Call for Participation:
2024 Belt and Road International Student Competition on
Digital Architectural Design
With the aim to promote the academic and cultural exchanges among university students from various countries, and to cultivate the scientific and technological innovation spirits and practical abilities of university students, the 2024 Belt and Road International Student Competition on Digital Architectural Design is expected to be launched.
The details are notified as follows:
I. Background
Spanning thousands of years and miles, the Silk Road is thriving again. The spirit of the Silk Road with peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and win-win result as its core is a valuable heritage of human civilization. With the accelerated advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the protection and development of historical buildings in BRI countries and regions are of particular urgency and contemporary relevance. In China, there is a 7.8-kilometer-long Central Axis that runs across the old city of Beijing from the Bell and Drum Towers in the north to the Yongding Gate in the south. In Uzbekistan, there are best preserved ancient architectural complex of Khwarazm region in Central Asia and the ancient city of Shiva recording the ancient intersection of Eastern and Western civilizations. In Cambodia, over 400 square kilometers of tropical jungles are scattered with Angkor monuments, which include more than 90 architectural complexes and hundreds of relics of single buildings. In Italy, there are solemn medieval churches, magnificent Renaissance castles, grand Byzantine squares, elegant Baroque fountains that can be found everywhere in the city of Florence. In Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas, histories connected by such architectural and cultural heritages along the ancient Silk Road spanning thousands of years and miles not only reflect the convergence of history and reality in terms of time, but also connect the BRI countries and regions geographically, making themselves a historical witness of exchanges, understanding and friendship among the countries.
Accordingly, the Belt and Road Architectural University International Consortium (BRAUIC) proposes to organize the 2024 Belt and Road International Student Competition on Digital Architecture Design, themed on Protection, Renewal & Revitalization of Historical Buildings Along the Belt and Road . The competition aims to encourage college students from various countries to carry out projects related to the protection of iconic historical buildings and cultural heritages, green transformation of historic and cultural urban areas and buildings, and inheritance of heritages and culture in forms of digital architectural design, structural design, scene modelling and visualization, cultural creativity, revitalization and utilization, etc. During the Competition, students’ comprehensive ability to solve problems will be improved. Their innovation capability will be demonstrated and quality in all aspects will be enhanced. Furthermore, this competition can comprehensively and vividly display the phased achievements in the protection and development of historical buildings along the Belt and Road, as well as the new changes, new driving forces and new styles in recent years. Based on this, it will actively facilitate in-depth exchanges, cooperation and sharing in fields of education, science and culture among the members of the BRAUIC, so as to push forward the mutual communication and learning of civilizations among the countries, inject cultural impetus into the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and contribute to the sustainable development of human civilization and the Silk Road culture.
II. Organizational structure
Initiated by:
● Belt and Road Architectural University International Consortium
Organized and hosted by:
● Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture
Co-organized by:
● China Silk Road Group Ltd.
● Beijing International Peace Culture Foundation
● Bank of Beijing Co., Ltd.
● Glodon Company Limited
Supported by:
● United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
● International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
● G-global International Secretariat
● Beijing Central Axis Protection Foundation
● International Joint Laboratory of Safety and Energy Conservation for Ancient Buildings, Ministry of Education, P. R. China
● Beijing International Innovation Center for Architectural Heritage Protection and Development in the Belt and Road Region
● 4DBIM Co., Ltd.
● Beijing Jianda Assets Management Co., Ltd.
● BUCEA Association for Science
III. Theme and requirements
(I) Theme: Protection, Renewal & Revitalization of Historical Buildings Along the Belt and Road
(II) Entry requirements
(1) Topic selection is not limited. Participants are required to select a real-life historical building or a historic urban area. The form of the creative solutions may include but is not limited to digital architectural design, structural design, scene modelling and visualization, revitalization and utilization, cultural creativity, etc.
(2) The entries shall focus on exploring the intrinsic connection between historical buildings and traditional culture, and empower the dissemination of excellent traditional culture with creative designs.
(3) The entries shall conform to the principles of renovation, planning and upgrading of historical buildings, so as to strengthen the dialogue and integration between historical buildings and the current era on the basis of maintaining the original spatial characteristics and cultural features of historical buildings, and strive to set an example of giving new life to traditional culture.
(4) Registration shall be organized by universities, and the number of entries is not limited.
(5) A participating team contains no more than 5 members and no more than 2 supervisors. The supervisors shall be university teachers.
(6) The submissions shall not contain any words or patterns indicating the names of the participants or the university, and participants who fail to meet this requirement will be disqualified.
(7) The participants have the copyright of the entries, while the organizers have the right to exercise other copyright except the authorship of the entries, including the right to use the entries (without additional payment), and retain the right of post-processing of the entries, such as publishing books, photo albums, videos, model exhibitions, technology promotion, etc.
(8) It is strictly prohibited to copy the existing design works. The participants shall be responsible for the similarity, plagiarism, and intellectual property disputes of the technical solutions.
(9) Submitted entries will not be returned.
(10) All submitted materials shall be in English.
(III) Requirements of submissions
(1) Submission of renderings: Analytical or schematic drawings that you find necessary to demonstrate the design philosophy and strategy. Your renderings should be color images and presented in one drawing with A1 size (841mm x 594mm) and in vertical composition. There is no limit to the representation method of the drawings. The electronic version should be submitted in common formats such as jpg, png, and pdf.
(2) Design description in English within 200 words.
(3) Team Photos and presentation videos (optional, as additional points for reference): Provide photos and videos to present the idea of the entry, teamwork, and creation stories.
● Photo requirements: High-quality; The size shall be 5MB-10MB; It is recommended to take photos of the team or the design process, and the number of photos is not limited.
● Video requirements: High-quality; About 1 min long; It can include self-introduction of team members, introduction of the entry, etc.
(4) Other presentation materials (optional, as additional points for reference): such as digital 3D models, platform deployment documents, etc.
IV. Eligibility
Open to both graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in engineering programs.
V. Awards
VI. Registration
(I) Sign-up
1. Deadline: April 30, 2024
2. Please send the Work Recommendation Form (See Annex) to brauic@163.com with the email title of “university name + 2024 BRAUIC Competition Sign-up”.
(II) Work submission
1. Deadline: May 30, 2024
2. Please send the Entry Information Form (See Annex 2) and work materials to brauic@163.com with the email title of “university name + 2024 BRAUIC Competition Work Submission”. For each recommended work, you shall include design drawings and relevant documents with the file title of “university name + work name + first author’s name”.
Considering the difficulties in sending large files via email, you’re suggested to share the work documents through WeTransfer, and fill the WeTransfer Link in the Entry Information Form .
VII. Schedule
VIII. Welfare opportunities
(1) Media coverage of the stories of university students from various countries participating at the Competition.
(2) For universities winning the Organizational Achievement Award, the BRAUIC will offer International Summer School Scholarship (tuition-free) to one student from each winning university to attend the next year’s International Summer School on Smart Cities organized by the BRAUIC.
(3) Other opportunities provided by member universities.
IX. Contact information
The Secretariat of the Organizing Committee is set at the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture.
Contact Information: Ms. LIU Lu, Ms. LI Yang
Tel: 86-10-68324024, 86-10-68327443
E-mail: brauic@163.com
Address: No.1 Zhanlanguan Road, Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R.China
The Secretariat of the BRAUIC
April 1, 2024
Annex：
