International architecture competition
An off-grid home for two in 25 m², anywhere in the world.
Interactive plan of one home. It changes shape as the cursor moves, from square to round to long, and every form keeps a floor area of exactly 25 square metres while its perimeter changes.
Organised by
Part of a strategic partnership with
The annual Microhome architecture competition is part of the Buildner Small Architecture Appreciation Movement, which hopes to highlight the fact that bigger isn't always better. With great design and innovative thinking, small-scale architecture could change how this and the next generation view residential property.
The brief in numbers
Winning projects from previous editions of Microhome.
See previous results
For Microhome 2027, participants are invited to submit their designs for a micro home: an off-grid modular structure that would accommodate a hypothetical young professional couple (which will be used as an example of family size throughout the competition series). The only requirement is that the structure's total floor area does not exceed 25 m²; beyond that, participants are encouraged to be as creative as possible.
Participants are encouraged to rethink spatial organisation and incorporate unique aesthetics, new technologies, and innovative materials that will make the micro home an entirely new form of architecture.
As there is no specified competition site, project designs can be set within any hypothetical site of any size, in either a city or countryside location anywhere in the world. The jury will favour sustainable designs and those projects that look to solve economic, social, and cultural problems through the establishment of new architectural methods.
Participants are asked to present designs for a home that would provide comfortable accommodation for a hypothetical young professional couple.
The building programme is flexible, open to modifications and improved development strategies.
Recommendations for the construction process
Recommendations for the finished structure
No more than 25 m². Landscape elements, paths and non-essential structures (terraces, outdoor canopies, etc.) are not considered to be buildings.
Conceptual suggestions for electricity generating systems, water collection and filtration systems, as well as waste management strategies, should be included.
Sleeping areaLiving and working areaCooking areaWC and showerSmall storage
Open to all. No professional qualifications are required. Enter individually or as a team of up to four, and bring your boldest idea for a home of no more than 25 m².
The official language of the competition is English. All communication is carried out in English.
The full competition brief can be downloaded as often as required; no additional information will be provided after registration.
How much home fits in 25 m²?
Buildner Small Architecture Appreciation Movement
The jury panel for MICROHOME 2027 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
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
UK
Fernanda Canales
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
UK
Manuela Gatto
Director, Zaha Hadid Architects
UK
Melodie Leung
Director, Zaha Hadid Architects
UK
Paulo Flores
Director, Zaha Hadid Architects
UK
Charles Walker
Director of Zaha Hadid Architects
UK
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
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
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
Interpretation and intent of the competition brief
Key themes, priorities, or values considered during evaluation
General design approach or conceptual direction
If you are registered, please access your upload panel and look for the Jury Questions & Answers section.
Register nowRequest 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.
Every winning entry takes the complete Buildner award: a title to be proud of, publications that reach millions, a stronger portfolio, and exclusive access to the invitation-only 50,000 € Buildner Medal Award.
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.
Register and submit your project before the deadline.
1st, 2nd or 3rd Prize, or a special award such as the Student or Sustainability Award, depending on the competition.
Invitation sent to every winner. Nothing to submit, nothing to pay.
The jury awards the Buildner Medal among invited projects only.
Four titled winners, six honourable mentions and a forty-strong shortlist.
6
Titled recognition, selected by the jury: a certificate and a permanent results page.
40
Publicly named on the permanent results page, with a certificate of achievement.
Each Record certifies its title and carries the complete winner package: a written jury citation, the ArchDaily feature, the annual book and international media. It also earns an invitation to the 50,000 € Buildner Medal Award →
Every entrant, win or not
Portfolio
Guaranteed before the jury ever sits.
Skills
The Microhome 2027 competition is designed to strengthen these skills:
Trained by the brief itself; the optional design assessment turns your submission into structured feedback.
Winning projects have the potential to be realised.
The competition client has expressed interest in constructing the winning project. The site is real, and the awarded proposals go directly to the client's table.
Winning does not guarantee construction; the final decision always rests with the client.
Build your name, attract new clients and partnerships
Publication is guaranteed for every winning entry: online, in print, and across international media.
Winners are showcased on ArchDaily, the world's most-visited architecture platform, through its partnership with Buildner: visibility that brings new opportunities, clients and reputation.
Winning projects are printed in Buildner's annual book, a permanent, physical record of the year's best unbuilt architecture, distributed internationally.
A published interview and a permanent project page on Buildner tell the story in your own words, and stay linkable for as long as your career needs them.
Buildner consolidates prize funds from its individual competitions into one larger, more impactful award given once a year: the 50,000 € Buildner Medal. A prize of that size is truly life-changing. It can start a practice, fund a business, or pay off school loans. Every winning project here earns the invitation.
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.
Design proposals can be developed individually or by teams of up to four members. People who have direct personal or professional relationships with jury panel members or organisers may not participate in this competition.
Closing date for registration
16 June 2027
Competition Q&A deadline
21 June 2027
In order to guarantee equal opportunities to all competition participants, no new questions will be answered after this deadline.
Project submission deadline
21 July 2027
23:59 (London time)
Announcement of the winners
28 September 2027
22 Oct – 14 Jan
45 € × 3
Full award package
15 Jan – 25 Mar
52 € × 3
Full award package
26 Mar – 16 Jun
55 € × 3
Full award package
+4.5% VAT
Student group rates: contact us to receive special student rates for group registrations (the discount applies to 3 or more registrations from one university or school). Send the request from your university email address with basic information about yourself and your school. Only recognised university staff can apply for the reduced student rate.
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
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
No specific site has been selected for this competition.
Clarifications on the MICROHOME's 25 square meter limit - https://architecturecompetitions.com/microhome-25sqm
Total 25m² footprint is a sum up for all floors.
As it is explained in the competition brief - for this competition participants are required to upload one A2 presentation panels. Presentation deliverables set listed in the competition brief is a suggestion only. Participants are not required to present the entire list. Please choose only the most essential information set that would explain your design in the most efficient manner.
For the Microhome architecture competition, participants are invited to submit their designs for a single micro home – an off-grid modular structure that would accommodate a hypothetical young professional couple.
This project has no set budget.
You may use rooftop, however in this case it would need to be part of the 25m².
Underground construction can be proposed.
For the Microhome architecture competition, participants are invited to submit their designs for a single micro home – an off-grid modular structure that would accommodate a hypothetical young professional couple.
There is no defined building code that participants are asked to follow, however, we would recommend using Eurocode Building standards as a general guideline.
There is no maximum building height defined.
Internal courtyards, even if open-air but enclosed on all sides, should be included in the 25 square meter limit of the building.
While you can propose modular extensions, the primary focus should remain on the original 25 sqm building design.
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.
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.
You can add/remove/edit team member information as often as you want in the upload panel, up until the submission deadline.
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.
Yes. If the jury panel selects a Student 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.
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.
Please contact us – [email protected] and we will address the problem directly.
Registration deadline · 16 June 2027
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