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On Friday 18 November 2022, Luxembourg's General Directorate for Tourism, in collaboration with the Order of Architects and Consulting Engineers (Ordre des architectes et ingénieurs-conseils - OAI), announced a competition for architects to stimulate the creation of a new type of tourist accommodation in rural settings.
According to the ministry, Luxembourg's rural environment is characterised by unspoiled nature, varied landscapes and an important cultural heritage. It is an environment that allows both to relax and to take advantage of the offer of active tourism, in particular exceptional hiking trails. In order to highlight these assets and develop tourist accommodation in rural areas, a participatory work process was launched by the General Directorate for Tourism. Public and private players in the tourism sector have met on several occasions to develop project ideas, including innovative accommodation concepts.
In this context, the concept of “Glamping Cabins” was retained. This is an unusual type of high-quality accommodation that is intended for implantation in existing tourist places. This project aims to create an innovative tourism offer in order to support tourism players in their projects to develop the accommodation offer.
Participation in the competition is reserved for architects who are members of the OAI and whose staff does not exceed five full-time equivalent (FTE) people. Participants are asked to rethink the spatial organisation and integrate unique aesthetics, new technologies and innovative materials that will make the “Glamping cabin” an entirely new form of architecture. Since there is no specific contest site, projects can be designed in any fantasy site of any size. The jury will designate three winners (who will receive respectively €4,000, €3,000 and €2,000), two special prizes (endowed with €1,500 each) and five mentions (endowed with €1,000 each). Projects must be submitted online by 31 January 2023 at the latest. Interested architects will find further information on the website www.concoursoai.lu.
The Minister for Tourism, Lex Delles, underlined in the context of this architectural competition that he is “convinced that the concept of 'Glamping Cabins' has the potential to contribute to the revitalisation of the tourist offer in rural areas. It is essential to develop tourist accommodation in order to highlight the assets of rural regions, which constitute a strong point of our tourist offer. In addition, tourism projects such as 'Glamping Cabins' not only contribute to the economic development of rural areas, but also have a positive influence on the quality of life of the local population."
