Graphisoft announced the opening of the fourth annual GRAPHISOFT PRIZE to promote innovative use of CAD software in architecture among students worldwide.

Between January and June, 1997, the competition will ask students to create architectural works drawing from a list of literary or cultural references ranging from Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle" and Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities to Douglas Adams' Restaurant at the End of the Universe and "The House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals.

In addition to the innovative design program, the competition will require students to use "virtual reality" technology such as Apple Computer's QuickTime VR to present their entries. ArchiCAD by Graphisoft is the only software which can directly generate QuickTime VR scenes.

The 1997 GRAPHISOFT PRIZE is open to all university level students of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, or an allied discipline from any country. Teams of up to three students may enter. Prizes will be awarded in several categories by a jury of renown architects who will meet in June, 1997. Specific prizes will be announced in December, 1996.

The Design Program

Through the 1997 GRAPHISOFT PRIZE, Graphisoft is exploring and promoting the concept of the "virtual building" in architectural design and practice. Graphisoft's virtual building concept embodies the integration of building data, powerful visualization and communication tools, access to building information at all times, and the ability to use intelligent building products (objects) provided directly by manufacturers.

Using ArchiCAD as a design tool and QuickTime VR as a visualization tool,, Graphisoft will ask entrants to interpret works which have never existed physically but are nevertheless "real" in our culture. The list of cultural and literary works includes:

1. Asgard, Norse mythology and Marvel Comics;
2. "Bluebeard's Castle," opera by Bartok and Grimm's Fairy Tales;
3. House at Pooh Corner, Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne
4. House of the Spirits, Isabelle Allende;
5. Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino;
6. Mas Una: The Church of Reason from the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, A. Pirsig;
7. No Exit, Jean-Paul Sartre;
8. "The House of the Rising Sun," The Animals;
9. The House of Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne;
10. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams.

The list is subject to change until the final list design program is published in December.

Eligibility

University level students of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, or an allied discipline from any country. Teams of up to three students may enter.

Schedule

Precise schedule dates will be available with the program, however, approximate dates are:

--Competition program available: mid-December, 1996; --Competition opens: January, 1997; --Entries due: early June, 1997; --Jury: mid-June, 1997, at or around the A/E/C SYSTEMS tradeshow.

Registration Fee

Eligible students may enter the competition for only $25.00 per student or team of students. Eligible entrants residing in the United States also have the option to purchase an individual license to use ArchiCAD for six months and enter the competition for only $75.

Submission Requirements

Final submission requirements will be published in the design program, but are likely to include:

--ArchiCAD project file; --Minimum 5 rendered scenes using Quicktime VR; --Keyplan showing VR nodes; --Plans, elevations, sections on maximum A3 (US B) paper; --Additional computer animation and still renderings (optional).

The final design program as well as all other information about the competition will be published on Graphisoft's world wide web sites, Graphisoft.com, Graphisoft.hu, Graphisoft.de, and Graphi.co.jp.

Publication

As it did last year, Graphisoft anticipates producing a CD-ROM catalog of the entries in the summer of 1997 and publishing entries extensively on the World Wide Web. Graphisoft also anticipates extensive coverage by the architectural press of this significant educational event.

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