IT’S an admirable aim – to construct buildings able to withstand winds up to 160 kilometres (100 miles) an hour.

In fact that is the brief for a house-building competition recently announced by the Association of Myanmar Architects (AMA), Myanmar Engineering Society (MES) and UN Habitat Organisation, an AMA document reveals.

The competition covers four types of buildings: Category one covers cyclone shelters able to hold 500 people; category two is another shelter, this time with a 2500-person capacity; category three is rural family housing; and category four is housing on the urban fringe.

All must be designed for the Ayeyarwady Delta.

Under competition rules, each team is allowed to submit two entries for each category.

However, the rules are quite specific and make clear that simple ideas will not be accepted.

“[Every] submission must include architectural designs and structural solutions on how the building will be made to withstand wind velocity of at least 60 miles (96km) an hour for dwellings and more than 100 miles (160km) an hour for community shelters,” the document shows.

The judging panel will feature 10 people from a range of different professions.

“The judging panel will include one UN Habitat official, one architectural and one design professional from the AMA, the MES, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and an official from the Ministry of Relief and Social Welfare,” said AMA vice chairman U Than Tin Aung.

He added that each team must include at least one architect and one structural engineer.

“The designs for these wind-resistant building will require significant structural considerations, so each team must include an architect and a structure engineer with at least a Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) respectively,” he said.

One guideline specific to the community shelters is that they must be within two miles (3.2km) of the village.

All four buildings must be made using locally available materials to minimise construction costs and fit in with both the local culture and environment, the AMA document shows.

Interested parties can register for the competition until July 28 at MES headquarters in Hlaing township. The deadline for submissions is 2pm on August 30 – with all entries to be handed in at MES headquarters.

The competition winners will be informed by telephone on September 7 and the winning designs and honourable mentions will be displayed for the public later, the statement said.