Bustler's Top Winning Projects and Student Works of 2021

The Urban Confluence Silicon Valley competition announces winning design proposal

"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. 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.'"

This 3D-printed pedestrian steel bridge concept has won the 2021 Forge Prize

"The latest Forge Prize goes to an innovative concept for a 3D-printed pedestrian steel bridge by Hunter Ruthrauff of T.Y. Lin International Group in San Diego. Established by the American Institute of Steel Construction in 2018, the annual competition invites emerging architects to propose boundary-pushing steel structures."

The 2021 Berkeley Prize essay winners respond to 'Architects in Service to the Community'

"The International Berkeley Undergraduate Prize for Architectural Design Excellence revealed the field of 2021 winners today. Now in its twenty-third year, the annual essay contest, in correlation with the Community Service Fellowship Competition, tasked undergraduate architecture students worldwide to respond to this year's topic, 'Architects in Service to the Community.'"

eVolo reveals the 2021 Skyscraper Competition winners

"The winners are in for the latest Skyscraper Competition, hosted by eVolo Magazine. Every year, the program challenges architects and designers from around the world to envision innovative tall-building concepts that rethink the way we understand vertical architecture. Three winners and twenty honorable mentions were selected by this year's jury."

BIG's Vancouver House named 'Best Tall Building Worldwide' at 2021 CTBUH Awards

"The annual Tall + Urban Innovation Conference recently wrapped up after taking place in a virtual format this year. The event culminated in the announcement of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's 2021 award winners across 29 award categories. For the coveted title of 'Best Tall Building Worldwide,' the jury selected Vancouver House designed by Bjarke Ingels Group in collaboration with Architect of Record DIALOG."

Winners of the 2021 AR Future Project Awards

"The FX Mayr Wellness Eco Retreat project in Wenzhou, China by AIM Architecture has been awarded Overall Winner as well as Hotels and Leisure category winner in The Architectural Review Future Project Awards 2021. Showcasing projects from around the world, this awards program celebrates excellence in unbuilt and incomplete projects." 

The winners of Perkins & Will's 2021 Phil Freelon Design Competition have been announced

"Architects and designers from multiple Perkins&Will studios worldwide have developed design solutions to address how urban spaces, workplaces, and/or daily life may change in post-COVID London. As part of the firm’s annual Phil Freelon Design Competition, these proposals explore ways parts of London can be transformed into healthier, more sustainable, and inclusive places. Now in its 18th year, Perkins&Will’s annual internal design competition calls on staff to collaborate and engage in creating innovative design solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues."

Snøhetta was announced as the winner in a competition to design Milan's first-ever green district

"Snøhetta was announced as the winner in an international competition for the reimagining of a former slaughterhouse complex in the Ex Macello area near the Porta Vittoria station in southeast Milan."

View images of outstanding European projects in adaptive renovation, commercial buildings, and more for the 'best architects 22' Awards

"The annual 'best architects' 22 Award announces this year's winning projects. Recognized for their 'outstanding architectural quality' this year a total of 400 entries were received, the largest submission count for the awards program to date. Thanks to an independent jury of architects winners are selected in design categories for best commercial industrial buildings, education, residential multi-family, renovation/addition, and more." 

2x8 Exhibition announces its 2021 exhibit design competition winner

"The AIA|LA, ARCHITECTURE FOR COMMUNITIES LOS ANGELES (ACLA), and the 2x8 Committee awards this year's winning design to PORO-City by Chieh-Ting Chuang, Martha Kriley, Yushan Men, and Kyoung Eun Park. The project uses milk crates to function as a brick system that "is neither transparent nor solid, housing the exhibition without imposing a hard boundary," shares the design team."

A new school for students with disabilities wins the Grand Prize of this year's Seoul Architecture Award

"The Seoul Metropolitan Government has announced this year’s winners of its annual Seoul Architecture Award. A group of 12 were selected for their projects' proximity to the award mission of 'promoting excellent buildings and spatial environments that realize the public, artistic and technological values of architecture and improve the quality of life of citizens' in Korea's capital city.

Mecanoo named as the 2021 European Prize for Architecture winner

"Francine Houben and Dick van Gameren, leading architects of Dutch multidisciplinary design firm Mecanoo, have been named to one of Europe’s most prestigious architecture awards after a banner year that has seen projects realized in major cities across the world. The 37-year-old firm is this year’s winner of the annual European Prize for Architecture by The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum."

Heliotrope, Beleco, and Design, Bitches among the winners of the 2021 AIA|LA Restaurant Design Awards

"This year's AIA|LA Restaurant Design Awards winners have been announced. Among the nine winners, entries from the west coast of the United States and Mexico were selected for their abilities to 'provide backdrop[s] that enhances and supports cuisine.' A brand-new 'Unbuilt' designation has been added to the 14-year-old honors this year as well. Awards also were given in the Restaurant, Café, and Bar categories as well as People's Choice Awards within each category."

Pratt Institute School of Design announces winners of second annual Material Lab Prize

"Pratt Institute’s School of Design has announced the recipients of its second annual Material Lab Prize. The winner received a $1,000 grant for a project that showcases innovative uses of reclaimed waste. The top prize was awarded to Charlotte Böhning and Mary Lempres (MID ’23) for their project, Strøm, a series that explores carbon and membrane filtration in products made from repurposed agricultural waste."

RIBA London Awards: Winning projects from Glenn Howells, David Chipperfield, and Peter Barber dominate a packed field

"The Royal Institute of British Architects has revealed the list of winners for this year's RIBA London Awards. After releasing an initial shortlist of 77 projects in early June of last year, the organization is now announcing the 46 honorees, which include new buildings by David Chipperfield, SOM, Rogers Stirk Harbour, and other heavyweights. London-based Peter Barber Architects was well represented with four projects on the list, while Glenn Howells' design for the National Ballet took home the 2021 Building of the Year award."

TerraViva Competitions announces list of awarded projects for “The Living Museum” competition

"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." 

Take a look at this year's winners of the ACSA/AISC Steel Design Student Competition

"The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) have announced the winners of their annual Steel Design Student Competition. This year’s winning field of eleven entries is split between Open and Workplace Wellness categories. Superlative projects from Ryerson University and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa showcase a diverse range of building types that includes designs for a Boston waterfront immigrant museum and biophilic research towers."

Docomomo US announced 2021 Modernism in America Awards winners

"Docomomo US has announced the winners of its annual Modernism in America Awards recognizing important restoration projects throughout the country that represent best practices for architects and engineers, and grassroots activists working in the field of advocacy and preservation. The winning projects have been selected for their ability to champion the architecture of Paul Rudolph, Mies van der Rohe, Phillip Johnson, and others whose designs drastically altered the built environment and visual landscape in America post World War II." 

SO–IL's Amant Art Campus wins Best New Building in the 2021 MASterworks Awards

"SO–IL’s Amant Art Campus in Brooklyn has been awarded Best New Building in the 2021 MASterworks Awards. The Municipal Art Society of New York’s MASterworks Awards honors projects that make a significant contribution to New York City’s built environment. The art campus is the home of Brooklyn-based non-profit arts organization Amant. A collection of four buildings comprise the site, separated by a series of courtyards and arteries that connect to the surrounding area. It houses exhibition galleries, a performance space, a bookstore and café as well as an independent studio residency."

Graduate of the Year Awards winners announced by Design Institute of Australia

"The Design Institute of Australia (DIA) has announced the winners of their 2021 Graduate of the Year Awards (GOTYA). Chosen from 173 nominations and 27 State winners, the 8 overall winners are drawn from disciplines across the design industry, from fashion and products to interiors and decorating."

Announcing the winners of the Modular Home Design Challenge 2021

"Bee Breeders has announced the winners of its first annual Modular Home Design Challenge. The contestants had a fairly open-ended prompt to submit designs to the twelve-member jury panel which included modular design luminaries like Ben van Berkel and Chris Precht."

School designs, museum interiors, and urban interventions are among the 2021 Architecture MasterPrize winners

"The sixth edition of the Architecture MasterPrize (AMP) was announced in Los Angeles. The winners were selected from an international pool of applicants by a 73-member jury panel which included Lipton Plant founder Jonathan Plant, Keith Williams, and Pusan National University professor Lawrence Kim. The prize celebrates firms, projects, photographers, and commercial products in both professional and student categories. This year’s winners include a diverse body of works that is both innovative and of extraordinarily high quality, according to the jury’s report." 

Winners unveiled for the CTBUH’s 2021 Student Tall Building Design Competition

"The winning entries have been announced for the 10th iteration of the CTBUH International Student Tall Building Design Competition. Four winners have been selected from over 150 entries, including two teams hailing from Malaysia. The four winners focus on a variety of pressing topics in urbanism, with tall buildings that combat COVID-19, encourage innovation, repurpose waste, and strengthen biodiversity."

Carles Enrich Studio is winner of the AR Emerging Architecture Awards 2020

"The winners of the AR Emerging Architecture Awards 2020 have been announced by The Architectural Review. Barcelona-based Carles Enrich Studio was awarded as overall winner, while Philippine-Norwegian practice Khadka + Furunes was awarded the Peter Davey Prize as the editors' choice. The practices were selected from a shortlist of 16 young architects and designers from around the world, chosen in recognition of their potential to be 'the architectural stars of tomorrow.' Previous winners of the award include Shigeru Ban, Thomas Heatherwick, and Frida Escobedo."

2021 Architecture Drawing Prize winners announced, with all top prizes going to students

"The winning entries to the 2021 Architecture Drawing Prize have been announced, with student submissions winning first place across all three categories: hand-drawn, hybrid, and digital. The awards series, now in its fifth year, is co-curated by Make Architects, Sir John Soane’s Museum, and the World Architecture Festival". 

Atelier tao+c are announced as winners of this year's INSIDE Festival World Interior of the Year award

"In culmination of the two organization's shared annual awards program, the World Architecture Festival and INSIDE Festival of Interiors have just named the Capsule Hostel and Bookstore in Qinglongwu, China as the 2021 winner of the World Interior of the Year prize. The design features a 20-person hostel and community bookstore space inserted into a 232-square-meter (2,500-square-foot) stone house set amongst the richly forested landscape of Zhejiang Province. Atelier tao+c's intention was to explore the idea of a 'building within a building.'"

CopenHill/Amager Bakke wins 2021 World Building of the Year award

"It doesn't happen every day that a large piece of urban infrastructure is crowned the globe's best new building design, but at today's closing ceremony of the annual World Architecture Festival, one industrial facility reigned supreme over a shortlist of 200 noteworthy new buildings: CopenHill, the illustrious waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen also known as Amager Bakke, has been declared the World Building of the Year 2021."

AR House Awards 2021 results announced, with former car repair shop crowned winner

"The Architectural Review has announced the results of the AR House Awards for 2021, recognizing six residential projects from around the world. The winning house was chosen by a judging panel that included three previous AR House finalists: Fernanda Canales, Mexico-based architect, designer, critic, and curator; Tina Gregorič, co-founder of Dekleva Gregorič Architects; and David Leech, founder of David Leech Architects."

The winning student architecture projects of the 2021 RIBA President's Medals

"The 2021 edition of the prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects President's Medals has been announced marking the award’s remarkable 185th edition. 'The RIBA President’s Medals celebrate the best work of students from 102 architectural schools around the world,' RIBA President Simon Alford said in a statement."

House on the Hill by Alison Brooks Architects announced as 2021 House of the Year winner

"In its final update to the House of the Year competition, the Royal Institute of British Architects has today announced Alison Brooks Architects’ House on the Hill as the winner of the organization's prestigious annual award. The house features a bespoke contemporary extension of an 18th-century farmhouse structure in Gloucestershire." 

Winners of the 2021 WARMING Competition propose urban sedimentology, whale-based carbon capture, and flood-proof farming

"The winning entries of Arch Out Loud's 2021 WARMING Competition have been revealed. The challenge invited students and professionals from the fields of architecture, planning, and design to create and imagine the future of our built environment as it responds to our world's greatest crisis: climate change."

UNESCO honors the world’s best contemporary architecture at the Prix Versailles 2021

"24 projects have been declared overall winners at the Prix Versailles 2021. The projects were chosen from eight categories: airports, campuses, passenger stations, sports, stores, shopping malls, hotels, and restaurants. Each category saw three winners selected, picked from a pool of 94 candidates."

Announcing the Eurasian 2021 Prize Winners

"The successful entries of the 16th Eurasian Prize edition, an international award for architecture, urban development, and design, have been announced. A selection of winners, commendations, and special prize recipients was chosen from a field that included entries from firms from around the globe. The month-long event culminated in the three-day ArchEurasia summit in mid-December and concluded with the annual awards ceremony."