The Qatar World Cup Memorial project is a scalable building that raises awareness about the number of workers who died during the construction of the stadiums for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. It is in the form of a tower made of concrete modules, each one representing a deceased worker. The higher the number, the higher the tower...If the death rate is not reduced, the Qatar World Cup Memorial could reach a height of 1.5 kilometers (nearly a mile). — 1week1project.org
1W1P – 1Week1Project – is a collaborative effort by French architects Axel de Stampa and Sylvain Macaux, graduates of l'Ecole d'Architecture in Paris-Belleville. They challenged themselves to produce a "spontaneous architecture" per week for a year, or fifty-two projects. At this point, they have produced 25 predominately-speculative projects, from this memorial to the workers who have died (and are continuing to die) while constructing the World Cup Stadium for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to an ephemeral installation for the interior of the Eiffel Tower that would light up every time someone used #eiffeltower on social media.
With the Qatar World Cup Memorial, they invoke the memories of the more than 500 foreign workers who have died in the country since 2012. While Zaha Hadid, designer of the World Cup Stadium in Qatar, has become the subject of controversy for alleged statements rejecting an architect's responsibility for conditions on their projects, 1W1P proposes a distinctly different vision of how architecture can relate to those who are actually doing the building. While there is basically no chance that this project would ever be actualized, at the rate that workers are currently dying, the building would end up towering over many of Qatar's other skyscrapers if actually built.
I think this project is pretty moving and am personally excited to see what else the 1W1P will come up with. I also love the continuous-construction aspect, which seems like a great gesture to the speculative architecture of the last century like Archigram and Superstudio but tempered by a very real and material politics. Their methodology is straight-forward but challenging: "1W1P identifies a site, puts a diagnosis forward and makes a proposal that will involve an architectural project. There is one rule only : to propose spontaneous and open projects."
10 Comments
After that they can build a memorial to the workers who will die building the Qatar World Cup Memorial.
@MilesJaffe: I lol'd
ignoring the intended symbolism, it's actually a compelling spatial idea. sort of a pre-fab mc escher. more piranesi-ey than anything eisenman ever proposed.
Ha! miles
Agree with midlander. It's a very interesting idea. I think there's a lot to mine in it. I'd guess there will be a couple of jumpers though if they don't beef up the railing.
Its a conceptual project. Why are we trying to criticize it as if its getting built?
Are we so spoiled by the amount of architecturally remarkable projects that get built that we can't appreciate a conceptual project?
David,
Construction on the Al Wakrah Stadium (designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and AECOM) is scheduled to begin in 2015.
davvid, thanks for the correction. the post has been updated!
^David Curtis
Because it some parts of the world, human lives are still seen as disposable to those who stand above the crowd (stand above due to the stack of money they use as a step-stool).
If that death rate is true, how is it the stadium project continues?
When there are no other options you take what you can get. Kind of like architecture grads interning.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.