Introducing the sixth Architect’s Chair competition, an exciting opportunity for architects and designers to showcase their creativity, versatility, and design vision through the creation of a signature piece of furniture.

Developed in partnership with Stockholm Furniture Fair, the world’s leading platform for Scandinavian design, this edition offers participants the unique opportunity to engage directly with one of the most influential events in the international furniture and design industry.

Take a seat and make a statement!

Inspired by the long-standing tradition of architects extending their design philosophy beyond buildings and into furniture, the competition challenges participants to distill their architectural thinking into a single object – the architect’s chair. Throughout history, renowned architects such as Charles and Ray Eames, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, and Arne Jacobsen have created iconic chairs that embody their distinct design approaches.

The Architect’s Chair competition continues this tradition by inviting a new generation of designers to explore materials, craftsmanship, construction techniques, ergonomics, and innovation through the design of a chair that reflects their unique creative identity.

This sixth edition carries special significance through its collaboration with Stockholm Furniture Fair. The competition results evaluation process will take place in connection with the fair, bringing submitted projects into direct dialogue with one of the most important gatherings of architects, designers, manufacturers, and industry leaders. In addition, selected winning designs will be exhibited during Stockholm Furniture Fair, providing participants with an exceptional opportunity to present their work to an international audience and gain visibility within the global design community.

The sixth competition edition.

As part of an ongoing series dedicated to custom furniture design, The Architect’s Chair encourages participants to move beyond the traditional boundaries of architecture and engage with furniture as a medium for architectural expression. By creating a signature chair that embodies their personal design philosophy, participants contribute to the evolving relationship between architecture, design, and craftsmanship while joining a tradition that continues to shape the future of contemporary furniture design.

Download the full competition brief for more information!

Competition is open to all. No professional qualification is required. Design proposals can be developed individually or by teams (4 team members maximum). Correspondence with organizers must be conducted in English; all information submitted by participants must be in English.

Open to all. Register now.

As part of Buildner’s collaboration with Stockholm Furniture Fair, selected winning designs from The Architect’s Chair Edition #6 will be exhibited at one of the most prestigious and influential furniture and design events in the world. Widely regarded as the leading platform for Scandinavian furniture, lighting, and interior design, Stockholm Furniture Fair has been a cornerstone of the global design industry for decades, attracting thousands of architects, designers, manufacturers, retailers, developers, journalists, and decision-makers from nearly 100 countries. The fair is renowned for showcasing groundbreaking ideas, emerging talent, and industry-leading innovations, making it a key destination for anyone shaping the future of design. For winners, exhibiting at Stockholm Furniture Fair provides exceptional international exposure, valuable networking opportunities, and direct access to manufacturers, media, buyers, and industry leaders, offering a unique chance to gain recognition and establish meaningful professional connections on a global stage.

Brief

The competition brief is available for download at any time in the following languages: English, Italian, French and Spanish

FULL COMPETITION BRIEF [ENG] [FR] [IT] [ES]

Download brief

Jury

The jury panel for The Architect's Chair / Edition #6 Architecture Competition has not yet been published. Buildner is committed to selecting the most qualified industry professionals to comprise its jury panels. These panels include architects and experts from related fields to ensure fair and objective evaluation of all entries. All communication regarding the competition should be directed exclusively to Buildner staff. Explore some of the names featured in previous Buildner competition jury panels:

Norman Foster

Norman Foster Foundation

Spain

Philippe Starck

Creator

France

Farshid Moussavi

Farshid Moussavi Architecture (FMA)

United Kingdom

Alison Brooks

Alison Brooks Architects

Lyndon Neri

Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

China

Nathalie De Vries

MVRDV

Netherlands

Amanda Levete

Founder, AL_A

Francine Houben

Founding Partner, Mecanoo

Netherlands

Ben Van Berkel

Founder and Principle, UNStudio

Netherlands

Lucy Tilley

Adjaye Associates

Fernanda Canales

Mexico

David Gianotten

OMA -Office for Metropolitan Architecture

Netherlands

Gordon Gill

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

United States

Ece Calguner Erzan

Interiors Principal, SOM

USA

David Basulto

Founder, ArchDaily

Germany

Will Plowman

Partner at Foster + Partners

UAE

Patrik Schumacher

Director of Zaha Hadid Architects

Manuela Gatto

Director, Zaha Hadid Architects

Melodie Leung

Director, Zaha Hadid Architects

Paulo Flores

Director, Zaha Hadid Architects

Charles Walker

Director of Zaha Hadid Architects

Michael Maltzan

Michael Maltzan Architecture

United States

Steven Rainville

Olson Kundig

United States

Roberto Bannura

Steven Holl Architects - SHA

China

Andrew Whalley

Grimshaw

United Kingdom

Eli Synnevåg

Snøhetta

Norway

Jette Hopp

Director, Snøhetta

Norway

Julia Murphy

Managing Partner at SOM

USA

Stefan de Koning

Partner at MVRDV

Netherlands

Doriana Fuksas

Studio Fuksas

Italy

Winy Maas

Founder, MVRDV

Netherlands

Flora Lee

Associate Partner, MAD Architects

USA

Martin Voelkle

Partner at BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group

USA

Thomas Christoffersen

BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group

Denmark

Carlo Ratti

Director, MIT Senseable City Lab

USA

Micael Calatrava

Calatrava Grace and Calatrava International

UAE

Christina Seilern

Studio Seilern Architects

Bertrand Schippan

Partner, MVRDV

Netherlands

Beatriz Colomina

Director of Graduate Studies, PhD Program, School of Architecture, Princeton University

United States

Anupama Kundoo

Architect and Professor at TU Berlin

Germany

Moshe Safdie

Safdie Architects

USA

Silvana Ordinas

Founder and Partner, Peter Pichler Architecture

Italy

Vishaan Chakrabarti

Practice for architecture and urbanism: PAU

USA

Deborah Berke

TenBerke Architects

USA

Julien De Smedt

JDS Architects

Denmark

Michael Meredith

Princeton University, MOS

USA

Christele Harrouk

Editor in Chief, ArchDaily

Lebanon

618 jury members

Ask questions to the jury panel directly!

This option is available to registered participants only.

If you are registered, please access your upload panel and look for the
Jury Questions & Answers section.

Ask to all.
One collective jury answer

Ask a
specific jury member

Ask questions about

The brief

Interpretation and intent of the competition brief

Your task

Key themes, priorities, or values considered during evaluation

Design help

General design approach or conceptual direction

Register now — don't fall behind.

If you are registered, please access your upload panel and look for the
Jury Questions & Answers section.

Personal design assessment

Request an in-depth design assessment of your project after results are announced.

The design assessment highlights each project’s strengths and areas for improvement, giving participants valuable insight into their work. It helps them better understand their submission, compare it to other entries, and identify opportunities for growth in future projects.

Prizes

Total prize Fund

8,000 € + Exhibition at Stockholm Furniture Fair

1ST PLACE

3,500 €

2ND PLACE

2,000 €

3RD PLACE

1,000 €

Student award

1,000 €

(more details)

Sustainability award

500 €

(more details)

Honorable mentions

6 Honourable mentions & certificates

Publicity campaign

The Buildner’s extensive global publicity campaign for the competition winners:

Buildner's two million

The results are published on buildner.com, a leading website in the architecture industry, attracting over one million unique visitors annually. Additionally, the campaign extends to Buildner's social networks, which boast over 800,000 followers combined, and through newsletter campaigns reaching over 200,000 subscribers.

Feature in a book

Winners will be featured in the book.

Interview and movie

Winners will have the opportunity to submit a movie and an interview, boosting their recognizability and helping to build their name in the industry.

Extensive media network

Buildner leverages an extensive network of media industry leaders to publish the competition results. This broadens the audience further, ensuring that participants' work is showcased across multiple platforms known for their influence and reach in the architecture and design sectors.

Publicity

ArchDaily feature

As part of the collaboration between Buildner and ArchDaily, the competition winners will be showcased on ArchDaily, a leading architecture news platform.

This feature will greatly boost the winners' visibility to millions of architecture professionals and enthusiasts worldwide, increasing their chances for new opportunities, attracting new clients, and establishing their reputation in the industry.

Publicity

Exhibition at Stockholm Furniture Fair

Selected winning designs will be exhibited at Stockholm Furniture Fair, one of the world’s most prestigious and influential furniture and design events. Recognized as the leading international platform for Scandinavian furniture, lighting, and interior design, the fair attracts thousands of architects, designers, manufacturers, buyers, media representatives, and industry leaders from around the globe each year.

Exhibiting at Stockholm Furniture Fair provides winners with unparalleled visibility, placing their work in front of key decision-makers and offering valuable opportunities for international recognition, professional networking, and future collaborations within the global design industry.

The Buildner Medal

Learn more

Winners of this competition will automatically be included in the annual final, where they will compete for the Buildner Medal Award alongside a limited number of Buildner competition winners.

The Buildner Medal 2027

50,000 €

By invitation only. One life-changing award a year. The invitation is earned here.

1st place25,000 €

2nd place15,000 €

3rd place5,000 €

Student award5,000 €

Enter The Architect's Chair competition

Register and submit your project before the deadline.
Be among the winners

1st, 2nd or 3rd Prize, or a special award such as the Student or Sustainability Award, depending on the competition.
Access invitation-only
Buildner Medal Award

Invitation sent to every winner. Nothing to submit, nothing to pay.
Share 50,000 € prize fund

The jury awards the Buildner Medal among invited projects only.

Eligibility

This international competition is open to architects, artists, and creatives from all backgrounds. Whether you are an emerging talent, an established professional, or exploring a bold new idea, your vision is welcome. All submissions must be completed in English to ensure fair evaluation.

Key dates

Send reminders

Closing date for registration

3 December 2026

Competition Q&A deadline

8 December 2026

In order to guarantee equal opportunities to all competition participants.

No new questions will be answered after this deadline.

Closing date for project submission

5 January 2027

23:59 (LONDON TIME)

Announcement of the winners

10 February 2027

Competition Q&A deadline

8 December 2026

In order to guarantee equal opportunities to all competition participants.

No new questions will be answered after this deadline.

Registration fees

I'm

Architect / Enthusiast / Company

Student

I will pay in

Single payment

in 3 monthly installments

140 €
This registration provides a complete set of prizes, including certificates of achievement, monetary rewards, and potential construction benefits.

+4.5% VAT

STUDENT REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

Contact us to receive special student rates for group registrations (discount applies for 3+ registrations from one university/school) and to receive further information and support for getting your students involved in architecture competitions.

Send us ([email protected]) a request from your university email address and basic information about yourself and your university/school. Only recognized university staff can apply for the reduced student rate.

FAQ

Ask questions to the jury panel directly!

This option is available to registered participants only.

If you are registered, please access your upload panel and look for the
Jury Questions & Answers section.

Ask to all.
One collective jury answer

Ask a
specific jury member

Ask questions about

The brief

Interpretation and intent of the competition brief

Your task

Key themes, priorities, or values considered during evaluation

Design help

General design approach or conceptual direction

Register now — don't fall behind.

If you are registered, please access your upload panel and look for the
Jury Questions & Answers section.

Will I lose my author rights? What will Buildner do with my work?

Absolutely not! You’ll always keep full ownership and authorship of your project. Submitting to a Buildner competition doesn’t mean giving up your rights — it simply gives us permission to share and promote your work as part of the competition. We may feature your project on our website, social media, newsletters, books, or exhibitions — all to celebrate your creativity and inspire others. This permission helps us give your work the visibility it deserves, without needing to ask you each time we publish it.

How to participate in the competition?

Click on "register now", fill in all the required fields, choose your payment method and submit your information. You will be forwarded to Paypal or CPS secure payment gateway, to cover the competition fee. Once we receive your payment, we'll send you an email with your username and password to upload your submission directly to the website.

How to add/remove/edit team member information?

You can add/remove/edit team member information as often as you want in the upload panel, up until the submission deadline.

Will you publish the best projects in any international architectural resources/web-sites/blogs, if so which are they?

Yes we are in the process of negotiating with multiple international industry-related media representatives. The list of media partners is constantly updated on our website, please check it regularly to find latest updates.

Will the licensed architect teams have priority in the evaluation process?

No. Competition entries are evaluated anonymously. The participant registration type is only revealed upon the announcement of the results.

I am experiencing problems with registration payment processing.

Please contact us – [email protected] and we will address the problem directly.

Can I submit a previously published project?

The short answer is yes, you may submit a previously published design concept as long as you are the author. Before re-submitting your project, please carefully read the following clarification points listed here - architecturecompetitions.com/resubmit-your-design

Does Buildner have a policy regarding the use of AI-generated images in submissions?

As AI-generated images may be based on pre-existing work or generated using proprietary algorithms, it is best to check the specific terms and conditions of the AI tool used to generate the image to determine its ownership status. It may also be necessary to seek legal advice to fully understand the ownership rights and any restrictions that may apply. In general, it is not recommended to consider AI-generated images as your sole work or intellectual property unless you have obtained explicit permission to do so.

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Architecture competitions hold a unique and important place in the profession, offering value both to society and to the architects who participate. As architects, we have a responsibility to be visionaries in the built environment and to champion equitable, sustainable, and beautiful design. Competitions provide a forum to test those ideas while building a toolkit of skills and approaches that can inform our work and, potentially, the work of others. They create space for critical investigations of the design zeitgeist and for experimentation that can push the discipline forward. I participate for my own growth as a designer—and because they are good fun.