BluPrint 4th Annual Visionary Design Competition (AViD 2012)

BluPrint 4th Annual Visionary Design Competition (AViD 2012)

Theme: Destination Pit Stop

The vision of the Aquino government’s National Tourism Development Plan, launched in early May, is for the Philippines “to become the must-experience destination in Asia”. The Department of Tourism slogan “It’s more fun in the Philippines” has drawn international attention to our destinations, particularly to our UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This year is the40th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, which established the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The National Tourism Development Plan’s goal is to increase international tourist arrivals to 10 million, and domestic travelers to 35.5 million by 2016. The Plan is anchored in the safeguarding of natural and cultural heritage, and advocating their sustainable use. It calls for the improvement of tourism destinations, the development of a sustainable tourism destination infrastructure program, and the design and construction of tourism information centers and support infrastructure.

This competition honors both the National Tourism Development Plan and the 40th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage List by asking for the design of a tourism visitor center at any one of our World Heritage sites. Solutions should foster the dialogue between old and new, past and present, natural and manmade, in a manner that is most sensitive to these fragile gifts.

To register and submit your entries, log on to:

http://avid.myhomedesign.ph/#

MECHANICS

About the competition:

1. The competition is to design a contemporary and site-sensitive Pit Stop/Visitor Center to be located at any one of the Philippine World Heritage Sites:
   • Baroque Churches of the Philippines http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/677 Select any one of the four churches on the list. (San Agustin Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte; Nuestra Señora dela Asunción in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur ; San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila; Santo Tomas de Villanueva Church in Miag-ao, Iloilo)
   • Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/653
   • Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/722
   • Historic Town of Vigan http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/502
   • Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/652
2. The size of the Pit Stop, as well as its precise location within or on the edge of the site Buffer Zone, is up to the participant.
3. The Pit Stop will be a visitor/tourist information center providing information on the World Heritage Site’s significance. The precise program of facilities such as toilets, restaurants, retail outlets/convenience store, refueling station, etc. is up to the participant.

There is no restriction on the construction materials to be used. There is also no budget constraint. However, the design must be sensitive to environmental, cultural and socio-economic realities of the UNESCO World Heritage site (e.g.: a fragile environment facing pressures from large visitor numbers; meager operations and maintenance budgets, etc.), and must respect the World Heritage criteria that were used to select the site. Refer to http://whc.unesco.org/en.

Relevant documents, such as the Venice Charter, are also to be found on the ICOMOS website http://www.icomos.org/en/charters-and-texts and include:

1. International Cultural Tourism Charter http://www.icomos.org/tourism/charter.html , pertinent passages of which are:
   • Touris