Ideas Contest – Announcement of the Winners and Award Ceremony ‘A Roof for Dignity’ “Imagining an economic and decent habitat for the homeless in Tunis”

Tunis- Wednesday, September 29th, 2021- 03pm/05pm – Announcement of the five (5) selected winning candidates and awarding of the prizes by the United Nations Human Settlements Organization (UN-Habitat) in Tunisia, within the framework of the Program “Supporting the COVID-19 response in deprived urban areas in the Arab region”.

In this period of important social and environmental changes, this idea contest wishes to open the reflection on the social and citizen responsibility of the architect. This Ideas Contest is part of an effort to cultivate among young architecture students the initiative of commitment to respond to the current issues facing our societies and to raise awareness of the challenges of inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable populations in urban planning and urban policies in Tunisia.

Participants were invited to propose housing solutions for the homeless in line with UN Goal 11, “to ensure that cities and human settlements are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. Indeed, the Contest proposed to the candidates to conceive the prototype of a minimal and effective living unit intended temporarily, either for a single individual or for a family (4 individuals).

This living unit is thought as a temporary living space (1 year – 2 years) that could be offered by the municipality of Tunis to these people to get them out of the street while waiting to provide them with a permanent home with the cooperation of associations working in the social reintegration of vulnerable populations. The term “housing drawer” is often used to designate this temporary housing which can be used several times. T

his project is part of a regional and national program funded by Alwaleed Philanthropies. The UN-Habitat Office in Tunisia offered the following prizes to the five selected candidates: 1st award: 3 000 DT; 2nd award: 2 000 DT; 3rd award: 1 500 DT; 4th prize: 1 000 DT; 5th prize: 500 DT; 5 encouragement awards: Subscriptions and lots of the Archibat magazine offered; Publication: the first 5 winning projects will be published in the magazine and the Archibat Website.

The solutions of this Ideas Contest are intended to improve the living conditions of the homeless and are part of a desire to advocate and encourage the implementation of public policies to support excluded and marginalized populations. The results of this ideas competition will be communicated to the authorities responsible for programs to support the homeless. The project selected at the end of the contest will serve as a basis for seeking funding for its implementation in partnership with the UN-Habitat office in Tunisia, the Ministry of Equipment and Housing and the Ministry of Social Affairs of Tunisia, in compliance with intellectual property and the Tunisian procurement regulations