BRIEF
At the extreme ends of the earth, dull grey skies are whipped by winds saturated with dust. Here, men, women and children wander through boundless expanses of plastic looking for waste to sell at a few cents a kilogram. Is this a dystopia? Is this science fiction? No, it is not. This happens along the river Dhaka in Bangladesh. This is one of the numerous aspects of a disaster, which is now too extended to be told. By nature, plastic waste is indestructible and currently there is an incalculable amount of it on the planet. Human beings are losing the fight against plastic waste.
Actually plastic is not an enemy. It made space travels possible. It revolutionized medicine. Daily, it saves millions of people making food resources safe and accessible to the poorest populations of the planet. What is needed is not a world without plastic. What is needed now is a revolutionized awareness about waste management. Moreover, a technological research to create sustainable alternatives to traditional polymers is required.
National Geographic is well aware of that. For years, it has been informing the general public about the effects of plastic pollution with its photographs. Bio-On (www.bio-on.it) knows it perfectly too. It is the Italian excellency that invests millions of euros in research in order to develop completely-biodegradable biopolymers.
Plastic Monument is the result of the collaboration between the giant of photography and the biopolymer excellency. It is a competition aiming to create an itinerant architectural installation that will travel all around the world to raise awareness about the impact of plastic waste on our planet.
In the fight against plastic waste, everyone can make the difference. Plastic Monument offers architects the opportunity to play a key role in raising awareness. Plastic Monument will create an object to show the world the consequences of disposable culture. It will be the ambassador of a renewed attention on the effects of our choices. It will denounce the disaster caused by the superficiality and bulimia of modern man. However, it will also be the new foundation to protect our planet.
JURY
- Kengo Kuma
- Carlo Ratti
- Italo Rota
- Mandy Barker
- Maria Cristina Finucci
- Marco Imperadori (Politecnico di Milano)
- Marco Cattaneo (National Geographic)
- Fabio Roversi Monaco (Genius Bononiae)
- Marco Astorri (Bio-on)
PRIZES
- 1st PRIZE 8.000 € + REALIZATION
- 2nd PRIZE 4.000 €
- 3rd PRIZE 2.000 €
- 2 GOLD MENTIONS 500 € each
- 10 HONORABLE MENTIONS
- 30 FINALISTS
