Competition introduction

Competition organisers

The Last 
Nuclear Bomb Memorial

With the future in such a state of uncertainty and political relationships more strained than ever, there is one silent threat that could end up being more deadly and dangerous to humanity than a hundred pandemics: nuclear weapons.

In 1945, the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, effectively ending World War II and killing well over 100,000 people, the majority of whom were civilians. The bombing of Nagasaki was the second and final time a country deployed a nuclear weapon in combat. However, it wasn’t the last nuclear explosion, as testing of controlled explosions continued for years.


[left] The Trinity explosion; [right] Wrecked framework of the Museum of Science and Industry in Hiroshima, Japan 1945 © Everett Collection
On the 75th anniversary of the bombing, Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue called on Japanese President Shinzo Abe and the central government to sign and ratify the 2017 United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. However, there has been little if any official progress towards an international ban on nuclear weapons since then.


Data from: Arms Control Association Source: Hans M. Kristensen, Matt Kordas, U.S. Department of State, and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
We support the call for a ban on nuclear weapons and as the threat of nuclear bombs is ever present, we are continuing our annual architecture competition to create “The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial”.

The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial / Edition #3 is the third annual competition in which participants are tasked with creating a memorial located within a decommissioned nuclear weapon testing site. In response to the global silence surrounding the issue of nuclear weapons, participants in “The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial / Edition #3” competition must submit their designs with NO DESCRIPTION TEXT. The architecture ideas must be communicated strictly with visuals. We are asking participants to design a building or structure in which the architecture would do all the talking.


The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial / Edition #3 competition must submit their designs with NO DESCRIPTION TEXT; Choose a site from the list (available for download below) of top testing sites for the world’s strongest nuclear weapons.
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.

  • - (!) FULL COMPETITION BRIEF
    • Règles de compétition
    • Reglas de la competencia
    • Regolamento del concorso

Prizes

7,000 €
Total Prize Fund
1st PRIZE
3,000 €
Publications
Certificate of Achievement
2nd PRIZE
1,500 €
Publications
Certificate of Achievement
3rd PRIZE
1,000 €
Publications
Certificate of Achievement
BUILDNER STUDENT AWARD (more details)
1,000 €
+ 50 € ARCHHIVE BOOKS Gift Card  
+ 50 Points BUILDNER Architecture University Rankings   
Publications 
Certificate of Achievement
BUILDNER SUSTAINABILITY AWARD (MORE DETAILS)
500 €

Publications 
Certificate of Achievement
+ 6 HONOURABLE MENTIONS

 

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

All communication regarding the competition should only be carried out with Buildner staff. For any questions please contact us on [email protected]

Buildner is committed to selecting the most qualified industry professionals to comprise its jury panels. Jury panels consist of architects, in addition to professionals from other professional backgrounds that are relevant to the competition topic, to guarantee the most objective competition results.

You may find the invited jury list from previous competitions here – https://architecturecompetitions.com/guest-jury/

Key dates

Closing date for registration

05 November, 2023

Closing date for project submission

06 December, 2023 (11:59pm London time)

Announcement of the winners

26 January, 2024

Competition Q&A deadline: 11 November, 2023

In order to guarantee equal opportunities to all competition participants,
no new questions will be answered after this deadline!

Registration fees

  • Early Bird Registration
    24 April - 26 June
  • Architects / Enthusiasts / Companies
    80 €
    This registration provides a complete set of prizes, including certificates of achievement, monetary rewards, and potential construction benefits.
    60 €
    This registration offers a comprehensive set of prizes, including recognition through publicity, certificates of achievement, and potential construction-related benefits, without any monetary awards.
  • Students
    70 €
    This registration provides a complete set of prizes, including certificates of achievement, monetary rewards, and potential construction benefits.
    60 €
    This registration offers a comprehensive set of prizes, including recognition through publicity, certificates of achievement, and potential construction-related benefits, without any monetary awards.
+4.5% VAT
  • Advance Registration
    27 June - 03 September
  • Architects / Enthusiasts / Companies
    100 €
    This registration provides a complete set of prizes, including certificates of achievement, monetary rewards, and potential construction benefits.
    80 €
    This registration offers a comprehensive set of prizes, including recognition through publicity, certificates of achievement, and potential construction-related benefits, without any monetary awards.
  • Students
    90 €
    This registration provides a complete set of prizes, including certificates of achievement, monetary rewards, and potential construction benefits.
    70 €
    This registration offers a comprehensive set of prizes, including recognition through publicity, certificates of achievement, and potential construction-related benefits, without any monetary awards.
+4.5% VAT
  • Last Minute Registration
    04 September - 05 November
  • Architects / Enthusiasts / Companies
    120 €
    This registration provides a complete set of prizes, including certificates of achievement, monetary rewards, and potential construction benefits.
    90 €
    This registration offers a comprehensive set of prizes, including recognition through publicity, certificates of achievement, and potential construction-related benefits, without any monetary awards.
  • Students
    110 €
    This registration provides a complete set of prizes, including certificates of achievement, monetary rewards, and potential construction benefits.
    80 €
    This registration offers a comprehensive set of prizes, including recognition through publicity, certificates of achievement, and potential construction-related benefits, without any monetary awards.
+4.5% VAT


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.

 

Enter the competition!

Register NOW

Competition results in media

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F.A.Q.

Competition related questions

This project has no set budget.
No specific site has been selected for this competition. Choose a site from the list (available for download above) of top testing sites for the world’s strongest nuclear weapons.
No, as there is no specific site has been selected for this competition.
We recommend participants to select one site, however as this is an ideas competition, alternative visions can be proposed.
Memorial can be proposed on the testing site or anywhere near it.
For this competition participants are not allowed to use any text, including, but not limited to, concept description, room tags (e.g.: auditorium, bathroom, 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.). Substituting text with icons would not serve the initial competition goal.
As it is explained in the competition brief - for this competition participants are required to upload one A2 presentation panel. 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.
Engravings on the walls are allowed as long as they are not used as design/presentation annotations.
The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial / Edition #3 is an ideas competition. Participants should focus on the concept development rather than the technical execution.
As it is explained in the competition brief - for this competition no text is allowed. The concept must be explained by visuals only.
Yes, participants may propose a sculpture instead of architecture as the main medium.

General questions

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.
Only one proposal per registration is permitted. Participants are entitled to register multiple times if they wish to participate in the competition with several proposals.
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.
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
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