Section ENVIRONMENT
TOPIC

ALUMIL

Architectural Competition Arxellence

The competition was designed in the context of the need to create a municipal nursery unit and multipurpose room in the Municipality of Dionysos, in order to promote best practices in architectural design and sustainable construction, using innovative Alumil products. Sustainable construction is one of the most important aspects of sustainable development and can contribute save resources and energy.

The competition was addressed to qualified architects, either individually or in the form of a company, or groups of physical or legal persons, who have the right to practice. As it was mentioned in the announcement of the competition, those who were related to the competition's organization and those who were involved in the formulation or preparation of its program, they do not have the right to participate directly or indirectly.

The competition lasted about 4 months: It started on January 10, 2018 and the announcement of the results was on May 31, 2018.

As the competition was specific, meaning it was about the architectural proposal of a building, it had to be examined in real environmental conditions. Thus, in consultation with the Municipality of Dionysos, a specific municipal plot was proposed, which is located in Agios Stefanos, with a total area of ​​497.92 square meters. The square meters (net area) that related to specific areas that had to be included in the building (eg reception, infant areas, infant rooms, ancillary services) and the building conditions were listed in the competition's announcement. The announcement also detailed the schedule of the competition.


The criteria for evaluating the proposals by the jury were the following:

- The architectural quality of the proposal and the functionality of the building

- The social dimension of design and the integration of sustainable design principles

- The spirit of innovation, the integration of cutting-edge technologies and the use of Alumil's new generation architectural systems

A unique feature of the competition was that in case the Municipality of Dionysos considered that there are the possibilities and it wants the implementation of the project, it could not use the proposal of the first prize, if it did not entrust the elaboration of the study to the team that received the first prize. 

Each participant identified the submitted proposal with its own indicative identification code consisting of a five-digit number and had to write the code on each submitted item. Also, each contestant had to submit a closed, opaque and sealed envelope.

In addition, the design of a nursery study was not randomly chosen, as it is the first public building in which people are invited to live and socialize. Also, the role of such a building as a model of green building is just as important since the implementation of sustainable design is an example for society. There are discussions about the implementation of the study and the realization of the project.

 

The competition was conducted under the supervision of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture (EIA) and Alumil. EIA is an independent cultural institution, the survival of which is based solely on membership fees and sponsorships.

Regarding the role of E.IA in the competition, it undertook:

- The composition of the jury

- The process of registration of the bidders / receipt of the works / concession of its offices for the convenience of the jury

- Communication with the contestants

- The organization of the exhibition for the presentation of the results of the competition, as well as the curation of the catalogue that accompanied it

-The fact that the competition was held in collaboration with the Hellenic Institute of Architecture gave prestige to the event and further strengthened the position of Alumil as a market leader and pioneer. Alumil undertook the financing of the competition, ie the costs of the prizes, the exhibition's organization for the presentation of the competition's results, as well as the accompanying catalogue.

The Municipality of Dionysos indicated the specific municipal plot as a possible location of the nursery school and the multipurpose room.


The Marketing department undertook the setting up and promotion of the competition.

The social media of the company was utilized, a video was created for the announcement of the competition (internet and social media) and newsletters, which were sent to all the architects that the company has in its database in Greece and Cyprus, through which we encouraged their participation. The competition jury was hired at the cost of Alumil. The judges did not know the name of the contestants. The committee met 10 days after the deadline for submission of studies and published the results in 30 days.
 


The competition was held in Greece, with the possibility of participation from Cyprus.
 

This competition had the following benefits:

1) Upgrading the area of ​​the Municipality of Dionysos with the possible reconstruction of a sustainable building

2) Cash benefit in award-winning studies: € 5,000 in the first prize, € 4,000 in the second, € 3,000 in the third and 2 commendations with a prize of € 1,000 each

3) In case of implementation of the project, the design is obligatorily assigned to the award-winning architect, so his/her name will be associated with the project

4) In case of implementation of the project, the award-winning architect will be displayed in the wider area and this distinction may result in future collaborations and projects' assignment of project

5) From 15 to 25 November 2018, at the Benaki Museum were presented in detail the 50 studies that took part in the competition and this resulted in the additional promotion of the architects. Visitors could obtain the catalog of the Arxellence competition, free of charge, where an extensive presentation and description of the studies was made with rich material images and drawings. The above was another way of promoting the architects and their work.

5) Promotion of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture as an organization with prestige


The benefits of the competition:

1) in case of implementation of the proposal that won the first prize, the building would be manned by the company's architectural systems (costs that  the company would have taken care of), so the Alumil brand would become better known and the company would be associated with a project where there is sustainable construction

2) It constituted a very useful vehicle for approaching new architectural offices and strengthening relations with existing ones

3) utilization of the company's architectural systems in the studies of the contestants, therefore familiarity with our systems and by architects who did not know them systems yet

4) we gave an incentive to professional architects in Greece and Cyprus, to get acquainted with our new products and to visit the showrooms of the company in Athens, Thessaloniki and Limassol, as the study required the implementation of our own systems

5) connection of Alumil with competitions that promote architecture