The Earth is in a chaotic and confusing state right now, with the future of our society not entirely clear. But in a world of global pandemics, climate change, wars and a constant cost of living crisis, now is the time to reflect on the positive aspects of humanity and its many great achievements.
The Pavilion Of Humanity: First Contact architecture ideas competition tasks participants with designing a structure encapsulating the best and brightest of our species in a way that, should we ever be visited by other life forms, would allow them to learn about our achievements in a single space.
In the same way the Pioneer Plaques, placed on board the 1972 Pioneer 10 and 1973 Pioneer 11 spacecrafts, tell a pictorial story of humanity, the Pavilion of Humanity should represent the human race through architecture. The Pioneer Plaques included figures of a man and a woman, the sun and galactic landmarks, a schematic diagram of the Solar System, and a silhouette of the spacecraft. These drawings were designed to give extraterrestrials a basic understanding of humanity and the Earth.
[left] The illustration on the Pioneer plaque
Participants are asked to choose a site of their liking anywhere in the world, and as long as the structure is located on Earth and obeys the basic laws of physics, anything else goes. This is an opportunity for architecture and design enthusiasts to stretch the limits of their imagination and reflect on the greatest and most influential achievements of humanity.
What would you be most proud to show extraterrestrial visitors and how would you want to communicate our greatest accomplishments through architecture?
Download 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.
Full competition brief
The full competition brief can be downloaded as often as required; no additional information will be provided after registration.
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- (!) FULL COMPETITION BRIEF
- Règles de compétition
- Regolamento del concorso
- Reglas de la competencia
Prizes
Certificate of Achievement
Certificate of Achievement
Certificate of Achievement
+ 50 Points BUILDNER Architecture University Rankings
Publications
Certificate of Achievement
CERTIFICATE:
Buildner will also acknowledge the outstanding performance of all winners and honourable mentions with Certificates of Achievement.
Publicity campaign
The Buildner’s extensive global publicity campaign for the competition winners:
- "SEEN BY" ONE MILLION Results published on buildner.com - one of the leading websites in the industry and is visited by over one million unique visitors each year.
- "SEEN BY" 800 000 MORE Publications on Buildner's social networks (over 600,000 followers) and newsletter campaigns (over 200,000 subscribers).
- INTERVIEW Exclusive interview published with the results and shared on Buildner's social networks.
- MOVIE The competition winners will be granted and opportunity to submit a movie about themselves. The video will be published on the Buildner's website and social networks.
- MEDIA PARTNERS The competition results will get international art and design media coverage and will be featured in the world’s leading architecture media outlets.
Jury panel
Jury members shall under no circumstances be contacted by competition participants or their representatives. Participants who attempt to contact jury members, shall be disqualified.
All jury members are involved in the evaluation based on their availability at that time. All communication regarding the competition should only be carried out with Buildner staff. For any questions please contact us on [email protected]









Key dates
Closing date for registration
24 July, 2023
Closing date for project submission
04 September, 2023 (11:59pm London time)
Announcement of the winners
18 October, 2023
Competition Q&A deadline: 30 July, 2023
In order to guarantee equal opportunities to all competition participants,
no new questions will be answered after this deadline!
Registration fees
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Registration Deadline26 May - 24 July
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Architects / Enthusiasts / Companies145 €Full award packageThis registration provides a complete set of prizes, including certificates of achievement, monetary rewards, and potential construction benefits.110 €No monetary awardThis registration offers a comprehensive set of prizes, including recognition through publicity, certificates of achievement, and potential construction-related benefits, without any monetary awards.
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Students115 €Full award packageThis registration provides a complete set of prizes, including certificates of achievement, monetary rewards, and potential construction benefits.80 €No monetary awardThis registration offers a comprehensive set of prizes, including recognition through publicity, certificates of achievement, and potential construction-related benefits, without any monetary awards.
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 request from your university email address along with basic information about yourself and your university/school. Please note that only recognized university staff can apply for the reduced student rate.
Competition results in media

























