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    Gendo 48 · Soldagen · Vindstad, Lofoten
    Vindstad at the head of Kjerkfjorden, Lofoten — timber structures reflected in still fjord water at dusk

    The 2nd Gendo 48 Competition · Vindstad, Lofoten

    GENDO 48: SOLDAGEN

    Something civic, for a near-empty village at the head of a Lofoten fjord.

    The brief drops Thursday 10 September, to registered entrants only. Then a single competition window to design something that has to stand there for a hundred winters. Free to enter, solo or teams of up to five.

    £5,000First Prize

    Brief drops

    Thu 10 September

    Competition window

    10–13 Sept

    Submissions close

    Sun 13 Sept, 23:59 BST

    Entry

    Free · solo or team of 5

    The premise

    There is a day in northern Norway with its own name.

    After the polar night the sun comes back, and people go outside to watch it happen. They eat solboller, the schools let the children out. The day is called Soldagen, and it does not fall on the same date twice in two places, because it is not decided by the calendar. It is decided by the mountain in front of you.

    That is the whole design problem in one sentence. Vindstad sits at the head of a fjord with six hundred metres of near-vertical rock on its southern side. Height buys you daylight. Move up the slope, or up your own building, and the sun comes back to you days or weeks earlier than it does to the person standing at the water.

    Nowhere else does a section drawing decide what month it is.

    Lofoten has always been a place that fills and empties. Vindstad is emptying in the quieter modern way: a couple of people live here all year, most houses are used for a few weeks in summer, the school closed long ago, and the ferry still puts people ashore in a place with nowhere to go and no shelter from the weather.

    What has gone is not the buildings. It is everything that used to happen between them.

    That is what you are being asked to put back.

    Three things at onceDetail locked

    Beautiful, strange, anchored.

    What each of these asks of you is set out in the brief on 10 September.

    The site

    Vindstad, at the head of Kjerkfjorden.

    A near-abandoned hamlet on Moskenesøya, at the far western end of Lofoten. No road. Access is the small passenger ferry from Reine, and everything you build arrives the same way. The buildable land is a narrow shelf of grass between the water and six hundred metres of rock.

    Timber structures set into the rocky shoreline at Vindstad, reflected in the still water of Kjerkfjorden at dusk
    Timber-lined interior with a suspended hearth set in front of a full-height window onto the fjord
    Minimal kitchen with a rough stone island and a narrow vertical window onto the Lofoten landscape

    Site conditions

    Locked

    Full site data, access and constraints arrive with the brief on 10 September.

    The briefLocked until 10 September

    Sealed until Thursday 10 September.

    Registered entrants receive the full brief the morning the competition window opens. Everyone starts at the same moment, with the same information.

    Released to registered entrants on Thursday 10 September.

    Timeline

    Forty-eight hours, one weekend.

    Brief drops to entrantsThursday 10 September
    Competition windowThursday 10 to Sunday 13 September
    Submissions closeSunday 13 September, 23:59 BST
    Internal review and shortlistingWeek of 14 September
    Shortlist with judges for scoringFrom around 15 September
    Winners announcedWeek of 28 September
    The jury

    Five judges.

    Four judging criteria

    Detail locked

    Full scoring criteria are released with the brief on 10 September.

    All four are assessed together. A proposal cannot win on imagery alone, and cannot win on process alone.

    Prizes

    £5,000 first prize.

    First Prize

    ×1

    £5,000

    Full feature profile on platform, blog and press distribution.

    Finalists

    ×4

    12 months Gendo Studio

    All team members. Full feature profile; board published permanently in the archive.

    People's Choice

    ×1

    £500

    Featured post across all channels. Decided by social engagement on posts carrying #Gendo48 with a valid board link.

    Honourable Mentions

    ×up to 5

    3 months Gendo

    Gendo merch box; permanent inclusion in the competition gallery.

    Registration

    Register to enter.

    Free to enter, open to anyone 18+ anywhere in the world. The brief and Gendo Studio access are scoped to registered entrants only.

    By registering you agree to the competition terms & conditions. We'll only use your details to run this competition. Your work stays yours — Gendo does not train on entrant designs.

    Submission rules
    • Free to enter. Open to anyone 18+, anywhere in the world.
    • Solo or teams of up to five. Teams are strongly recommended — the canvas is built for it.
    • The board is the submission. You send us a live Gendo canvas link, not a PDF.
    • You must share to socials with #Gendo48 to enter the People's Choice.
    • Registered entrants only. Studio unlock is scoped to registered entrants and is not opened more widely.
    • Your work stays yours. Gendo does not train on entrant designs.

    Full rules are set out in the competition terms & conditions.

    Soldagen. A hundred winters.