FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

In this section, you'll find answers to frequently asked questions. Find your answer here. If you need further clarification, please write in English to info@kairalooro.com Questions already posted in the FAQ section will not receive a response.

Maximum square metres / Under 35 requirement / What is ideal lot? / What is rural area? / Where submit project? / ID team / How to name files? / Addictional donwloads / Only ground floor / Solar-sewerage system / I'm not architect / Jury feedback / Bathrooms / Materials list and prices / Internship awards / Deadline extension / Fee payment problem / Certificate of attendance / More proposals /



DOES THE PROJECT HAVE TO BE A SINGLE ARCHITECTURAL BODY, OR CAN IT ALSO CONSIST OF SEPARATE BLOCKS?
Participants are free to organize the required areas in one contiguous building or multiple connected or independent blocks, as long as:
- the total interior does not exceed 600 m²,
- the total exterior does not exceed 400 m²,
- the whole project remains on a single ground-floor level only (no upper floors allowed).
HOW SHOULD THE INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR AREAS (IN SQUARE METERS) BE CALCULATED ?
Interior area (maximum 600 m²) includes all enclosed, covered spaces: mandatory functional areas (Community Area, Educational Area, Library/Study Area, Creative Workshop, Services), plus internal circulation, corridors, technical rooms, storage, and restrooms. Exterior area (maximum 400 m²) includes all external or semi-open spaces included in the project, such as courtyards, gardens, gathering areas, verandas, porticos, pergolas, or shelters—both paved and natural/green. The Outdoor Area among the required functional areas must be counted within this exterior total. Total project area refers to the sum of interior + exterior, which must not exceed 1,000 m². Compliance with these maximum areas is a tender requirement, higher areas will result in the project being excluded from the causes for exclusion.
CAN THE OUTDOOR AREA BE PARTIALLY COVERED, AND HOW DOES THAT AFFECT THE AREA CALCULATION?
The Outdoor Area may be fully open or include covered elements—such as porticos, verandas, or pergolas—as part of the design. However, regardless of whether these spaces are covered or uncovered, they must be included within the maximum exterior limit of 400 m².
WHAT ARE THE LIMITS RELATED TO THE UNDER 35 REQUIREMENT?
The rules requires that all participants must be of legal age (18 years and older). In addition, there must be at least one member in the team who is under 35 (35 years old included) at the time of registration. All other members can be of different ages but always of legal age. The documents of the team members must be sent together with the project only and exclusively through the submission form, available on the registration date. Verification of the documents will allow the control of compliance with the requirements. As documents you can send any official document of you country such us passport, driving license and identity card where the date of birth appears.
WHAT IS MEANT BY IDEAL LOT?
The competition does not require a predefined plot or site. You may envision the architecture in any rural area of southern Senegal—urban centers and regional capitals are excluded. There is no territorial constraint; participants may propose or choose an ideal rural village context per the brief. Site planning and boundary definitions are not required.
WHAT IS MEANT BY RURAL AREA?
By rural area we mean that without major urban centers with more than 15,000 inhabitants. Rural villages in South of Senegal normally do not exceed an average of 1,500 inhabitants. You can therefore see on the satellite those particularly isolated villages which perfectly represent the concept of rural life because they lack basic services and infrastructures.The choice of site for the project, however, does not affect the evaluation of the project, as long as the conditions of the tender are respected.
WHERE AND HOW DO I SUBMIT MY PROJECT?
The project must be submitted exclusively through the PROJECT SUBMISSION FORM that the team leader will receive in the registration confirmation email. This form ensures the correct submission and storage of the files in accordance with the competition rules.
WHERE CAN I FIND MY ID TEAM AND WHERE SHOULD I SEND IT?
After registration, the team leader will receive an informational email with instructions on how to create the ID TEAM. This ID should not be sent via email but should be used in the PROJECT SUBMISSION FORM. Please, follow the guided procedure in the submission form to avoid any mistakes.
HOW MUST A1 AND COVER FILES BE NAMED WITH MY TEAM ID?
Files must be named strictly according to the instructions provided in the call and submission form. Your ID TEAM have to be used to rename the files. For example, if your ID TEAM is 123456, the A1 file should be renamed to A1_123456. The same naming convention applies to all other required files. Please be careful to name the files correctly, as files with an incorrectly entered ID TEAM will fall into causes of exclusion.
CAN I PUT MY TEAM ID INTO THE LAYOUTS (COVER OR A1)?
No. Including the TEAM ID in the cover or A1 layouts will result in the exclusion of the project. The TEAM ID should only be used to rename the files and submit the project according to the instructions provided in the submission form, using the guided procedure.
WHERE DO I FIND THE DOWNLOADS AND CAN I OPEN FILES?
The downloads are sent only to the team leaders email after registration. The files are collected in a compressed card in a RAR extension file, i.e. an archive file. This can be easily unzipped via free online software such as WinZip or WinRar. Once unzipped you will be able to access the files. In this link you can download WinRar for the decompression of the archive file: https://www.win-rar.com/
WHY IS IT REQUIRED THAT THE PROJECT IS GROUND FLOOR ONLY?
Being a self-construction design, to be carried out with simple technologies and poor materials, therefore elevations, stairs or elevators cannot be built because they would increase the costs and complicate the construction. Furthermore, we wish integrate the architecture with the nature as it is a natural context in which all the houses are on the ground floor only.
SHOULD I DESIGN SOLAR PANELS AND OTHER SYSTEMS (ELECTRICAL, HYDRAULIC ETC.) ?
No. The design of the any systems concerns a phase subsequent to that of the competition, so these designs are not required.
I AM NOT ARCHITECTURAL STUDENT, CAN I PARTICIPATE? IS THE COMPETITION RESTRICTED ONLY TO STUDENTS OR PROFESSIONALS?
Yes. Our competitions are open to anyone (student and not) who want to show the world their solution. People from other disciplines can also participate, such as paediatrics, philosophers, sociologists, photographers, etc. students and not.
IS PROVIDED ANY JURY'S FEEDBACK FOR MY PROJECT AT THE END OF THE COMPETITION?
No. It is not possible to give feedback for each participating project. The jury and committee will choose the winning projects, as established by the announcement. Unrewarded participants are encouraged to study award-winning submissions with self-critical ability to improve next time.
HOW DO I MANAGE THE BATHROOMS? IS THERE A WATER AND SEWER NETWORK?
It is one of the least developed areas of the country, where there are no water and sewage networks. The bathrooms are made through a hole in the ground, often made far from the house to avoid the proliferation of bacteria. The participant can foresee the positioning of the services (inside or outside the building) but the design of the sewage system is not required.
ARE THE MATERIALS IN THE LIST THE ONLY ONES AVAILABLE?
No. The materials indicated are those most used and easier to find in rural areas. No type of material is avoided. For all other materials did not list you can use the international average prices.
CAN I HAVE A REFUND OF THE REGISTRATION FEE?
No. As written in the rules and conditions of the announcement, reimbursement is not possible under any circumstances. After registration the fee is immediately donated to charity.
IS IT THE "INTERNSHIP AWARD" FOR ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP?
Yes. The internship is provided for the whole team. The architecture studio that hosts the team will need the Curriculum Vitae, portfolio and an interview with the winning team to verify their academic and/or professional skills fall into architecture firm standard requirements. (Check rules on guidelines)
WHAT IS THE DEADLINE TIME? IS THERE EXTENSIONS?
No. The deadline is written in the announcement and on the website on calendar page. There aren’t extensions. All projects delivered after this date will not be considered, as it was written on guidelines. We recommended don't wait the last day to load the project to avoid overloading the system.
I'M NOT ABLE TO ACCESS IN PAY PAL PAYMENT SYSTEM, CAN I REGISTER WITH ANOTHER PAYMENT METHOD?
Yes. The registration process via PayPal is the best way, and it allows to protect all the information you enter. If your PayPal system does not allow you to pay, the problem could be your credit / debit card or your country. So, You should verify if your country adheres to the PayPal system. If you can't solve the problem you should write to info@kairalooro.com, to ask another payment method, such as Bank transfer or Stripe.
IF I WON'T WON ANY PRIZES CAN I HAVE A CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE?
Yes. All participants can request a certificate of participation within 6 months from the end of the competition.
IS MY TEAM ABLE TO SUBMIT MORE THAN ONE PROPOSAL?
You can submit only one project for each entry fee. If you want to present more than one project you need to make more registrations. In this case we recommend changing the Team Leader.