IFLA 45th WORLD CONGRESS
2008 APELDOORN, THE NETHERLANDS

This competition is sponsored by the IFLA and directed by the Stichting IFLA 2008 (Stichting IFLA 2008 is the acting foundation of the Dutch Society of Landscape Architects - NVTL; www.nvtl.nl)

THEME: ?TRANSFORMING WITH WATER, THE WAY TO PARADISE??
Throughout the world climate change is affecting the conditions of nature and local weather. Most people experience these changes as an imbalance between nature and the human environment. This IFLA student competition seeks to stimulate the discussion about the specific contribution of landscape and urban planning and design to realize a new balance between nature and the human environment.

UTOPIA
Climate change and its impact on nature and weather conditions is a world-wide phenomenon, but in each region the impact is different. Especially where it concerns changes in water quantities and qualities. What could be the new inspirational ways of planning, new ways of designing flow systems (of water, transport, energy, materials, information, etc.) and designing new spatial environments, that would create new environmental conditions? Are concepts such as ?utopia?, ?autarchy? or ?cradle to cradle? still valuable?

THE ASSIGNMENT
You are invited
- to name the (local, regional) problem in nature or the human environment that you are most intrigued with, and to link the problem to a specific site/region.
- to invent a new, innovating and inspirational solution for the problem and site. Your ideas should include one or more of the following concepts: utopia, autarchy, paradise, sustainability, self-sufficiency.
- to present plans and designs, that reflect your ideas. You are free to use a variety of graphic methods to present your ideas. Part of the challenge is to graphically communicate your work as effectively as possible. Scales are free.
- to add a brief (max.350 words) written summary of the project, including project context, ideas and issues addressed and main features.

YOU MAY FIND INSPIRATION IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING SOURCES:
- An inconvenient truth (film, Al Gore, 2006)
- Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (film, Hayao Miyazaki, 1984)
- Cradle to Cradle Design (McDonough, Braungart, 2002)
- Masdar City; green utopia in the desert (design Foster + Partners, Abu Dhabi?s Future Energy Company, 2007)
- www.smartarchitecture.org
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/autarchy
- Paradise Lost/Paradise Regained (poems by John Milton, 1665/1671)
- Rubaiyat (poetry by Omar Khayyam, 11/12th century)

THE COMPETITION IS OPEN TO ALL STUDENTS OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE. Both individual and group submissions will be accepted, and each student or group is permitted only one entry. Broad interdisciplinary submissions are welcomed, however, a landscape architecture student must lead the team.

JURY AND JURY CRITERIA
The jury consists of three to five members from the IFLA and the dutch NVTL.
The competition?s criteria are:
- Submission of project conform the assignment
- Clear presentation of the chosen problem
- Inspirational and innovating ideas
- Interesting planning and design
- Consistency of the designing process

AWARDS
The 1st place award of $3500 will be awarded by the landscape architecture firm HAN GROUP KOREA, the 2d place award (the Zvi Miller Prize) of $2500 by IFLA and the 3d place award of $1000 by the host association.

SUBMISSIONS
Entries must take the form of four (4) board PDF (Portable Document Format) files which when printed at 100% size would be 45X90 cm, not larger than a total of 50 megabytes. These PDF?s may be sent in one of (2) ways: -as submittals to a web-based drop box linked to the IFLA World Congress website. The four board PDF?s shall not identify names, faculty sponsors or schools of teams. Please enclose a fifth PDF file identifying the names of the project team, faculty sponsors and schools of teams, or -as a CD-Rom with a separate PDF file identifying names, faculty sponsors or school of teams.
CLOSING DATE OF SUBMISSIONS: the 1ste of May 2008.
You may find more information in due time on the website of the IFLA World Congress.