Architecture Competition Spirala Community Home Honorable mention – Alberto Pabón Medina and Marina Sánchez Guzmán

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winners for our “Spirala Community Home” competition – Alberto Pabón Medina and Marina Sánchez Guzmán from Spain!

Alberto Pabón Medina and Marina Sánchez Guzmán from Spain

This is the story of two passionate young people who met during their studies as architects at the University of Malaga.


During our years of learning, we worked as a team and discovered the same way of feeling that led both of us to study in our last year at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, where we decided to conclude our training for our master's in architecture.

After ending our studies, during a turbulent context such as the current global pandemic, we have managed to start our professional career from our hometown with great enthusiasm and never abandoning education to continue growing.


This is the story of two passionate young people who have the dream of meeting again and starting their own professional path, together.

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?

In our academic career, we have had the opportunity to experiment with projects that range from the broadest scales, such as the city, to construction details. During our period at the University of Malaga, it is worth highlighting the projects related to the issue of migration and refugees, developing from a more urban perspective the reconstruction of postwar Syria, and from a closer perspective the reception of refugees in the port of Malaga; proposals that received awards, such as publications in national newspapers and a second prize in an international competition. During the period at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, the highlight would be the final master's projects – both proposals a response to the problem of reconciling city limits and orchards from the urban to the architectural project, being recognized with honors.

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

Architecture is the power to respond to a need in the search for it to generate well-being in those who inhabit it. Our way of understanding architecture is always born from its context and the relationship it generates with it, so that the place in which it is inserted takes on a new meaning and understanding through the architecture itself. In our practice, we focus on the relationship between man and nature, and how biophilia is capable of transforming the perception of space.

We think that the role of the architect in society is understood or simplified as the professional who projects and builds, however, in our eyes, born in a generation that feels the responsibility to meet the demands of our planet, we think that this role should mutate towards the agent who reflects on what is built, what is rehabilitated or deconstructed, and how or under what circumstances this happens. In other words, the architect, beyond building, projects by getting involved in each issue, supported by many other professionals. The role of the architect in society is by and for society, in harmony with nature.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

Architecture competitions are opportunities that allow free expression that leads you to resolve a specific and usually uncommon conflict. They are the perfect medium to experiment and explore new limits, that is, to innovate and open your mind towards the architecture of which you would be really proud. For this reason, we participate in competitions in which we value our way of understanding architecture.

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

Our advice to those who hesitate about entering a contest would be to dare and lose the fear of failure. In contests you always win: experience, good times with the team, the satisfaction of a job that represents you and that could become part of your cover letter, in view of future jobs. At the end of the day, it is an adventure, and who wants to miss it?

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
ideas COMPETITION
The Architect's Chair
Edition #1

Take a seat and make a statement!

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 06
Sep 06
Nov 01
ideas COMPETITION
Beyond Isolation: Senior Housing
Senior living. Edition#2

Reimagine senior living spaces

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 08
Sep 08
Nov 02
project COMPETITION
The Legendary Highway 14 Tower

Design an iconic tower for De Smet, South Dakota, USA

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 09
Sep 12
Nov 03
project COMPETITION
Iceland Beer Spa

Design a beer spa in Iceland's captivating landscape

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 14
Sep 14
Nov 08

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.
The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial
Edition #3

Design a memorial that speaks to the cause of ending all nuclear weapons programs

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 26
Sep 03
Nov 05
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
Run repeatedly
Los Angeles Affordable Housing Challenge
Affordable Housing Series #16

Design affordable housing solutions in Los Angeles

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 07
Sep 07
Nov 01
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
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
Run repeatedly
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
Register now

Creativity gym Short term competitions for you to exercise your creativity

T-SHIRT DRAWING COMPETITION
The Architect's T-shirt
Edition #19

Design THE architect's t-shirt!

Prize: 3,000 €
Eligibility: open to all

registration deadlines

Remind me
May 31
Jun 30
Jul 31
Register now
ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO COMPETITION
The Buildner's Architecture Portfolio Competition
Edition #2

Submit your online portfolio!

Prize: 5,000 €
Eligibility: open to all

registration deadlines

Remind me
Mar 31
Apr 30
May 31
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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