Introduction

COMPETITION ORGANISERS
Office

Buildner is excited to present the winning and shortlisted entries submitted to the Office Design Challenge!

This is the second in an annual competition series in which participants are tasked with exploring the work environment. The jury sought design projects that use architecture as a tool to improve a worker’s wellbeing as well as their productivity. This challenge presented an opportunity to envision the new normal of the workplace post-COVID.

To evaluate the submissions, Buildner worked with an international jury panel including: Julia Murphy is Managing Partner and USA + Canada East Practice Leader at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill - SOM; Farid Esmaeil studied architecture at the American University of Sharjah School of Design and He co-founded X Architects in 2003 in Dubai; Katrina Yin, AIA, is an architect and design manager at JDS Development Group - formally trained as an architect, she worked at boutique design firms before becoming a licensed real estate salesperson and development associate; Harsha Kotak is the Founder of Women in Office Design and an international interior designer and workplace consultant; Dr Juriaan van Meel is Co-founder of BriefBuilder and an expert in the field of architectural briefing and workplace design; and Kourosh Salehi is MENA Design Director at LWK + PARTNERS, and a British architect, urbanist and educator with over 25 years of international experience in the UK, Asia and the Middle East.

Buildner and its jury members thank each of the participants for contributing to this library of design ideas, and for instigating new questions related to the future of workplace design.

We sincerely thank our jury panel
for their time and expertise

Julia Murphy

Managing Partner at SOM

USA

Farid Esmaeil

co-founded X Architects

UEA

Frank Fliskow

architect at Make Architects

UK

Erinn Farrell

Founder at The Coven

USA

Harsha Kotak

Founder of Women in Office Design

UK

Juriaan van Meel

Co-founder of BriefBuilder

Netherlands

Kourosh Salehi

MENA Design Director, LWK + PARTNERS

UAE

Katrina Yin

architect and design manager at JDS Development Group

USA

David Zhai

Global Director of Architecture & Design Technology at WeWork

USA

1st Prize Winner

Project name

Blackheath Creative Hub

Competitions are a unique platform in which you can test ideas and skills that you may not be able to test otherwise, all with a deadline, so you can reward yourself with a glass of wine at the end - just like in the real world!

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Author
Claudia Takada
Country
Australia
  • 10/10 Linework
  • 9/10 Quality of drawings
  • 10/10 Balance of color
  • 9/10 Layout
  • 10/10 Hierarchy
  • 8/10 Annotation
  • 7/10 Text
  • 9/10 Clarity of story
  • 10/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10 Quality of overall presentation

2nd Prize Winner +
Buildner Student Award

Project name

The CUBE

Architecture competitions give us an opportunity to work outside our comfort zones, to explore new societal ways of life, and to understand the complexities of designing that surround them. It is one of the few mediums that allow architects to go wild with their imagination, designing their unique vision of how they see the world.

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Authors
Fariha Afzal
Ezgi Su Demirci
Antonella Masanotti
Country
Hungary
+142 points Buildner University Rankings
  • 10/10 Linework
  • 9/10 Quality of drawings
  • 8/10 Balance of color
  • 9/10 Layout
  • 9/10 Hierarchy
  • 8/10 Annotation
  • 7/10 Text
  • 7/10 Clarity of story
  • 8/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 8/10 Quality of overall presentation

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

Gradient Working - Constructing Matrix for Modernist Office Building

Architecture competitions play a vital role in expanding our horizons beyond daily work settings. They create a space for creativity and exploration, allowing us to integrate innovation, sustainability, and humanity into our designs. Focusing heavily on crucial societal issues, such as the built environment and environmental disasters, they provide an opportunity to explore ideas that promote environmental responsibility, energy efficiency, and sustainable design practices. This enables us to contribute to shaping a more sustainable and socially conscious built environment.

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Authors
Shujian You
Yuxin Hu
Country
United States
  • 7/10 Linework
  • 7/10 Quality of drawings
  • 7/10 Balance of color
  • 8/10 Layout
  • 8/10 Hierarchy
  • 7/10 Annotation
  • 7/10 Text
  • 7/10 Clarity of story
  • 7/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 7/10 Quality of overall presentation

Buildner Sustainability Award

Project name

OFF HOME

We love space for thoughts and the means to live comfortably.

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Authors
Dominik Kremerskothen
Vanessa Riecke
Jadwiga Slezak
Country
Germany
  • 8/10 Linework
  • 8/10 Quality of drawings
  • 9/10 Balance of color
  • 7/10 Layout
  • 6/10 Hierarchy
  • 8/10 Annotation
  • 7/10 Text
  • 6/10 Clarity of story
  • 6/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 7/10 Quality of overall presentation

Honorable mentions

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Project name

NOMADHUB: Research on commercialization products and office space design based on digital nomad experience and needs

University
Authors
Feiyang Li
Xianyun Zhang
Yuntian Zhang
Country
China
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
Project name

chowa

Authors
Parinaz Nabavi
Liam Roberts
Angela Le
Golara Pourvakil
Country
Canada
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
Project name

parasitic office

Authors
Weicheng Li
Zihan Xu
Country
Australia
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
Project name

Scale Up

Author
Hermione Garnett-Spear
Country
United Kingdom
Project name

Rumah Ibu

Authors
Stephanie Choo
Wen hui Foo
Ke zhen Lim
Jien yong Yap
Country
Malaysia
Project name

Office for University Clusters

Authors
Hyosik Kim
Changjoo Lee
Youngjun Lee
Country
South Korea
+72 points Buildner University Rankings

Shortlisted projects

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LA Under Pressure

Courtenay Bauer
United States

Edu

Mevlide Murina

Politecnico di Milano / Polytechnic University of Milan

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Italy

THE REDUX

Mostafa Sedky

TWO EMMS DESIGN STUDIO

Egypt

Blackheath Creative Hub

Claudia Takada
Australia

chowa

Parinaz Nabavi
Liam Roberts
Angela Le
Golara Pourvakil

Toronto Metropolitan University - TMU

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
Canada

Balance Office

Yeonwoo Kang
South Korea

Scale Up

Hermione Garnett-Spear
United Kingdom

The CUBE

Fariha Afzal
Ezgi Su Demirci
Antonella Masanotti
Hungary

EVOLVE/ADAPT

Kyle Johnson
Maggie Hardt
Sarah Shearer
Mia Kaplan
United States

PUESTO KM99

Lisandro Aloi
Argentina

785 MILL

Nazaré Gaudreault robalo
Canada

villas in the park

Monika Mitic
Patricia Diaz

Toronto Metropolitan University - TMU

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Canada

“IDENTITY” - new spaces in existing places

Jovana Glumac
Elena Stankovska
Aleksandar Ortakovski

Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Macedonia

Gradient Working - Constructing Matrix for Modernist Office Building

Shujian You
Yuxin Hu
United States

OFF HOME

Dominik Kremerskothen
Vanessa Riecke
Jadwiga Slezak

auf - architektur + film GbR

Germany

OFFICE'TATION

Eda Erkaya
Zeynep Cabbar
Gözde beyza Kartal
Ceyda Uslu
Turkey

OFFISEA

Tuğçe Gül
Sude berfin Çevik
Emre Sezer
Sümeyye Özelçi
Turkey

ARCH

Jason Li
Dennis Byun
Chris Choi
John Woo
New Zealand

Ocean Coworking

Rodrigo Mancini

STUDIO BR ARQUITETURA

Brazil

Office for a Fashion Company, Kharkiv

Isgandar Hajiyev
Aziza Hashimova
Azerbaijan

TODAY'S OFFICE PLATFORM [ WEOF ]

Younghyun Choi
South Korea

Rumah Ibu

Stephanie Choo
Wen hui Foo
Ke zhen Lim
Jien yong Yap

Think Cloud Design Lab

Malaysia

Bubbling Office

Sunwoo Choi
South Korea

Office for University Clusters

Hyosik Kim
Changjoo Lee
Youngjun Lee
South Korea

IN THE WAVE

Chae eun Hwang
Seo Yun Lee
Na Yeon Ye
Gyeong Ju Gang
South Korea

SCALE - UP

Hae chan Heo
SUK HOON JUNG
JUNG HYUN KIM

Keimyung University - 계명대학교

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
South Korea

Kraszewskiego

Przemysław Baranek
Nina Zdanowicz

Poznan University of Technology , Politechnika Poznańska

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

NOMADHUB: Research on commercialization products and office space design based on digital nomad experience and needs

Feiyang Li
Xianyun Zhang
Yuntian Zhang
China

EchoHub

Robert Tranter

Formed Architecture

United States

Aquaponics Office

Au Raymond
Purple Lee
Hong Kong

GroWork

Amily woan tyng Tan
Juliane Wahl
Friederike Wahl-koro
Jennifer Pölemann

Wahl Büro+Objekt

Germany

parasitic office

Weicheng Li
Zihan Xu
Australia