Jumpthegap is an international design contest, initiated by Roca and Barcelona Design Centre and dating back to 2004, that is looking for innovative, sustainable bathroom concepts. The contest is addressed to young designers and architects, as well as students in both areas with ingenious ideas for new products, space use or functions, etc.
Jury consists of: Patrik Schumacher (president of Zaha Hadid Architects/ Germany), Josep Congost (Design and innovation director Roca/ Spain), Vladimir Pirojkov (president of the center of industrial design and innovation KINETICA/ Russia), Isabel Roig (executive director of Barcelona Design Centre/ Spain), Anjali Srinivasan (creative director at ChoChoMa Studios/ India), Benedetta Tagliabue (director of EMBT & Enric Miralles Foundation/ Italy), Valentin Vodev (founder of Vodev Studio/ Bulgaria), Ma Yansong (Founder of MAD Architects/ China).
Deadline for registration: March 15, 2017
Deadline for proposal submission: April 19, 2017
Prizes: two prizes of € 10 000 each and one special award of € 6 000
The organizers give a direction to the contest and guidelines for the participants, consisting of 5 main points (1) sustainability (the proposals should affect in adopting sustainable practices with visible, measurable benefits / introduce resourceful decisions – time and money saving, as well as convenient to apply/ (2) ageing population (the proposals should facilitate the daily routine of the user, without requiring additional knowledge or skills) (3) homing (the proposals would ideally leave the customer with a feeling of comfort and presume multiple use), (4) surprising experiences (the proposal should create an emotional connection with the user and offer a true experience for the senses), (5) automatization.
The contest is open for participants, born after January 1, 1982, regardless of their country of residence. Two categories are differentiated: (1) professionals – designers and architects; (2) students in the mentioned fields. The proposed projects could be individual or a collaboration between two professionals or students. Mixed groups with representatives from both groups would not be accepted. Each participant could submit one project only.
Prior to the final proposal submissions each participant is required to make a registration on Jumpthegap website. The registration is free of charge and due before March 15, 2017. The proposals could be submitted in the following month after, with a deadline April 19, 2017.
The projects must be anonymous. They cannot contain any personal information of the author/s as it has already been provided in the registration form. All texts included in the proposal must be in English. Each application should include: one .pdf file, of no more than two A3 pages with a maximum size of 1.5 mb. The first page of the document needs to state the project title, along with a description and basic images.
The requirements for the description are to cover and answer the following questions, without exceeding 600 words: WHAT? Or a brief, clear introduction of the idea to the public, it is addressed to; HOW? Or the functions of the proposal and the materials necessary for its accomplishment; WHY? Or in what way, the proposal touches the idea of the future. Each piece of additional information belongs to the second page of the proposal.
The financial prizes are three: two of the projects will receive € 10 000 each – one in the professional category and one in the students category. The third prize amounts to € 6 000 and is provided by We Are Water Foundation. The foundation practices aim at stimulating the dialogue regarding the consumption of water resources worldwide, and to avoid the negative effects of the common underestimating of the subject. A special commission is responsible for choosing the winner in this category: Xavier Torras (director of We Are Water Foundation/ Spain), Henk Ovink (Special Envoy for International Water Affairs Kingdom of The Netherlands), Sophie Thomas (founder на Thomas.Matthews Agency/ Britain).
When making their assessments, the judges will have regard to the following criteria and requirements:
- innovation and how does the application meet the overall aim of the contest;
- sustainability and whether the project works in harmony with the environment and shows an ecologically responsible use of materials and resources;
- user benefits which are clearly explained and easy to understand – will the project be attractive for the users and what will it give them;
- presentation of the idea and whether the participant succeeded in presenting it in the best possible way.