Competition Theme

Tourism is the act of placing oneself in an extraordinary environment through travel, stays, encounters, and experiences. What is unusual for the traveler is the everyday reality for local residents. The allure of tourism lies in the intersection between the extraordinary and the ordinary. Furthermore, various experiences at a destination sharpen our senses. Perhaps what is truly sought in tourism is a tangible realism rooted in the body — touching with our hands, feeling with our skin, and perceiving sounds, tastes, and scents.

In recent years, the emergence of generative AI has made it easy to produce fake images and videos, filling our daily lives with artifice. Tourism can be considered an act of distancing oneself from such artifice and turning toward the authenticity of a location. On the other hand, friction caused by the imbalance between the everyday and the extraordinary, as seen in overtourism, is occurring worldwide. This conflict may be driven by an accelerating desire to experience the authenticity of others’ lives as discovered through social media. Is it possible to conceive of environments or spaces where the richness of tourism can be felt even amid such friction?

Encounters with people are also a core appeal of tourism. For example, the grand hotels that once stood in regional hub cities were like stages for human drama – a place where travelers rested, locals celebrated special occasions, and employees worked, allowing the everyday and the extraordinary to intermingle. The richness of tourism may also be found not only in visiting distant places but also in our immediate surroundings. Can such an environment be envisioned for the present age?

With no restrictions on the proposed site, purpose, or scale, we invite you to propose architecture that brings about an abundance tourism rooted in the physical body.