President's Office
CEPT Essay Prize 2024
LABYRINTH
CEPT Essay Prize 2024 invites young writers from across disciplines of architecture, urban planning, design, humanities and the social sciences to reflect and express their thoughts on one of the oldest forms of creations, both natural and handmade, the Labyrinth. Labyrinths were scratched onto rocks as early as 4500 years ago and are remarkably widespread and variations of the same pattern across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. There have been distinctions drawn between the labyrinth and the maze, while some have considered the two to be sides of the same coin. From underground tunnels to literary devices to psychology, to city planning, no civilisation has left the labyrinth unexplored. It is technical, tricky, psychological, a challenging quest, a defence mechanism, traps, winding and much more. In a labyrinth, we have a feeling that we can never exit.
We invite writers to think like fellow species, like ducks, rats, fishermen, fish, ants, also like Alice in wonderland who navigate life, traps, mazes and labyrinths. Franz Kafka, a famous German novelist of the 20th century, reminds us of the limits of our own existence, but the maze and the labyrinth offer us the prospect of redemption and hope to prove ourselves in this quest by pitting ourselves against this maze and the maze maker. This is what makes modern cities exciting; this is what makes historical monuments worth exploring; this is what makes the everyday an odyssey. We challenge ourselves, trick ourselves or be tricked; we let ourselves out of the winding pathways, the brain teasers of video games, the tiled mazes at the Warren street station in London, from Mumbai to Jaipur, to New York, to London, to Hongkong, we are in a constant state of quest through labyrinths that invites us to juxtapose the real with the mythical. Are Labyrinths essential to our living? Or aren’t they?
Keywords: Labyrinthine, symbolism, archetype, genesis and geometry, allegory and myths, architecture, folklore and mythology, visual interpretations, Infinity, Reality and illusion, Cultural narratives, time and space, city networks, navigating urban spaces, Labyrinthine city structures, Urban economic networks, Evolution of labyrinths, Land art and recreation, transportation, city infrastructure
Expectations from the abstract: The applicants must submit an original and well-rounded 500-word abstract for the competition entry, clearly articulating the objective and intent of the essay.
Expectations from the second round of evaluation: Please follow the technical guidelines elaborated on the website. The selected candidates should ensure their full essays are suitably edited for language, grammar, consistency in referencing, etc., before submission of the essay. CEPT Essay Prize reserves the right to consider well-written, edited, and well-thought-out essays only.
Important note: The submissions must ensure grammar edits and language corrections as a basic requirement for the first round of selection.
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