The Lightness of Future

In its third edition, the International Architectural Design Competition linked to the Taobuk literary festival proposes a reflection on the future of the city, inspired by Italo Calvino on the occasion of the centenary from his birth.

Among the five qualities needed in the next millennium, outlined in his ‘Lezioni Americane’ (‘Six Memos for the Next Millennium’), lightness is undoubtedly the most suitable to be transposed to architecture and to represent a planet-friendly future.

It is therefore on the basis of Calvino’s powerful architectural suggestions, so as on the concept of lightness so well expressed by him, that participants are asked to conceive a small but significant urban intervention in Taormina’s Piazza IX Aprile.

The project must be declined in a technological-digital sense and/or towards environmental sustainability.

The call asks to design a small architecture or device in the square, that can structure, alternatively:

• a spot for shadow
• a spot of light
• a spot of water
• a spot of knowledge

Students regularly enrolled at the Fine Arts Academies and at the Degree Courses in Architecture and Engineering of Italian and foreign Universities are admitted to participate.

Participation in the competition by working groups is permitted. The authorship of the project idea is recognised equally to all participants in the group.

Registration must be carried out according to the procedures on the website at this page.

Once registration is complete, participants will receive an e-mail containing the basic material for drafting the project proposal.

The ideas can be submitted, according to the designers’ choice, either in an A1 format table (pdf or jpg file, 300 dpi), accompanied by a 1,500-word report (A4 format, pdf), or in a 2-minute video (mp4 file) illustrating the project trough words and images.

Project proposals must be received in the formats indicated above. The files must be uploaded on the site page dedicated to the competition.

The project submission must be accompanied by the participants’ personal data (name, surname, place and date of birth, e-mail and telephone number, university of affiliation) together with a valid identity document (identity card or passport).

The deadline for delivery is May 31, 2023, 8 p.m. (GMT +1).

The committee will assess the projects by awarding a maximum score of 100 points distributed as follows:

• Concept and relationship with urban space (40pt)
• Sustainability and innovation (30pt)
• Communication and quality of representation (30 pt)

Giovanni Francesco Tuzzolino
Architect, President of the Jury, Taobuk

Antonella Ferrara
Taobuk President

Sara Banti
Editor-in-chief Abitare Magazine

Alfonso Femia
Architect

First, second and third place will be announced.

All proposals will be evaluated by the Taormina Municipality with a view to the city’s tourist revival, and some of them may be implemented.

Following the announcement of the competition results, the winning project will be announced on the social channels of Taobuk and on the website.

The first classified project will be published by Abitare magazine, media partner of the competition, which on the abitare.it website could also give visibility to a selection of the other projects.

29.03.2023 Launch of the competition

31.05.2023 Deadline for registration and submission of entries

09.06.2023 End of Jury’s work and announcement of competition results

19.06.2023 Award Ceremony in Taormina