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Frequently Asked QuestionsThe following are questions we've already received about the competition. Have questions? Please email challenge@architectureforhumanity.org. We will respond to your question as soon as possible. From now until the February 14, 2008 submission date, you can register for the competition online on the Open Architecture Network. You must register with the Open Architecture Network in order to compete. You may enter as a team or as an individual. You may enter a design for one site, two sites or all three sites. Each design submitted for consideration must be accompanied by an entry fee. The entry fee is waived for entrants from developing countries. Entrants will have approximately five months (from the September 12, 2007 launch date to February 14, 2008 submission deadline) to develop their design solution. First and foremost you will receive the opportunity to work with the local partner to develop and construct your design - impacting the lives of thousands. You bet. If you do win all three, I think you will have bragging rights for at least the next ten years. Also any technology company that wanted to build a center anywhere in the world will have your name or firm at the top of their list. All information related to the three sites, community partners and criteria and guidelines are available online. No. You, or your team, are the creators of the design - you deserve all the rewards, and bragging rights. While a school may facilitate a studio or class for the challenge, if you are entering as an individual team then that team should be rightfully rewarded. In a previous competition we had students place second and faculty members place third. Well that's very generous of you. As you can guess we are certainly not going to stop you from doing such a noble thing. All entries to the competition will be shared on the Open Architecture Network under the terms of the Creative Commons Developing Nations license. Finalists and selected entries will be featured in traveling exhibitions, publications and events. Learn More The AMD Open Architecture Challenge is administered by Architecture for Humanity. Architecture for Humanity is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crisis and brings design services to communities in need. Over the past nine years the organization has hosted international competitions, held workshops, connected clients and pro-bono designers and implemented more than a hundred projects in a dozen countries. For more information on past competitions and other programs, please visit www.architectureforhumanity.org. Feel free to post it as a comment below and we will answer you on this page as soon as possible. Discuss this itemThu, 2008-02-28 09:37
Please do not submit/upload PDFs. The submission requirements state that the images should be .JPGs, .GIFs, .PNGs. If you upload PDFs, the images will not show up in the slideshow and we will not be able to see your entry. Thanks! Mon, 2008-02-25 13:45
For those of you looking to find your project ID number, navigate to your project page by logging in, clicking on "My OAN". On the right hand side under My Projects, click on your project link. In the address bar of your browser, note the four digit number at the end of the URL (i.e. http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/node/1717) That should be your project ID (1717). You'll have to remember it to include it as a file name prefix for the images you upload (1717_mainboard.jpg, 1717_plan.jpg, etc). Sat, 2008-02-02 02:16
1.where do i upload my files from?i have not seen any link which i can use to upload my fies. Wed, 2008-02-06 11:32
Hi there Great question. We now have a step-by-step guide for uploading files. Details for getting your entrant ID number are included in the guide as well. http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/system/files/OAN+Challenge+direct... If you have any more questions, please feel free to post or email challenge@architectureforhumanity.org. Sun, 2008-01-13 11:47
I am now seeing February 29th as the submission deadline. Can it be confirmed that the deadline has been moved from February 14th to February 29th. Thanks. Mon, 2007-12-24 19:23
Hi, You told us in space consideration, that there are some facilities existing on the land of the project like early childhood center, health clinic and a small gathering hall.. I need to know the following information: Other wise, I am wondering if you want us to put our design to fit the land area which you gave it to us (240 square meter maximum!!!!), without any consideration to the land dimension or position. Wed, 2008-01-02 13:55
1. To send a message go to the bottom of your My OAN page. There you find a link that says 'send a private message'. 2. It is up to you as the designer if you want to keep the old buildings or redesign the entire site. The approximate location of the buildings can be found on the Site Images page found at the bottom of your competition entry page. Or follow this link: http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/challenge/africa/site_images 3. The plan can be found on the site images page as well. 4. The site is mostly flat. I hope this helps! Mon, 2007-12-24 19:23
Hi, You told us in space consideration, that there are some facilities existing on the land of the project like early childhood center, health clinic and a small gathering hall.. I need to know the following information: Other wise, I am wondering if you want us to put our design to fit the land area which you gave it to us (240 square meter maximum!!!!), without any consideration to the land dimension or position. Thu, 2007-12-13 14:38
is the 2d site map for the africa challange avilable now or not? Wed, 2007-11-28 06:56
Has the Africa Challenge deadline officially been changed from Jan15, to FEB 14?? Can Some please confirm. Wed, 2007-11-28 06:47
hi again me. i'm here again to ask for my CHALLENGE ENTRY ID NUMBER. Please if someone knows how to get it reply me... Wed, 2008-01-16 12:30
For entry ID questions please email challenge@architectureforhumanity.org Mon, 2007-11-26 05:02
where can i found the "competition details menu?" i've paid with pay pall the entry fee. Please i need soon this information in order to partecipate. Thu, 2007-12-13 17:20
A "Competitions Detail" menu should appear on your competition entry page and on all other pages associated with the competition and this includes a link to additional site information including images. MOre will be posted to this page as the challenge continues. Hope this helps. Contact us if you have trouble locating it. Kate Stohr Mon, 2007-11-19 14:02
i can't find how to pay the entry fee...can someone help me please, or send me a link? Wed, 2008-01-16 12:01
Once you click on the image of the competition of your choice, you will see an "Enter Competition" button in the right-hand corner. This will take you to a PayPal page where you can pay your fee and then you will be routed back to your personal entry page. If you have any difficulties, please email challenge@architectureforhumanity.org. Mon, 2007-11-26 05:00
i've found the link to pay the fee "anter project" on the right side of the page after choosing the project you would like to design. The problem now is that i'm still waiting for a confirmation mail from the AMD with a login to download the files for the African project. Thu, 2007-11-08 12:34
Two comments: 2.- We want to know how many people have signed for the south american challenge. Wed, 2007-11-07 21:36
is thire another way to pay the entry fee . because i am from egypt and my country is not on the list and i cant enter the challenge Wed, 2007-12-05 16:51
Contact us at challenge@architectureforhumanity.org and let us know your situation and will sort it out for you. We'd love to have you enter. Kate Stohr Wed, 2007-11-07 04:40
Unfortunately, due to the lack of information available for the South American project i am going to have to withdraw from the competition. While i understand that there might be mitigating circumstances that have not allowed the OAN to provide further information it is nonetheless pointless to work on any architecture project without site information. Not only does it imply the architect having to do the work twice (once at design stage and completely redraw the project after site infomation is finally received) but it also guarantees an inferior project for the client. Architecture is not a 2D art that exists only on paper and good architecture requires at least basic site knowledge to provide a building/site plan that not only acknowledges it's surroundings but attempts to integrate and function within the existing context. While i believe that this competition has all the right intentions and is definately for a worthwhile cause the lack of necessary information and the lack of response from OAN with respect to any of the questions which have been posted on the FAQ section of this website lead me to believe that the rest of the project would be run in a similar fashion and while i would gladly give of my time and energies to help out such a worthy cause i can (and i would imagine most other architects) only give so much before it become too much of a financial and or time burden, meaning that my small office would not survive. I am trying to find a way to incorporate more socially oriented work into my practice and i was hoping that this competition would work out but i hope that the OAN learns from this and is able to correct it's mistakes and shortcomings so that future projects are able to be run more effectively. I believe that what OAN is doing is necessary and admirable and i wish them all the luck in the world. Thu, 2007-12-13 17:26
We do not provide exact site information for a number of reasons. In some cases, the site is not secured and is still being aquired and we don't want to jeopardize that transaction. The main reason, however, is that we in fact do want you to start afresh when you work with the client. Although the design entered into the competition serves as a strong guiding competition, there are always needs and issues that cannot be addressed via a competition. So, while we want to give you enough information to be creative, we don't want to lock in too early in the process in a design and prevent meaningful and construction dialogue with the client. Hope that gives you some understanding of why there is limited site info. Wed, 2007-10-10 16:23
Please ask questions about your specific community partner in the new Challenge FAQ pages: Thu, 2007-09-20 12:22
Yes, some jurors will review entries for all three challenges. There will be approximately 7 jury members per site that will review all of the entries. These will include the client and members of the community as well as leaders from an array of professions. The final jury will be announced in the coming weeks. 2009 Open Architecture ChallengeIs this the Classroom of the Future? 
2009 Open Architecture Challenge: Portable Classrooms OPEN ARCHITECTURE CHALLENGE |
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Anyone. There are no age or qualification requirements needed to enter. Participants from all over the world can compete. Architects, designers, students and others will be invited to register and develop designs based on the brief. However there is not required age or level of qualification to enter. In previous initiatives hosted by Architecture for Humanity entrants have been as young as 9 and as old as 90.
If a non-licensed team or entrant is the winning designer then we will partner you with a licensed professional in order to develop construction documents for your design. If you can draw, you can win.