Dezeen has teamed up with Epic Games, creator of architectural visualisation tool Twinmotion, to launch the ultimate design competition.
The Redesign the World competition calls for new ideas to redesign planet Earth to ensure it remains habitable long into the future.
The competition is free to enter and has a top prize of £5,000 and total prize money of £15,000. People over the age of 18 of any profession and from any country in the world can enter.
The 15 best proposals will be published on Dezeen in November during our Dezeen 15 online festival celebrating Dezeen's 15th anniversary.
Background
Planet Earth has harboured life for millions of years, but this is now under threat due to human activities such as agriculture, mining, industry and construction. Pollution and habitat destruction threaten ecosystems while climate change poses an existential threat to all life forms.
Many scientists believe we are now in a new geological era called the anthropocene, in which human activity is the dominant force affecting the earth's geology and climate.
As environmental problems mount, various radical solutions have been proposed including geoengineering proposals to alter the earth's climate through chemical or physical intervention.
Meanwhile, proposed solutions to climate change include massive investment in renewable power coupled with vast arrays of machines that can suck carbon dioxide out of the air.
But why stop there? Why not treat the earth as the biggest design challenge of all time? What if we treat the planet as a blank slate and redesign it from scratch?
Architects and designers are already turning their attention to planet Earth as the ultimate design project. In an interview with Dezeen last year, Winy Maas of MVRDV called on architects to design new planets to help understand how to solve problems on Earth.
"It would be wonderful to design more planets and to compare them because there are different dreams," said the Dutch architect.
Architect Bjarke Ingels has proposed Masterplanet, a planet-wide design approach that will "prove that a sustainable human presence on planet Earth is attainable with existing technologies".
Meanwhile another architect, Liam Young, has proposed housing the entire population of the Earth in a single metropolis called Planet City. This would free up the rest of the Earth's surface for rewilding and the return of stolen lands.
Designer Jalila Essaïdi called on designers to propose audacious solutions to global problems in a talk with Dezeen in 2018. "I would say yes please, more science fiction," said Essaïdi. "Let's keep dreaming big and doing the impossible."
Brief
We are looking for radical new solutions to ensure that planet Earth remains habitable for hundreds of years to come. We are looking for creative proposals that answer questions such as:
› Where and how will everyone live?
› Where and how will we grow our food?
› How and where will we generate power?
› How and where will vital ecosystems flourish?
› How will we use the land, the sea, the sky and the subterranea?
› What would a redesigned planet look like?
› Can we reshape the world to make it better than the one nature gave us?
Who can enter?
The competition is free to enter for anyone aged 18 or over in any country around the world, regardless of whether they are a professional designer, non-designer or a student.
However, entrants need to create a 3D visualisation of their proposal in Twinmotion in order to enter. This will require an understanding of 3D modelling plus access to and expertise in suitable CAD, BIM or other 3D-modelling software.
Entries from individuals or teams will be accepted and entrants may enter more than one design, if they wish. However, entrants will need to fill out and submit a separate entry form for each design they submit.
What to submit
Submissions should be in two parts:
› A text description of your vision for planet Earth (up to 500 words)
› Visuals created in Twinmotion showing part of your world (a video animation plus one still image)
The text should explain your vision for planet Earth. It should paint a picture of how you will use design, architecture, technology, terraforming, bioengineering or any other method to transform the world and how your ideas will enable life to thrive on the redesigned planet.
The visuals should show an element of your proposal. Rather than modelling the entire planet, we want you to show a small part of it so you can add detail and give a sense of what it will be like to live in your world.
The visuals should consist of an animated video (up to 30 seconds) and a still image, both created in Twinmotion.
Twinmotion
You will need to install and use Twinmotion to enter the competition. You should import a CAD or BIM model of your proposal in Twinmotion, use it to visualise your idea, and then export a movie and a still image.
A free trial version of Twinmotion is available for entrants who do not already use or intend to buy the software (see below).
Twinmotion is an architectural visualisation tool powered by Unreal Engine, which is a game engine developed by Epic Games. It enables architects and designers to quickly and easily create high-quality images, panoramas, fly-throughs and animations of products, buildings, cities and even entire landscapes. It can be used to produce standard or 360° VR videos from imported BIM or CAD models.
Twinmotion supports files from all major CAD, BIM and 3D-modeling solutions. Plugins are available for ARCHICAD, Revit, SketchUp Pro, Rhino (including Grasshopper), and RIKCAD that enable direct one-click synchronisation of geometry and BIM information with Twinmotion.
How to get Twinmotion
You can download a free trial of Twinmotion in order to enter the competition.
Download a free trial of Twinmotion ›
Download Direct Link plugins ›
Learning how to use Twinmotion
For Twinmotion novices, there are plenty of online resources explaining how to use the software.
Find beginners courses for using Twinmotion ›
See further tutorials, tips and tricks on Twinmotion's YouTube channel ›
Dezeen also hosted an online workshop giving practical advice and tips on how to use Twinmotion to create your entry.
Watch a recording of the workshop ›
How to enter
Contestants should submit their entry via this form and include the following:
› Name of the proposal
› A written explanation of your proposal (up to 500 words)
› One still image created in Twinmotion
› A video (maximum 30 seconds) made using Twinmotion
Videos should show an aspect of your proposal such as a landscape, a street, a piece of infrastructure etc. They can be in the form of fly-throughs, 360° movies or fixed-point animations but they should not require any VR or other special equipment to be viewed.
They should be exported from Twinmotion in MP4 format with a minimum resolution of 1080p and a file size no larger than 300 MB. Videos should be submitted via a URL to an external hosting platform (Dropbox, WeTransfer, Google Drive, etc).
The image should be a still captured from Twinmotion. This should be in landscape format and at least 1920 pixels wide. It should be free from any logos or text. The image should be submitted as a PNG with a maximum file size of 5 MB.
All elements in both the animation and still image must be created in and exported from Twinmotion. Entrants can use video or photo editing software to do basic post-production on the exports, such as colour correction or editing video clips together, if they wish. However, entrants must not use additional software to add any element to the visualisation that was not created with Twinmotion.
For teams entering the competition, one member of the team should submit the entry with the rest of the team credited in the appropriate field.
Multiple entries are allowed. If an entrant wants to submit multiple entries, they should fill out and submit a separate entry form for each entry.
All entrants must read and agree to be bound by the competition terms and conditions before entering.
Judges
The Redesign the World competition will be judged by a panel of experts comprising:
› Alexandra Hagen, CEO of White Arkitekter
› Hanif Kara, co-founder of ActII and professor at Harvard GSD
› Liam Young, director and speculative architect
› Berlinda Ercan, Twinmotion product marketing manager at Epic Games
› Marcus Fairs, founder and editor-in-chief of Dezeen
Find out more about the judges here.
Judging criteria
This is primarily an ideas competition. Judges will be looking for visionary concepts and are less concerned with technical mastery of the Twinmotion software. However, the quality of the execution of the idea will also be considered.
Closing date
All entries must be received by midnight on 15 September 2021. Any entries received after this date will not be considered.
The 15 finalists, including the top three designs, will be announced and published on Dezeen in November 2021.
Prizes
There is £15,000 of prize money available: a top prize of £5,000 for first place, £2,500 for second place, £1,000 for third place and £500 each for 12 remaining finalists.
Terms and conditions
Full terms and conditions for the competition can be viewed here. All entrants must read and agree to the participation terms and conditions before entering.
Contact
Any questions about the competition and all press enquiries should be emailed to [email protected].