This competition is part of a strategic partnership between Buildner and ArchDaily that aims to explore "The Contemporary Home".
Learn moreThe contemporary home
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Introduction
COMPETITION ORGANISERS
What if a meal could become more than dining—what if it could shape the way people gather, connect, and experience time together?
Set in the lush landscape of northern Portugal, near Braga and the Cávado River, this competition explores the relationship between architecture, food, and place. Surrounded by green valleys, agricultural land, and a culture deeply rooted in outdoor living and local produce, the site offers a unique setting where everyday life unfolds between nature and community.
The project is initiated by a family whose connection to the land is both personal and generational. Centered around a modest former horse barn and a landscape shaped by use, memory, and care, their vision is to open this private setting to others—transforming it into a place of shared experience. Rather than creating a conventional hospitality destination, the ambition is to extend a way of living: one grounded in togetherness, simplicity, and a close relationship to nature.
The competition invites participants to rethink the act of dining as a collective and meaningful ritual. At its core is the transformation of the existing barn into a small-scale restaurant centered around shared meals and social interaction, complemented by a system of lightweight guest accommodation that allows visitors to stay, slow down, and fully engage with the experience.
The challenge lies in balancing architecture with atmosphere—creating spaces that feel natural, welcoming, and deeply connected to their surroundings.
Participants are asked to develop a proposal that brings together adaptive reuse, spatial clarity, and environmental sensitivity, shaping a cohesive experience across building and landscape. The outcome should demonstrate how simple, thoughtful design can support new forms of gathering—where architecture becomes a quiet framework for connection, time, and shared life.
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.
Brief
The competition rules summary is available for download at any time in the following language: English
FULL COMPETITION BRIEF [ENG]
- SITE PLAN PHOTOS VIDEOS
Prizes
Prize fund
10,000 €
1ST PLACE
5,000 €
2ND PLACE
2,500 €
3RD PLACE
1,000 €
6 Honourable mentions & certificates
Buildner will acknowledge the outstanding performance of all winners and honourable mentions with Certificates of Achievement.
Publicity campaign
Buildner's publicity campaign offers extensive exposure to the architectural community, ensuring that the results of the competition are seen by a vast audience:
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.
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.
Read more about Buildner and ArchDaily partnership
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Jury
The jury panel for Portugal Long Table Restaurant 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
UK
Lyndon Neri
Neri&Hu Design and Research Office
China
Amanda Levete
Founder, AL_A
Francine Houben
Founding Partner, Mecanoo
Netherlands
Ben Van Berkel
Founder and Principle, UNStudio
Netherlands
Lucy Tilley
Adjaye Associates
UK
Fernanda Canales
Fernanda Canales
Mexico
David Gianotten
OMA -Office for Metropolitan Architecture
Netherlands
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
UK
Manuela Gatto
Director, Zaha Hadid Architects
UK
Melodie Leung
Director, Zaha Hadid Architects
UK
Elizabeth Whittaker
Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, Merge
United States
Michelle Kaufmann
Google and Michelle Kaufmann Studio
United States
Hilary Sample
GSAPP and MOS
United States
Meryati Blackwell
Marlon Blackwell Architects
United States
Peter Gluck
GLUCK+
United States
Paulo Flores
Director, Zaha Hadid Architects
UK
Charles Walker
Director of Zaha Hadid Architects
UK
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
UK
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
Design assessment
Participants will have the option to request a personalised in-depth design assessment of their project for a fee after the competition results are published.
This feedback highlights the strengths of each submission and identifies areas for refinement, offering participants valuable insights into their work.
The design assessment serves as both a learning tool and a reflection of a project's performance. It helps participants better understand their submission, see how it compares with other entries, and identify opportunities for growth in future projects.
Key dates
Send remindersClosing date for registration
9 December 2026
Competition Q&A deadline
15 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
11 January 2027
23:59 (LONDON TIME)
Announcement of the winners
2 March 2027
Competition Q&A deadline
15 December 2026
In order to guarantee equal opportunities to all competition participants.
No new questions will be answered after this deadline.
Registration fees
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.
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To register, simply click on "Register Now," fill out all necessary fields, select your preferred payment method, and submit your details. You will be redirected to PayPal or a card payment gateway to settle the competition fee. Upon confirmation of your payment, we will send you an email containing your Unique Identification Code (UIC). You must then log in to your Buildner account using your architecture.info credentials and validate your UIC to complete the process. Learn more here - https://architecturecompetitions.com/how-to-enter-a-competition
You can add/remove/edit team member information as often as you want in the upload panel, up until the submission deadline. Learn more here - https://architecturecompetitions.com/how-to-add-team-members-after-april-2023
Yes. If the jury panel selects a Student award's submission for the top 3, it will automatically be awarded both prizes.
Yes. If the jury panel selects a Sustainability award's submission for the top 3, it will automatically be awarded both prizes.
No. Competition entries are evaluated anonymously. The participant registration type is only revealed upon the announcement of the results.
Please contact us – [email protected] and we will address the problem directly.
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
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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