Floods are natural phenomena. Their impact can come to devastate villages built in their path.
The Usumacinta Observatory will be used to study the rises in the river, define infrastructural projects to contain floods and, at the same time, provide refuge for the affected population.
The ARK should be a project that raises awareness about a reality that is as hazardous as is it inevitable.
It is not foreseen that the water be retained by either dams or reservoirs.
Location
Usumacinta River
- Length: 800 km
- Links and divides Mexico and Guatemala, eventually flowing into the Gulf of Mexico
- Average flow: 900 m3/s
- The only free river in Mexico (with no retaining walls, dams, dykes or swamps)
Tenosique-Tabasco
- The municipality of Tenosique is located in the River Region, its municipal head town being the city of Tenosique de Pino Suárez, set in the south of the state, between 17?28.5´ north and 91?25.6´ west. To the north, it adjoins the municipality of Balancán, to the south the state of Chiapas and to the south and west, Guatemala and to the west the municipalities of Emiliano Zapata Tabasco and Chilón, Chiapas.
- According to the 12th INEGI General Population and Housing Census 2000, the jurisdiction of the municipality has 55,551 inhabitants, 27,060 men (48.71%) and 28,491 women (51.29%) who accounted for 2.94% of the state population, making a population density of 26 inhabitants/sq. km.
- The municipality of Tenosique is inhabited by 2,610 persons, the majority of whom speak Tzotzil and Chol, while the minority speak Maya and Zoque.
- The municipality of Tenosique can be reached by road, train, plane and river. Access by land is via Highway 187 of the Gulf Circuit, on the Villahermosa-Escárcega stretch (Km. 136) where the junction is located. The highway network has only 20 kilometers of paved federal road and 351 kilometers of state road, 93 kilometers of which are paved and 257 of which are covered. It also has 48 bridges.
The main highways to the municipality include: Villahermosa - Emiliano Zapata - Tenosique Highway. Balancán - Tenosique Highway Tenosique - Petén, Guatemala Highway.
Program:
Wastewater Analysis and Treatment Laboratory: 45 m2
- Administrative Office: 15 m2
- Laboratory Area: 30 m2
Ecotourist Hostel 240 m2
- 10 rooms (20 beds) 150 m2
- Toilets: 40 m2
- Cafeteria: 50 m2
Water and Flood Museum: 150 m2
- Permanent and Temporary Exhibition Hall
- Stock
- Administrative Area
Flood Shelter: 400m2
- To shelter 200 persons: 300 m2
- Toilets: 40 m2
- Kitchen/Dining room 60 m2
Village Training Center
- 2 classrooms 30 m2 each
Material to be Delivered
1 CD (compact disc) with:
1.- Two illustrations measuring 90 cm (high) x 60 cm (wide), that should include:
- Overall plan on a scale of 1:1000
- Plans to scale 1:250
- Sections to scale 1:250
- Descriptive text of not more than 300 words.
Two copies of the illustrations (on the CD or DVD) should be handed in, at 300 and 100 dpis. Individual files should be in .PDF (Acrobat) format and size.
2.- A .doc (Word) file including the completed format that will be provided on confirmation
of enrollment.
No other form or types of delivery of material will be accepted (USB memory, FTP, mail
etc.) other than Compact Disks.
Date and Place of Delivery
Once enrollment has been completed and confirmed, applicants will be given the address of where to send their submissions:
Delivery date: February 19 2010
Material sent via a courier service or mail will be accepted up to a week after the deadline (February 26 2010), provided the postmark indicates that it was sent no later than February 19 2010.
Period of Enrollment
October 1, 2009 to February 15 2010.
Awards
1st place MX $100,000 (Arquine)
2nd place: MX $ 60,000
3rd place: MX $ 30.000
Important
- For applications sent by courier service from Mexico and abroad, the deadline will be the postmark (February 19). Submissions must not arrive after February 20 2009
- In no event will the work submitted be returned
- Work must be sent to the address provided on enrolment. No package sent to the post office will be accepted and ARQUINE will not pay for shipping and postage or customs dues.
- In order to prevent a package from being held up at customs, carry out the following instructions:
1. Place the note "Muestra sin fines comerciales" (sample with no commercial value) on a visible part of the package.
2. Do not declare a value for the package.
3. Request full information on customs due from courier service firm.
Once registered, the applicant will receive an e-mail with the data for accessing ARQUINE'S FTP and downloading information from the site: photographs, videos, plans, etc.