Archinect - News

The 2024 AZ Awards is now open for entries!

2024-01-17T17:15:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Azure Magazine

Show the World What You Have Accomplished: Submit your best work to the 2024 AZ Awards!

It’s the beginning of a new year – and that means that it’s time to kick off the 2024 AZ Awards. Open for submissions until February 23, AZURE’s 14th annual competition is accepting entries into its eight major categories, from architecture, landscapes and urban design to interiors, product design and the A+ Award for best student work. Enter here!

Last year’s edition celebrated more winners than ever — including MVRDV’s striking Valley mixed-use complex in Amsterdam and Shim-Sutcliffe’s exquisitely refined Ace Hotel Toronto. Taken together, the 26 winners represent the world’s best in design at all scales and disciplines. You can see them all online on the AZ Awards website.

Winner in the "Commercial & Institutional Interiors" category - Omar Gandhi Architects: Prime Seafood Palace, Toronto, Canada. Photo credit: Adrian Ozimek. Read more about the ...

National Air and Space Museum Holds Architecture Challenge for Architecture Students and Young Professionals

2023-03-17T15:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum recently announced its Student Architecture and Design Challenge for the design of an element for its new Bezos Learning Center. Through this challenge, teams of architecture and design students and early-career architects will be challenged to design an architectural element for the exterior structure that visualizes and communicates scientific, aviation, astronomy or aerospace concepts in an effective way. It is free to both apply and participate in this challenge.

The competition invites students to propose a new design that will sit next to the current museum. Image courtesy of The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

ELIGIBILITY

As a team challenge, all entries must be composed of teams of two or three people. Teams can consist of a mixture of design and/or architecture students, recent graduates, and professionals with experience of five years or less.

Not s...

Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition Celebrates 30 Years of North American Design

2022-12-12T08:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Ceramics of Italy

What began as a joint venture between Confindustria Ceramica and the Italian Trade Agency in 1994 to celebrate the work of North American architects and designers using Italian ceramic tile has evolved into a 30-year survey of the built environment and the creative ways in which tile can be used to achieve a designers’ vision. As the longest-running awards program of its kind, the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition is now open for its 2023 cycle, and will be accepting submissions until December 19, 2022. Confindustria Ceramica and the Italian Trade Agency are thrilled to be celebrating this significant milestone.

Many of the world’s renowned architecture firms and design studios including Gensler, Rockwell Group, Snøhetta, Rottet Studio, and Perkins+Will have been recipients of this award, celebrated for their designs that highlight the technical and aesthetic benefits of Italian tile, using it for everything from flooring for yachts ...

The AIA California launches the 11th annual Architecture at Zero Competition

2022-12-06T12:20:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Architecture at Zero.

Architecture at Zero is a design competition for decarbonization, equity, and resilience, open to students and professionals worldwide. It serves to engage the fields of architecture, design, engineering, and planning in the pursuit of sustainable design.

The 2023 competition challenge is to design an agriculture center, connecting the history of California’s first Black town to its present aspiration to become a destination for sustainable agriculture and Black history. Allensworth lies in the Central Valley of California, one of the most productive agricultural regions on the planet, providing more than half of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts grown in the United States.

All entrants will design the Teaching & Innovation Farm Lab. Graduate students and professionals will also design housing for farm students on the site. Key aspects of this project include responding to the challenges of equity and resilience through the desi...

Ceramics of Italy launches the 2023 Tile Competition

2022-11-03T08:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Ceramics of Italy

Now in its 30th year, Confindustria Ceramica (the Italian Association of Ceramics) and the Italian Trade Agency are pleased to announce that its 2023 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition is now open for entries. With previous winners like Rockwell Group, Perkins&Will, and Snøhetta, this prestigious awards program celebrates projects from North American architects and designers that utilize Italian ceramic and porcelain tile. Carrying on the program’s tradition of recognizing and empowering the next generation of professional architects and designers, this year's cycle will once again be accepting submissions from students who create imaginative spaces using Italian tile. Students must be enrolled at an accredited university in North America to be eligible.

Rheingold Bushwick - Project by Durukan Design. Image courtesy of Ceramic Tile of Italy Competition.

Projects in the four built categories – Residential (Single-Family), Residential (M...

The LAGI 2022 Mannheim design competition calls for 'creatives to tell a new and inspiring climate story'

2022-07-28T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by The Land Art Generator Initiative

We live in a time of crisis. And yet the future is full of promise. The future is full of promise because of you. Because architects, landscape architects, artists, and designers have the power to create positive change.

This is most certainly true when it comes to action on climate change. Over the past decade of Land Art Generator Initiative design competitions, we’ve seen it happen. Throughout this article you’ll find example entries to previous LAGI design competitions. We hope they will inspire you to take part in LAGI 2022 Mannheim, open now through September 4, 2022. Participation is free and open to anyone anywhere in the world.

Through LAGI 2022 Mannheim, you can take climate action, get your great design published in a gorgeous hard-bound book by Hirmer Publishers, have your idea seen by millions of visitors to the BUGA 23 German Federal Horticultural Show, and potentially win $30,000 USD!

Design to accelera...

The International Velux Award Announces 2022 Regional Winners

2022-07-08T19:30:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by VELUX

The 2022 edition of the International VELUX Award, a biannual international student ideas competition endorsed by the UIA since 2004, has announced its Regional Winners. 507 submitted projects were submitted from 211 schools of architecture around the world.

Organized around the theme, “Light of Tomorrow”, the competition invites architecture students to explore how we use sunlight and daylight for energy and light as well as how to ensure health and well-being for the people who live and work in buildings. Students may enter projects in one of two categories: Daylight in Buildings or Daylight investigations.

The 2022 jury, which included Anupama Kundoo, John Ronan, Rainer Hofmann, Fuensanta Nieto, and Lotte Kragelund met in Copenhagen to select 10 Regional Winners in the two categories, noting the “future-oriented nature of the projects … high in imagination and aspiration.” Jury chair John Ronan explained that the jury selected projects which ...

Don't miss early bird registration for YAC's Ireland Meditation Mine competition

2022-05-30T15:30:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by YAC - Young Architects Competitions

There's still time to register for YAC - Young Architects Competitions’ latest contest IRELAND MEDITATION MINE, a competition of ideas aiming to recondition an Irish industrial archeological masterpiece into a meditation destination immersed in nature.

The cash prize of € 15,000 will be distributed to the winning proposals selected by an international jury panel composed of some of the most world-renowned architects, with the likes of, among others: Valerie Mulvin (Mccullough Mulvin Architects), Gong Dong (Vector Architects), Neil Hubbard (Heatherwick Studio), Rossana Hu (Neri & Hu), and more.

Image courtesy of YAC.

BRIEF

People often talk about it. Mass culture is steeped in its legends and landscapes. Yet, this time the Ireland we are about to describe is not the Ireland of Celts, moors, fairies or sprites.

This story is about a dusty Ireland made of dirt and sweat, efforts and poverty.

This is the Ireland of miner...

TerraViva Competitions Announces the Results of Tactical Urbanism Now! #2021

2022-04-26T19:49:00-04:00

This post is sponsored by TerraViva Competitions

TerraViva Competitions has officially released the complete list of awarded projects of the design contest “Tactical Urbanism Now! #2021.” The challenge of this competition was to reinterpret what is commonly known as traditional public spaces, such as parks, streets, playgrounds and squares, with a strategical vision capable of providing them with new features of multi-functionality and flexibility.

The awarded proposals were able to experiment with new scenarios within the city, understanding public space as an opportunity to design common areas capable of reflecting the diversity of the infinite categories of potential users and encouraging citizens to “Live Together”.

Organized by TerraViva, the competition was open to students, architects, designers, artists, makers, activists and anyone interested in the transformation of the contemporary urban space.

The winners were selected by an international jury panel composed by: Arturo ...

LAGI 2022 Mannheim Competition invites designs for beautiful renewable energy landscape at site of BUGA 23

2022-03-23T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by the Land Art Generator Initiative

The Land Art Generator Initiative and BUGA 23 are pleased to announce the launch of LAGI 2022. Submissions are due by September 4, 2022. The design competition is free to enter and has a top prize of $30,000 USD.

The LAGI 2022 Mannheim design competition—Beautiful Forms of Energy—is an opportunity to weave renewable energy into the city in ways that improve human thriving. As a part of the 2023 German Bundesgartenschau (BUGA 23), the design challenge includes a number of themes and ideas for inspiration aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Just as a garden is a productive landscape for nourishment that also brings us joy and pleasure, how can we re-imagine our energy landscapes so that they bring joy and pleasure to our communities? How can renewable energy be integrated in beautiful ways into everyday life so that it is not some cold and utilitarian technology, but is instead an artful accessory that w...

Calling all architecture students, participate in the 2022 International VELUX Award competition. Registration closes April 1, 2022

2022-03-15T13:52:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by VELUX

Every second year the VELUX Group invites the students of architecture to participate in the International VELUX Award competition on the theme “Light of Tomorrow. Since the launch in 2004, more than 10,000 students from more than 800 schools from all regions of the world have participated in the competition.

The competition invites students to explore the role of daylight in architecture. The aim is to encourage and challenge students of architecture, and to create a deeper understanding of daylight as an ever-relevant source of energy, light, and life.

For the celebratory 10th edition in 2022, the students will develop their projects in one of the two categories: ‘Daylight in buildings’ or ‘Daylight investigations.’ In order to participate in the competition, students need to register until April 1, 2022. Registration is free, and it only requires an e-mail address. After registering, the next steps are gathering the team, connecting with the t...

Participate in the AIA California's Architecture at Zero competition: registration deadline is January 11, 2022

2021-11-18T09:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Architecture at Zero

The American Institute of Architects, California (AIACA) announces the launch of the tenth annual Architecture at Zero competition focused on decarbonization, equity, and resilience in building design. The annual competition is open for entries from students and professionals worldwide.

The registration and submission deadline is Jan 11, 2022, at 6 pm PST.

This year, AIACA will partner with Self Help Enterprises in Visalia, CA, to develop a design challenge to create affordable housing for farmworkers in California’s Central Valley. Up to $25,000 in prize money is awarded by a jury of international experts.

“The American Institute of Architects, California is excited to collaborate on this important initiative that affirms the role of architects in leading efforts to use design to curtail climate change,” said Brett Dougherty, AIA, AIACA President.

The competition strives to generate new, innovative, decarbonization building desig...

TerraViva Competitions announces list of awarded projects for 2021 'The Living Museum' competition

2021-09-13T17:23:00-04:00

This post is sponsored by TerraViva Competitions

With the aim of imagining a museum capable of breaking with the conventions of the traditional, the challenge of this competition was to integrate an accommodation program in the heart of the Nivola Museum’s park. Competitors were therefore asked to imagine and design creative and unconventional proposals to host those tourists intent on traveling through the Sardinian inland, and the international artists who periodically reach the museum to set up their own exhibitions.

The awarded projects were able to interpret the context in a highly sensitive way, experimenting with different architectural approaches capable of creating unique and original scenarios. It is clear to notice that both the history of Costantino Nivola and his works of art as well as the natural features of the site have been key factors in the design of the best proposals.

Organized by TerraViva Competitions, in collaboration with the Nivola Museum, the competitio...

The American Institute of Architects, California announces the launch of the tenth Architecture at Zero competition

2021-06-17T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Architecture at Zero

The registration and submission deadline is Jan 11, 2022, at 6pm PST

This year, AIACA will partner with Self Help Enterprises in Visalia, CA, to develop a design challenge to create affordable housing for farmworkers in California’s Central Valley. Up to $25,000 in prize money is awarded by a jury of international experts.

“The American Institute of Architects, California is excited to collaborate on this important initiative that affirms the role of architects in leading efforts to use design to curtail climate change,” said Brett Dougherty, AIA, AIACA President.

The competition strives to generate new, innovative, decarbonization building design ide...

THE LIVING MUSEUM: Micro-architectures in the Landscape

2021-05-26T16:38:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by TerraViva Competitions

TerraViva Competitions launches THE LIVING MUSEUM, a new architecture competition focused on the design of micro-accommodation units immersed in the Sardinian landscape of the Nivola Museum. Prizes up to 7,000€ will be awarded to the winners selected by an international jury panel composed of, among others, Stefano Boeri (Stefano Boeri Architetti), Arthur Chang (NADAAA), Nicolás Campodonico (Nicolás Campodonico), Luis Gallego Pachón (Paredes Pedrosa Arquitectos).

Registration Deadline: Sunday, Aug 1st, 2021 - 11:59 pm (CET) Submission Deadline: Sunday, Aug 1st, 2021 - 11:59 pm (CET)

Image © Museo Nivola - Sardinia - Italy

BRIEF

Just one hour away from the magnificent Sardinian coast, Orani may seem just one more of a large number of “lost towns” in the middle of the island. However, there is one particular feature that highlights it from the rest of the villages, a “hidden gem” ready to be rediscovered: the Nivola Museum.

In line ...

SMAR Architecture Studio's design proposal wins Silicon Valley landmark competition

2021-03-26T20:40:00-04:00

After several rounds of jury reviews, Silicon Valley may have found its new landmark. The winning proposal is said to "symbolize people standing and working together." On March 25th, Fernando Jerez and Belén Pérez de Juan of SMAR Architecture Studio were announced as winners of the competition for their proposal "Breeze of Innovation."

In 2019 the San José Light Tower Corporation launched the Urban Confluence Silicon Valley competition. The international competition invited artists, architects, urban planners, landscape architects, students, designers, and anyone with a passion for place-making to submit ideas for creating an iconic landmark project to enhance community life in San José, California. In September 2020, the competition's jury announced its three finalists: "Breeze of Innovation" by SMAR Architecture Studio, "Welcome to Wonderland" by SCI-Arc M.Arch I student Rish Saito and the "Nebula Tower" by Qinrong Lui and Ruize Li.

Breeze of Innovation - "The Structure has big ...

TerraViva Competitions launches The Living Museum competition

2021-03-26T10:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by TerraViva Competitions

TerraViva Competitions launches THE LIVING MUSEUM, a new architecture competition focused on the design of micro - accommodation units immersed in the Sardinian landscape of the Nivola Museum. Prizes up to 7.000 €will be awarded to the winners selected by aninternational jury panelcomposed by, among others, Stefano Boeri (Stefano Boeri Architetti), Arthur Chang (NADAAA), Nicolás Campodonico (NicolásCampodonico), Luis Gallego Pachón (Paredes Pedrosa Arquitectos)

Registration Deadline: Sunday Aug 1st, 2020 - 11:59 pm (CET) Submission Deadline: Sunday Aug 1st, 2020 - 11:59 pm (CET)

Image © Museo Nivola - Sardinia - Italy

BRIEF

In line with...

Deadline Approaching! 1 Month to Enter the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition

2021-01-28T11:51:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Ceramics of Italy with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Trade Agency

The Longest-Running Awards Program of its Kind Includes New Categories for Single-Family and Multi-Family Residential Spaces.

Confindustria Ceramica (the Italian Association of Ceramics) and the Italian Trade Agency are proud to announce the official call for entries for the 2021 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition. Now in its 28th year, the competition recognizes top North American architecture and design firms and design students for their creative use of Italian ceramic and porcelain tile. Winning projects will exemplify innovative design while demonstrating the superior technical and aesthetic qualities of Italian tile. An international jury of design experts will select winners in four built categories - Residential (Single Family), Residential (Multi-Family), Commercial, and Institutional - as well as a winner in the Stude...

“Tactical Urbanism NOW!” Competition Announces the Results of its First Edition

2020-12-22T12:51:00-05:00

This post is sponsored by TerraViva Competitions

TerraViva Competitions has officially released the complete list of winning projects of the design contest “Tactical Urbanism NOW.” The challenge of the competition was to encourage participants to imagine a city where public space goes beyond the traditional conception of a park, a square, or a street. The idea was to experiment with new urban scenarios able to promote social exchange, community activities, and citizens’ interaction through the implementation of multifunctional designs.

Awarded projects were able to tackle worldwide urban issues in smart and creative ways, experimenting with innovative solutions capable of redefining the paradigm of contemporary public space.

Organized by TerraViva Competitions, in collaboration with Needle Agopuntura Urbana, the competition was open to students, architects, designers, artists, makers, activists, and anyone interested in the transformation of the contemporary urban space.

The winner...

Ceramics of Italy Launches its 2021 Tile Competition

2020-11-23T12:27:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Ceramics of Italy with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Trade Agency

The Longest-Running Awards Program of its Kind Includes New Categories for Single-Family and Multi-Family Residential Spaces.

Tactical Urbanism Now! Call for Students, Architects & Designers

2020-09-07T08:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by TerraViva Competitions

TerraViva Competitions launches TACTICAL URBANISM NOW!, a new architecture and design competition focused on the transformation of contemporary public spaces. Prizes up to 4.000 € will be awarded to the winners selected by an international jury panel composed by, among others, Paloma H. Hermakova (Stefano Boeri Architetti), Héctor Esrawe (ESRAWE), Patrizia Di Monte (GravalosDiMonte Arquitectos), Helena Barthel (Rural Studio)

BRIEF

Today, the citizen's relationship with the urban context is moving towards the spreading of new practices for the re-appropriation of public spaces all over the world. It is becoming clearer nowadays, that only the city that improves the quality of life of its inhabitants is truly smart, putting the human element at the centre of every urban project.

Whether you live in a metropolis or a small town, you have likely seen it for yourself. Cities around the world are impleme...

Combating the stigma of opioid dependency with the help of architecture and emotions

2020-07-21T13:24:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Combo Competitions

Emotions, Architecture, Opioids (deadline extended to September 6) is an ideas competition seeking to explore the emotional impact of architecture, its effect on how people feel and behave - and how it can be of use in the struggle against opioid dependency. The goal of the competition is to design a building for the administration of methadone to patients, located in Venice, Los Angeles.

Architecture has an impact on how we feel and behave.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) in the United States has in the last decade snowballed into a national health crisis, claiming tens of thousands of lives each year, and costing society billions of dollars in addition to the immense emotional suffering of those affected. A major reason for the crisis is the stigma attached to drug addiction: the fact that drug dependency has long been regarded as a criminal problem rather than a health concern has over time established that anyone addicted to drugs shoul...

What do you believe will be the future of HOME? Register now to receive Advanced Discounted Entry for The HOME Competition 2020!

2020-07-13T13:17:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Arch Out Loud

How do we define “home”? Although our ideas about home are constantly being rethought, the careful examination of “home” has recently come to our attention for architects and non-architects alike. Almost everyone has had to confront their perspective of “home” as they have adapted work places, social gatherings, fitness routines, and everyday life. We now not only internalize a home, but look at how our homes digitally connect to the rest of the world.

The HOME Competition invites all designers to explore ideas of domestic architecture for the future. Designers may consider the impacts of global population shifts, proximity of major cities to coastlines, new materials and building techniques, as well as the rise of co-housing, tiny homes, smart houses and marketplaces like Airbnb. HOME creates a platform to speculate the ways new technological, political, environmental and cultural changes can redefine the spaces where we live.

What do yo...

Tactical Urbanism Now! The reappropriation of public space

2020-06-22T12:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by TerraViva Competitions

TerraViva Competitions launches TACTICAL URBANISM NOW!, a new architecture and design competition focused on the transformation of contemporary public spaces. Prizes up to 4.000 € will be awarded to the winners selected by an international jury panel composed by, among others, Paloma H. Ermakova (Stefano Boeri Architetti), Héctor Esrawe (ESRAWE), Patrizia Di Monte (GravalosDiMonte Arquitectos), Elena Barthel (Rural Studio).

Whether you live in a metropolis or a small town, you have likely seen it for yourself. Cities around the world are implementing flexible, creative and light interventions to catalyze profound changes within the urban context.

Tactical Urbanism proposes an alternative method to achieve urban regeneration that works mainly at the small scale of a street, a block or a building. Similar to the way acupuncture inserts needles into one part of the body to boost the well-being of the...

Fentress Global Challenge invites students to push the boundaries for public architecture

2020-05-01T14:26:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Fentress Architects

Despite a multitude of technological advances including video conferencing and drones, the proliferation of airports worldwide continues to be spurred on by global commerce and an unrelenting demand for travel.

While the airport terminal—conceived a century ago—is a relatively new architectural typology, it has since its inception held equal importance with quintessential civic buildings: city halls, courthouses, libraries, museums, and theaters. Yet, airports are uniquely complex and they are more than just high volume transportation hubs. Increasingly, airports are also workplaces, centers of commerce, recreational outlets, and cultural resources.

Fentress Global Challenge (FGC) is an annual international student design competition. Since its inception in 2011, thousands of entries from over 75 countries have competed for top honors. FGC represents an extraordinary exploration into the future of architecture, and in so doing, cont...

October 31 deadline set for LAGI 2020 Fly Ranch competition

2020-04-10T16:30:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Land Art Generator Initiative

The Land Art Generator Initiative and Burning Man Project have partnered to launch a multi-disciplinary design challenge—LAGI 2020 Fly Ranch—that will create the foundational infrastructure of Fly Ranch.

You are invited to propose your regenerative artwork in this stunning landscape. In 2021 selected design teams will be provided an honoraria grant for the purpose of building a functional prototype on site.

*Land Art Generator Directors Elizabeth Monoian & Robert Ferry address the community with updates and motivation.

Thank you to the 161 people who responded to the survey we sent two weeks ago. Many of you wrote to us in the comments section with personal stories of how your lives have been affected by the novel coronavirus. While some of you (about 16%) were in favor of maintaining the May 31 submission deadline for LAGI 2020 Fly Ranch , most of you told stories of why more time would be beneficial—some who are either t...