
- Persons affiliated with the Land Art Generator Initiative, Jurors, Sponsors, or the associates or family members of the aforementioned persons are ineligible to submit design entries.
- There are no restrictions on team size and/or makeup. It is recommended that the team be comprised of interdisciplinary members so as to arrive at the most well conceived result. An ideal team would consist of the artist, an architect, an electrical engineer and a scientist.
- The submitted design remains the property of the participant. Participant shall be credited either by collective team name or by individual name at their discretion in all publications and exhibits.
- By submitting a design, the participant agrees to provide Land Art Generator Initiative with the right of first refusal to the exclusive use of the design for the purpose of exhibition, publishing, and promotion.
How to enter?
Register to the official website, login and upload your submissions.
Make sure you follow these guidelines below:
- Exactly four (4) A1 size layout pages (PDF only)
- One (1) 1,500-maximum-word written description (DOC only).
- A1 size is based on the international ISO 216 standard (594mm × 841mm).
- Layouts must all be landscape in orientation (for consistency in publications and exhibits).
- Each layout page is to be uploaded separately.
- Each layout page may not exceed 6MB file size.
- Each layout page must have your unique 6-character code visible somewhere on the sheet.
- Language must be English.
