Foreword
Buildner is excited to announce the results of the Caramel Shore Traveller Rooms Competition! The project is organized as part of Buildner's Small-Scale Architecture competition series.
For this event, Buildner asked participants to design a prototype sleeping cabin of 20 m² with a sleeping area, kitchenette, storage, shower, and toilet, to be located in the Latvian town of Skrunda, on the golden-sand shores of the Venta River. The Venta River is home to the widest waterfall in Europe, and its bright yellow caramel-coloured sands make it an idyllic spot for rural tourists to visit.
Buildner worked with an international jury with a range of experience in projects of similar type and scale: Nancy Beka, an architectural designer and co-director of Studio Edwards, a Melbourne-based design practice; Willem van Bolderen, founding partner of Helsinki-based Studio Puisto Architects Ltd; Mari Hunt, an Estonian architect, partner and co-founder of the architecture office b210, a lecturer at the Estonian Academy of Arts, and a tiny house builder; Pablo Larroulet, a Chilean architect and founder of LARROU ARQ - Pablo Larroulet Arquitectura; Marco Lavit, founder of Paris-based practice, Atelier LAVIT; Jordi Riembau Ribot and Miguel Rusca Mestre, co-founders of Nordest architecture SLP, based outside of Barcelona; and Ahti Sepsivart, an architect, versatile artist, and teacher located in Tallinn, Estonia.
Buildner and its jury team thank all the participants for their submissions!
1st Prize Winner +
Client Favorite
Client Favorite
DIAGONAL
By participating in architectural competitions we learn the methods and ways of finding architectural ideas. It`s always suprising to find many different solutions for one location.
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PolandJury feedback summary
Diagonal is a proposal for a cabin with a reduced footprint to best preserve the landscape. It is a top-heavy form, angled in shape with a narrow base to ‘raise’ the main living area off of the ground. The base is used for various storage considerations including firewood. The clean form is clad in wood stacked vertically to correspond with the site's riverside grasses. The jury writes: “A modern and smart design with an innovative and compact space that gives an amazing experience to visitors. Thanks to its simplicity, this proposal blends and balances with nature. The unique shape of the building frames views towards the landscape and sky. The scheme is delicate - taking into account its surroundings, integrating with the landscape. It creates two different atmospheres: one directly related with the site, and the other more introspective in relation to the sky.” The jury also commented that the project is easy to understand, with images that express well the design intent. The entrance ladder was noted to limit accessibility and that some form of stairs might be taken into consideration for enhanced access.
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Under Bridge
The Home of Shadows
MICROHOME
Workplace Reimagined
Museum of Emotions
2nd Prize Winner
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Architecture competitions are a great way to explore personal interests, test strategies, and have more creative freedom.
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United StatesJury feedback summary
It Takes a Village is conceived as a collection of cabins with thatched roofs, built and designed using local vernacular practices. The cabins are scattered about the site and its trees. Within the cabin, a stepped form is based around a mass rocket heater - a form of slow-release radiant heating system which uses less wood than a typical wood-burning oven. The thatched roofing is exposed on the interior for a ‘rich material experience.’ The jury writes; “The concept is bold yet sensitive with playful and clever geometry, creating variety and providing different views to the site. A beautiful and modern presentation. It is also a proposal with an unexpected twist - the volumes have elements of vernacular architecture, but the guest experience is exciting and contemporary. The internal space and the use of each zone in plan and section is clever. Material use and local building techniques make the concept naturally sustainable.” The jury also commended the high-quality renderings and plans.
3rd Prize Winner
a series of rooms
Architecture competitions are a useful exercise, essential for me to keep my mind trained. But most of all because I enjoy the design process.
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SwitzerlandJury feedback summary
A series of rooms strings a network of sleeping spaces along a linear volume, connected under the same roof as a single building. The cellular network is punctuated with open terraces that frame views to the landscape and permit some variation in the plan for exterior covered spaces mixed with interior spaces. The individual ‘cabin’ is cleverly designed as two consecutive squares in plan with a primary open circulation axis linked to perimeter niches for sleeping, cooking and writing. In section the roof is kinked to allow for clerestory lighting from above at center. The jury commented: “The plans and sections of this scheme are very well designed and thought through. The materiality is strong and creates a great ambience internally. This is an interesting project as it connects all functions together in a single clear way.”
ARCHHIVE STUDENT AWARD
Promenade
Architecture competitions are a useful exercise, essential for me to keep my mind trained. But most of all because I enjoy the design process.
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AAPPAREL SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
myCO-cabin
We participate because it encourages us to explore and share some new perspectives about contemporary architecture, as well as the possibility of materializing these new ideas and to approach to other cultures. It also presents the opportunity to see the diversity and plurality of ideas developed under the same requirements.
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GermanyHonorable Mentions
Shortlisted projects
The Cabin Behind The Curtain
United States MANY WORLDS
Poznan university of technology , politechnika poznańska
+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland Revive
Accurate & associates infra pvt. ltd.
British Indian Ocean Trty. Spine Stories
Romania 
LUCID DREAM
Academy of fine arts in gdansk , akademia sztuk pięknych w gdańsku
+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland Following the fire
Warsaw university of technology , politechnika warszawska
+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland THE BEAUTY OF THE BURL
Academy of fine arts in gdansk , akademia sztuk pięknych w gdańsku
+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland myCO-cabin
Germany a series of rooms
Switzerland 
Everywhere at Once
Italy 
ZE Sanctuary
Egypt URA
Spain permanent camping
Austria Folklore Retreat
United Kingdom A Cabin On Stilts
University of texas at austin
+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
United States Caramel Shore Cabins
University of texas at austin
+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
United States Layer By Layer Cabins
The university of texas at austin
+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
United States Mise en abyme
South Korea Caramel Shores Joy Pyramids
University of texas at austin
+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
United States 
Caramel Shore Traveller Rooms
Logworks
Russian Federation IT TAKES A VILLAGE
United States Venta • Vēna
Germany DIAGONAL
Poland River Hearth
Italy Green Cabin
Politechnika poznańska/poznań university of technology
+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland The Tapestry of River Venta
The university of nottingham ningbo china
+26 points Buildner University Rankings!
China The Straw Village
Italy Nomadic Grounds
South Korea Under a haystack
Offcon
Russian Federation Thatch
Master`s plan
Russian Federation Promenade
Rwth aachen university, rheinisch-westfälische technische hochschule aachen
+74 points Buildner University Rankings!
Germany 
STRICHKA HOUSE
Desirum
United Kingdom FIVE-CHARACTER CABINS
Beijing university of technology
+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
China TRIANGLE UNIT
Italy 