Arquideas announces the Museum of the Ancient Nile (MoAN) Egypt international architecture competition.

The competition…

With more than 6,800 km, the Nile is the longest river in Africa and for centuries it was considered to be the longest in the world. Located in the north-eastern part of the continent, it crosses 11 countries and has two major tributaries: the White Nile, which originates in Uganda and Kenya, named for the chalky colour of the sediment in its waters; and the Blue Nile, which originates in Ethiopia and is the source of most of the water in the river.

The ancient Egyptians only settled on the final 1,300 km of the Nile, where it was possible to navigate the waters.

The majority of society in the Egypt of the pharaohs was made up of peasants who worked the fields and therefore their lives were conditioned by the flood cycles. They were able to cultivate wheat, barley and flax, and also obtain fish and papyrus thanks to the river, thereby obtaining enough food to for the entire population. With flax and wheat, Egypt was able to maintain good diplomatic relations with other countries, and so the river contributed to the economic and political stability of the country.

Without the Nile the ancient Egyptian empire would never have existed. The Egyptians were keenly aware of the great river’s importance, regarding it as the creator of the fertile lands on which they lived and even worshipped a god, named Hapi, who represented the Nile.

Because the sun set every evening in the West, symbolizing death, and was reborn every morning in the East, representing life and resurrection, the cities and towns were always built on the eastern shore of the Nile and the necropolises and funeral temples on the western shore.

The predominant building materials used in ancient Egypt were adobe, used in homes and monumental buildings, and limestone, reserved for tombs and temples. Our understanding of Egyptian architecture is mainly based on its religious monuments, massive structures with slightly sloping walls and few openings, a method of construction used to obtain stability in mud walls.

The annual Nile floods marked the rhythm of life of its inhabitants for millennia, until the construction of the great Aswan dam in 1970 eliminated the annual flood cycle for good.

After passing through Aswan the Nile begins to shrink as it continues its journey through dams toward Luxor, a region that contains the majority of the cultural and historical sites, including the most spectacular monuments in Egypt, many of which have been declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO. The section of the river between Aswan and Luxor is where the majority of tourism is concentrated, mostly on board cruise ships, with more than 300 floating hotels and thousands of tourists disembarking on its shores every day to visit the different monuments.

Objective of the competition

The objective of this competition for architecture students and young architects, Museum of the Ancient Nile (MoAN) Egypt, consists in conceiving of a museum that will submerge visitors in the ancient Nile and become an essential experience for tourists who wish to comprehend how Egyptian civilization proliferated.

Thanks to its privileged location, the proposed space will become an obligatory stop for people visiting the river, as a preamble to the history, mythology and monuments that the region contains. A global focal point for tourism that is capable of transmitting the importance of the ancient Nile for the history of Humanity.

Participants:
Architecture students and young architects worldwide.

Registration:
May 24, 2017 to September 22, 2017

Submission:
October 6, 2017

Prize:
€ 6,375 + 1 year free subscription to El Croquis magazine + 1 year free subscription to AV Proyectos magazine +
1 year free subscription to WA Wettbewerbe Aktuell magazine + Publication in Plataforma Arquitectura +
Publication in Arquitectura Viva + Publication in WA Wettbewerbe Aktuell + Publication in The AAAA Magazine.

Jury:
Xander Vermeulen; Principal of XVW architectuur
Silvia Perea; Curator of art and architecture
Pilar Calderon; Architect, Co-founder of Calderon-Folch Studio
Marisa Santamaría; Head of Institutional Relations and Special Projects of IED Madrid
Ione Ruete; Manager of Barcelona Building Construmat
Andrés González-Meneses; Winner of CaVA Arizona architecture competition
More info and registration: http://www.arquideas.net/competition/museum-ancient-nile