Architecture students from across New South Wales are being asked to find solutions to a potential real-life dilemma, in an international competition at the University of Newcastle this weekend.

The students are participating in Superstudio 2008, a competition in which students from 24 universities in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong are given a theme and brief for an architectural project and must work in groups of three.

Superstudio 2008 assistant organiser and student Dmitry Troyanovsky said this year’s theme was The Village.

“The scenario involves a fictional mining town where the local coal mines have closed because coal is no longer used to generate electricity,” Mr Troyanovsky said.

“Students have two days to deliver architectural solutions to regenerate the economic and social viability of the township.

“The students can use models, drawings and computer rendered images to create their site plans and proposals.”

More than 100 students are at the University of Newcastle, while hundreds of others are at locations across the rest of Australia and the three other competing countries.

Finalists will be selected from each event and will have a further 10 days to prepare their presentations for an international jury to decide the winner of Superstudio 2008.

The winning team from the international competition will be flown to the Venice Architecture Biennale – held from 14 September to 23 November - where a selection of the finalists’ works will be displayed.

Picture opportunity: TOMORROW, Sunday 10 August 2008

Place: Architecture Studio, the University of Newcastle, Newcastle campus (at Callaghan)

Time: 11am