Call for Entries: ‘Throne’ | International Challenge to reimagine the Iron Throne Hosted by UNI
The seat of power
Chairs are known from Ancient Egypt and have been widespread in the Western world from the Greeks and Romans onwards. They were in common use in China from the twelfth century and were commonly used by the Aztecs. Soon the meaning of the word changed to symbolic seats of those who held secular or religious power- a meaning common to virtually all cultures.
Throughout much of human history, societies have been governed under authoritarian systems, in particular dictatorial, resulting in a wide variety of thrones. These have ranged from stools in places such as Africa to ornate chairs and bench-like designs in Europe and Asia, respectively.
The oldest surviving throne is one that was built into the walls of Knossos (c. 1800 BC) Often, a throne is associated with its status, philosophical or religious ideology held by the nation or people. Accordingly, many thrones were custom-made from hard-to-find materials that signified the nation’s richness and glory.
The Iron Throne
Real-life kingdoms have fought, won, and torn down to gain the status of the throne, to be a Queen/King. Stories of these fallen kingdoms and glory have been depicted through various novels, movies, and TV series.
The recent show, Game of Thrones based on a series of novels, became a classic worldwide, showcasing kingdoms fighting a war for the Iron Throne. The Iron Throne in the show represented the difficulty of ruling and the brutality necessary to gain power. According to the story told in the novel, Aegon the Conqueror built the Throne out of the swords of his conquered enemies because he did not think that a king should sit easily. Irrespective of the philosophy behind it, the story symbolized the throne in more than one way. The show was known for its complex storytelling and characters. It ended in 2019, with some disappointments and the reign of the iron throne ending with the dragon flame.
But what if in a parallel universe the throne survived the fire?
Brief of the competition
The Iron Throne is the center of the story around which ”The game of thrones” was enacted, which was burned down by Daenerys Targaryen’s Dragon, Drogon in the final episode of the show. It symbolized the breaking of the power wheel and the end of the show.
But what if in an alternate universe one day the show releases a teaser with The Iron Throne playing in the background, revealing the surviving throne?
And what if at the end of it is a familiar voice, the voice of — Mother of Dragons, Daenerys Targaryen.
Brief: In the narrative, where Daenerys Targaryen is reborn and takes her place as the Queen of Westeros, how would she revive/make the Throne?
The challenge is to re-imagine the throne according to Daenerys Targaryen’s personality as a Queen. The aim is to design a throne fit for her and her ideologies for Westeros.
Design objectives
- Client Brief — Investigate and research Daenerys as a personality on how she would rule the seven kingdoms, and develop a brief for the throne design.
- Features — Conceiving interesting features.
- Details — Conceptual structural and material/joinery details to execute the above.
Design a Throne, choose its materials/colors/finishes, represent them. The design of the Throne can be built afresh or from the melted ruins.
Scale
The original Throne had a height of 2.18 m, a width of 1.65 m, and a depth of 1.8 m, with an overall floor area of 3 sq.m. Participants can go beyond this original size to conceive their design but can’t scale it down.
Find all the competition brief, terms, and other registration guidelines on this
page: Throne | Architecture Competition on UNI | About
Follow us on social media: Facebook| Instagram| LinkedIn| Twitter| Youtube
Originally published at https://uni.xyz.
