Introduction

COMPETITION ORGANISERS
Iceland Ski 
Snow Cabin

Buildner is excited to announce the results of its Iceland Ski Snow Cabin international competition!

Iceland's raw, untamed beauty provided a unique canvas where the snow whispered ancient tales and the Northern Lights danced above. The "Iceland Ski Snow Cabin" competition, organized by Buildner, invited architects and designers to enhance this magnificent landscape with a haven for the skiing community. This contest went beyond constructing a structure; it was about creating an experience that embodied the spirit of Icelandic winters.

Participants were challenged to design a small-scale cabin that served as a warm, inviting pit stop for skiers. The design needed to blend functionality with the enchanting Icelandic aesthetic, offering comfort and practicality while framing the stunning surrounding vistas. The cabin was required to include features such as a rest and warmth area, a self-serve refreshment station, changing rooms, toilets, equipment storage, and a maintenance garage for a snow groomer.

Buildner worked with an outstanding international jury to evaluate the submissions received: Francisco Garcia de Freitas of Portuguese firm Atelier RUA - Arquitectos; Anne Cecilie Haug of Oslo-based studio Snøhetta; Borghildur Indriðadóttir of the Icelandic office Teiknistofan Óðinstorgi; Hildur Ísdal of Iceland-based Plusark; Euan Millar of Icosis Architects; Tom Schroeder of Patkau Architects in Vancouver; and Sigrún Sumarliðadóttir of Studio Bua.

Buildner and its jurors extend their congratulations to the winners and thank each of the participating teams for the contribution to this event.

We sincerely thank our jury panel
for their time and expertise

Marshall Blecher

Founder at Studio Marshall Blecher & Co-founder at MAST

Denmark

Francisco Garcia de Freitas

Atelier RUA - Arquitectos

Portugal

Anne Cecilie Haug

Senior Architect, Snøhetta

Norway

Borghildur Indriðadóttir

Teiknistofan Óðinstorgi

Iceland

Hildur Isdal

Ísdal Arkitektúr

Iceland

Søren Leth

Partner and Co-founder, SLETH

Denmark

Tom Schroeder

Patkau Architects

Canada

Sigrún Sumarliðadóttir

Studio BUA

UK

Euan Millar

Cofounder, Icosis Architects

Scotland

1st Prize Winner

Project name

Cold Cover

What excites me the most is the challenge of providing my own solutions for a wide variety of tasks and being able to share them with a community. The platform offers young architects, in particular, the opportunity to present new and inspiring ideas to enhance growth and personal development.

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Author
Lucas Nieswandt
Country
Germany
  • 9/10 Linework
  • 9/10 Quality of drawings
  • 8/10 Balance of color
  • 9/10 Layout
  • 10/10 Hierarchy
  • 6/10 Annotation
  • 7/10 Text
  • 8/10 Clarity of story
  • 8/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 8/10 Quality of overall presentation

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

The Rising Basalt

Architecture competitions are an incredible way to broaden one’s mind and elaborate on knowledge. This first competition for all of us also meant working together with people we held in high regard. It was a way of actively choosing who to work with and learning to be productive despite having multiple things going on in our lives and being far away from each other.

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Authors
Artemis Samartzi
Marco Conte
Gianmarco Bambini
Brit Cuypers
Country
Italy
  • 9/10 Linework
  • 8/10 Quality of drawings
  • 7/10 Balance of color
  • 9/10 Layout
  • 9/10 Hierarchy
  • 6/10 Annotation
  • 7/10 Text
  • 7/10 Clarity of story
  • 8/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 8/10 Quality of overall presentation

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

Optical Earthform

Competitions are an opportunity to explore, often in less-bounded ways, allowing new ideas to emerge.

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Authors
Karen Wang Varholick
Joseph Varholick
Country
United States
  • 10/10 Linework
  • 10/10 Quality of drawings
  • 9/10 Balance of color
  • 9/10 Layout
  • 10/10 Hierarchy
  • 9/10 Annotation
  • 9/10 Text
  • 9/10 Clarity of story
  • 10/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10 Quality of overall presentation

BUILDNER STUDENT AWARD

Project name

NORDLYS

As students, we have found that competitions give us the opportunity to work on projects that we wouldn't encounter in the professional realm and to explore out-of-the-box solutions to common challenges. Competitions have been an excellent opportunity to share our ideas and see what other students and architects from around the world propose.

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  • 7/10 Linework
  • 8/10 Quality of drawings
  • 8/10 Balance of color
  • 9/10 Layout
  • 6/10 Hierarchy
  • 8/10 Annotation
  • 8/10 Text
  • 8/10 Clarity of story
  • 8/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 8/10 Quality of overall presentation

BUILDNER SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Project name

Krafla Ski Snow Cabin

We have participated in a number of architectural competitions during the last two years. We believe they are an excellent way to challenge our skills and provide a vehicle to highlight our architectural approach to the issues that we have discussed above.

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Author
Roberta-Maria Vasnic
Country
United Kingdom
  • 8/10 Linework
  • 9/10 Quality of drawings
  • 9/10 Balance of color
  • 8/10 Layout
  • 10/10 Hierarchy
  • 7/10 Annotation
  • 7/10 Text
  • 8/10 Clarity of story
  • 9/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 8/10 Quality of overall presentation

Honorable mentions

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Project name

Ski Slope

Architecture competitions allow me to experiment with design ideas with unique programs and sites. Each project starts with a site that brings with it strong characteristics of community, landscape, climate, history, culture and place. These ideas are what informs any project and allows for a singular, impactful design to emerge through exploration and study. The result should be a building that could not exist anywhere else but there.

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Author
Christopher Andrew Garth Tron
Country
United States
Project name

SAGA

Competitions are a very stimulating and complementary method and tool for working on everyday projects in the office. They help you stay engaged with research and encourage "out of the box" thinking and creating. Through sensible and sensitive experiments, you can temporarily escape your everyday space/time realities, routines, local legislation and politics, and sometimes narrow investor logic. In the case of this project (Iceland ski snow cabin), we also traveled in our imagination to the dramatic, archetypal, and beautiful landscapes of this remote island, which we have already visited and with whose nature and culture we have developed a very passionate, intimate relationship.

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Authors
Aleksander Ostan
Nataša Pavlin
Daniel Ilijeski
Country
Slovenia
Project name

unFolding Mantle

We participate in architecture competitions to find the space to complement our different backgrounds in a challenging project and to contrast our ideas with the collective.

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Authors
Sebastián Iñaki Otayza Solari
Martin Hurtado Izquierdo
Pablo Ignacio Santiago Camus Rojas
Juan José Correa Pizarro
Country
Chile
Project name

Langhús

Participating in architectural competitions allows us to challenge ourselves creatively and professionally. Participating in international competitions like this one helps broaden our perspective and consider new cultural experiences beyond our own norms and tastes. We also wanted to design freely again, as we did in our university days, focusing on aesthetics, function, and sustainability rather than being defined by guidelines, requirements, or money. We hoped to create something truly beautiful while pursuing the ideals of architecture.

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Authors
Bas Jeroen Kahlert
Alexander Christian Peter Heim
Country
Germany
Project name

Snowfire

Architecture competitions provide a relatively uninhibited freedom to dream. These opportunities keep the thoughtful passion for design alive.

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Company
Authors
Mahla Ebrahimpour
Hiu Yu Ong
Nathaniel David Carden
Country
Netherlands
Project name

FÖNN - A Snowdrift In Mývatn

We love exploring the world through travel and design. Competitions offer fantastic opportunities to learn folklore, reimagine sites, merge experiences, and design new dialogues.

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Authors
Yingzhi Chen
Tuo Chen
Country
United States

Shortlisted projects

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ICE-CUBE

Jiansong Yuan
Xiaotong Ni
United States

The Long House

Manu Vihtori Humppi

Laitila Architects

Finland

Optical Earthform

Karen Wang Varholick
Joseph Varholick
United States

The Red Beacon

Bogdan-petru Pană
László Csányi
Romania

Mývatyn Ski Cabin

Ryan Kirkness
Australia

Snowfire

Mahla Ebrahimpour
Hiu Yu Ong
Nathaniel David Carden

Novel Terra

Netherlands

TOBLERON_SKI

Justus Wohlleben
Haakon Hermann Theodor Hören

Technical University of Kaiserslautern , Technische Universität Kaiserslautern

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Germany

Mjöll

Nils Marten Steinacker

Technische Universität München , The Technical University of Munich

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Germany

Langhús

Bas Jeroen Kahlert
Alexander Christian Peter Heim
Germany

The Passage

Guillermo Del Río Cogolludo
Spain

Belvedere

Paulus A C Janse
Netherlands

Torfbaeir

Silvio Gonçalves
Samuel Pirmin Dafflon
Lucas Jolan Rodriguez
Switzerland

The visitor's retreat

Michelle Rosenvinge
Denmark

SKIHOUSE

Aisa Dervisevic
Bosnia

MYVATN REFUGE

Małgorzata Anna Gałdyńska
Poland

ICELAND SKI CHALET

丰溢 石
China

The Linear Monolith

Federico Belfiore
Federico Asinelli
Matteo Aglio
Italy

FIRE CAMP

Hubert Pierre Olivier Charlaix
Mathieu Henri Pierre Nouhen
France

NORDLYS

Daniel Alberto Caraveo Chavarria

UNAM - National Autonomous University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
Mexico

FÖNN - A Snowdrift In Mývatn

Yingzhi Chen
Tuo Chen
United States

The crossing

Thibaut Julien Muller
Laurent Nicolas Munch
France

unFolding Mantle

Sebastián Iñaki Otayza Solari
Martin Hurtado Izquierdo
Pablo Ignacio Santiago Camus Rojas
Juan José Correa Pizarro
Chile

Ski Slope

Christopher Andrew Garth Tron
United States

The hearth

Pietro Cipolletta
Marco Caporaletti
Italy

Nordic Silver Shelter

Fabio Angelo César Neuenschwander
Valeria Emy Armijo Rodriguez

Zurich University of Applied Sciences

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Switzerland

Cold Cover

Lucas Nieswandt
Germany

Aurora Shelter

Stefano Arzilli
Alessandro Massari
Filippo Pennella
Italy

65 - 16 °

Alberto Rossini
Italy

SAGA

Aleksander Ostan
Nataša Pavlin
Daniel Ilijeski
Slovenia

A place for window-weather

Grant Walter Dokken
Maya Bergstrom Gamble
United States

Contrast

Gheorghe Bogdan Scorus
Romania

Turf's legacy

Renata Orova
Anna Marosán
Hungary

Three Sod Houses

Seokmin Ham
Min Jun Kim
Ahn Kyeongjun
South Korea

The Rising Basalt

Artemis Samartzi
Marco Conte
Gianmarco Bambini
Brit Cuypers
Italy

CELAS

Evangelos Mitsianis
Maria Michali
Greece

CROWN OF MYVATN

Emre Özcan
Onur İlgÖz
Kerem Aydin
Turkey

Skiers Sanctuary

Lucas Perin Trancoso
Brazil

Vegvisir

Ayberk Aydin

Istanbul Technical University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Turkey

Gateway to the Slopes

ÁdÁm Balog
Switzerland

Krafla Ski Snow Cabin

Roberta-Maria Vasnic

VOID STUDIOS ARCHITECTURE + RESEARCH

United Kingdom

Warming Hut 01

Evan Emmanuel Shaner

Shaner & Co.

United States