Architecture Competition MICROHOME / Edition #4 3rd and Archhive Student prize winner – Syracuse University

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the 3rd and Archhive Student prize winners of our "MICROHOME #4" competition –  Zhi Zheng from United States!

Zhi Zheng from United States

Senior student at Syracuse University, School of Architecture. Undergraduate majoring in architecture and minoring in construction management. Currently working at Gensler Seattle office as a professional architecture intern. I am keen on housing and urban planning projects and believe that architecture today is not about “adding” more spaces into the city, but about “changing” and “using” the space that is constructed but abandoned and not used efficiently. I am also a fan of the decentralization theory and believe it’s the key to solving the growing gap of wealth issues and will be the base of future architecture and urban design.

Brief information about the projects that you/your company have been involved with. For instance, what scale have you focused on/preferred, any significant projects where the company/ individuals have been involved?

I am currently doing a remote working space project with Microsoft about the using of VR/MR devices associated with physical space. I find this to be a great starting point of decomposing the overwhelming city scale. Through virtual spaces, we are about to release people from the restriction of the distance between their working and living areas, and therefore liberate the creativity and productivity of the social class. I am focusing on both the urban and architecture scale, as well as the design of social order. By creating multiple small to medium-scaled communities, it creates the chance to decompose the cumbersome functions gathered in large cities. It lowers the living pressure on Gen-Z and other younger generations, creating more space physically and mentally for younger generations to express themselves.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

In my opinion, the development of society is periodical. The development of technology brings opportunities of creating a new era through changing the mode of production. For example, the invention of steam power liberated people from the agriculture era to the industrial era. However, new ways of production mean new types of social order. Classical republicanism boosts the productivity of agricultural societies and leads the success of Roman empire. But it also causes the doom of Rome with the continued expansion of the empire. Therefore, a new social order needs to be established in order to associate the new ways of production. And architecture is the best tool to construct such an order, because no matter in which era, the special arrangement is what gathers and distributes people into groups and individuals. And the duty of architects is to find out what are the new ways of production, and what is the new social order, and people seek to have and give an answer to these questions using their new design strategies.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

To find out the answers I mentioned above, architects need to challenge themselves, to experiment with new strategies. Architecture competitions provide a platform for architects like me to show their understanding of these questions and discuss the durability of these experiments. That’s something practical architecture can never have.

What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture competitions?

For individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture competitions, I will say it’s a pity to lose an opportunity that can release you from the restraints of project handbooks and budgets. Architecture is never only about creating something solid; it’s about thinking bigger and sharing these ideas with the world. You will never know if your design principles and the things you believed in are valuable or not until you express them to the world. And architecture competitions provide you with the best and lowest-cost place to do so. So just try it out!

Open architecture competitions

  • Closest Deadline first
  • Project competitions first
    Selected winning projects have the potential to be constructed
  • Ideas competitions first
    Experimental competitions with the focus on pushing the boundaries of creativity
project COMPETITION
Sansusī Forest Food Court

Design a sustainable food court structure for the heart of a classical music festival

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jan 10
Feb 08
Apr 06
ideas COMPETITION
The Home of Shadows

Design a home with no artificial lighting

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 05
Jan 24
Apr 18
project COMPETITION
Portugal Elderly Home

Design a comfortable and accessible home for the elderly in Portugal

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 06
Jan 25
Apr 19
project COMPETITION
Portugal Olive Guest House

Design a guest house and olive oil tasting room located in Portugal

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 08
Jan 27
Apr 21
project COMPETITION
Yoga House in the Bog

Design a yoga guest house located within rich bog wildlife

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jan 11
Feb 08
Apr 26

Reccuring architecture competitions

ideas COMPETITION
MICROHOME
Small living, huge impact! Edition #6

Design a new concept of small-scale home

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + PUBLICATION IN MAGAZINE
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Feb 16
Apr 18
Jun 16
ideas COMPETITION
Silent contest
For this competition, NO DESCRIPTION TEXT is allowed. The architecture ideas must be communicated strictly with visuals.
Museum of Emotions
Edition #3

Use architecture to create different emotional states

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Mar 17
May 19
Jul 21
ideas COMPETITION
Silent contest
For this competition, NO DESCRIPTION TEXT is allowed. The architecture ideas must be communicated strictly with visuals.
Architectural Visualization Award
Edition #2

Present your best work and submit your favorite architectural visualization

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Mar 23
May 25
Jul 27
Run repeatedly
Children's Hospice
Home for the Terminally ill / Edition #2

Design a safe and supportive space for children struggling with a terminal illness

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 06
Feb 08
Apr 06
Register now
Run repeatedly
Milan Affordable Housing Challenge
Affordable Housing Series #15

Design a concept for affordable housing in Milan

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 07
Jan 26
Apr 20
Register now
Run repeatedly
Virtual Home
Edition #2

Shape the future of digital living environments

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
May 02
Jul 04
Sep 06
Register now
Run repeatedly
Office
Office Design Challenge / Edition #2

Reimagine the workplace of the future, and design the new way of working

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jan 03
Mar 01
May 04
Register now
Run repeatedly
Portable Reading Rooms
Edition #2

Design a portable reading room that encourages reading in any location

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + SCOLARSHIP
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Feb 13
Mar 23
May 15
Register now
Run repeatedly
Pavilion Of Humanity: First Contact
Edition #2

How would you represent the best that humanity has to offer through architecture?

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Mar 27
May 25
Jul 24
Register now

Creativity gym Short term competitions for you to exercise your creativity

T-SHIRT DRAWING COMPETITION
The Architect's T-shirt
Edition #18

Design THE architect's t-shirt!

Prize: 3,000 €
Eligibility: open to all

registration deadlines

Remind me
Feb 28
Mar 31
Apr 30
Register now
ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO COMPETITION
THE BUILDNER'S ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO COMPETITION
Edition #3

Submit your online portfolio!

Prize: 5,000 €
Eligibility: open to all

registration deadlines

Remind me
Apr 30
May 31
Jun 30
Register now

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Competition results

Hong Kong 
Pixel Homes

Hong Kong Pixel Homes

Affordable Housing Series #2
MICROHOME

MICROHOME

Small living, huge impact! Edition #4

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