This competition is part of a strategic partnership between Buildner and ArchDaily that aims to explore "The Contemporary Home".
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Introduction
COMPETITION ORGANISERS
It may not be your first instinct when entering a building to consider how it makes you feel, but architecture has always had a big impact on emotions. Different spaces are designed to make their inhabitants feel different things; offices can make you feel energised and productive, art galleries can make you feel thoughtful and curious, and museums can make you feel calm and intrigued. Each of these spaces is completely different from each other and is far more than just a building.
As part of a series of annual architecture competitions, the Museum of Emotions competition is tasking participants with using architecture as a tool to bring out different emotions. They are asked to design a museum that includes two separate exhibition halls that bring out contrasting emotions – one inducing negative emotions, and the other inducing positive emotions.
Participants are free to choose the specific emotions they incite with their designs – fear, anger, anxiety, love, happiness, laughter, etc. The purpose of the Museum of Emotions is to use architecture as the primary tool to create emotional states, through consideration of the scales of the spaces, the journey through the space, colour, lighting, and material choice. As this is an ideas competition, participants are free to choose any site location, real or imaginary, as well as the size of their structure.
Museum of Emotions / Edition #8 is one of Buildners' silent competitions, in which participants must communicate their ideas without the use of any text. The design concept and thinking behind it must all be communicated solely through the use of visuals.
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.
Brief
The competition brief is available for download at any time in the following languages: English
FULL COMPETITION BRIEF [ENG] [IT] [FR] [ES]
Prizes
Prize fund
10,000 €
1ST PLACE
5,000 €
2ND PLACE
3,000 €
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.
Feature in a book
Winners will be featured in the book.
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 Museum of Emotions / Edition #8 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 Museum of Emotions 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
Amale Andraos
Co-Founder, WORKac; Columbia GSAPP
United States
Lucy Tilley
Adjaye Associates
UK
Fernanda Caneles
Fernanda Caneles Arquitectura
Mexico
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
Key dates
Send remindersClosing date for registration
18 June 2026
Competition Q&A deadline
22 June 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
20 July 2026
23:59 (LONDON TIME)
Announcement of the winners
29 September 2026
Competition Q&A deadline
22 June 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 ([email protected]) a request from your university email address and basic information about yourself and your university/school. Only recognized university staff can apply for the reduced student rate.
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As this is an ideas competition, participants are free to choose any site location, real or imaginary.
Participants are asked to dedicate one exhibition hall to negative emotions and one to positive emotions. The exact type of emotions for each hall is not defined. Participants may propose multiple positive and negative emotions for each hall.
The exhibitions can be proposed in an outdoor context.
As this is an idea competition, participants may propose alternative approaches to the competition brief, however, we would recommend participants to follow the defined rules asking them to dedicate one exhibition hall to negative emotions and one to positive emotions.
For this competition, participants are not allowed to use any text, including but not limited to concept description room tags (e.g.: reception, exhibition hall, etc.) view names (e.g.: floor plan, section, etc.) scale (e.g.: M 1:500, etc.) or project title. The purpose of the “no text” requirement is to ask participants to communicate their design using only images (sketches, 3D perspectives, diagrams, etc.).
For this competition, participants are not allowed to use any text, including but not limited to concept description, room tags (e.g.: reception, exhibition hall, etc.) view names (e.g.: floor plan, section, etc.) scale (e.g.: M 1:500, etc.) or project title. The purpose of the “no text” requirement is to ask participants to communicate their design using only images (sketches, 3D perspectives, diagrams, etc.).
There are no set rules on how both halls should be separated/connected.
Participants may propose additional functions, however, it is not required.
Artwork may be proposed as part of the exhibition, however, the main project focus should be on the power of architecture to evoke emotional responses.
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