Foreword
Competition organisers
Bee Breeders Competition Organisers is excited to announce the results of its Humble Architecture: Everest Challenge!
The Humble Architecture competition series seeks designs for toilet facilities that could improve the lives of their users and consider the highest environmental standards for their sites. This first event tasked participants with designing sustainable toilet facilities on Mount Everest - a remote location with a harsh climate that sees many visitors, but is programmed with limited waste facilities.
Bee Breeders and its jury panel sought designs fitting for this unique site that are cost-effective, resistant to heat, cold, rain, snow, and wind, environmentally responsible and energy-efficient, low maintenance in terms of effort and costs, and considered the limited road access for construction or installation.
The jury panel for this event consisted of: Diego Baraona, founder of the Chilean architecture office DBAA - Diego Baraona Arquitectos y Asociados; Martin Beverfjord, co-founder of Oslo-based Rever & Drage, whose portfolio includes a triangular, aluminum toilet near the Farstadsanden beach on the west coast of Norway on one of the country's national scenic tourist routes; Greg Corso of Syracuse NY-based SPORTS Collaborative and Assistant Professor at Syracuse University, School of Architecture; Gonçalo Marrote, an architect and CEO at Madeiguincho, based in Cascais, Portugal and known for its merger of carpentry, architecture and art; Stephen Pimbley, the founding director of SPARK Architects, which has developed an easily transportable 3d printed toilet module in support of the UN initiative to combat open defecation and the associated issues of hygiene and sanitation in India; Angelo Renna, an architect that recently published the book Monkey Factor – Small stories for a reconciliation with nature; and Erik “Rick” Sommerfeld, an Architect, Assistant Professor and the Director of ColoradoBuildingWorkshop, the design-build program at the University of Colorado Denver, which annually designs and constructs a small-scale project such as that for a toilet in Rocky Mountain National Park.
We thank the participants for contributing their excellent design ideas, and congratulate the winning submissions for their thoughtfulness and innovation.
+226 points Buildner University Rankings!
Jury feedback summary
The Peak seeks to create a closed cycle for water use. Its round elegant shape blends with the panoramic views from the mountains and resists snow loads. The technology of a Nano membrane decomposes human waste and produces water in this process, returning the water to nature without the need for an energy source. According to the jury, "A fascinating proposal with a solution to treat the human waste directly on-site using the nano-filtration system. The wooden structure places this object well within its context. The simple arresting form has a small footprint,is easy to duplicate, is relatively sustainable, and can be prefabricated. The thoughtful materiality, transportability, and structural understanding makes this proposal standout. It is graphically clear and beautifully presented.”