6
Honourable Mentions
Titled recognition, selected by the jury: a certificate and a permanent results page.
Introduction
Smoke is fleeting. The craft endures.
Buildner invites architects and designers to explore how architecture can give expression to Iceland’s tradition of smoking fish. Inspired by a family craft carried forward across generations, the competition seeks a smokehouse that celebrates the relationship between people, place and the patient work of making food.
- 9m²Today’s smoking chamber, built by the previous generation and still in use
- 10–15m²The new smoking chamber: a modest increase, not mass production
- 65–100m²The whole programme, from fish preparation to a small tasting room
A lake, a farm, a craft
Around Lake Mývatn in northern Iceland, fishing and sheep farming have supported local communities for centuries. The lake and nearby rivers supplied fish that became an important part of the regional diet, eaten fresh and preserved in several ways. Smoking huts remain a familiar part of the area’s food culture, and producers continue to prepare both fish and meat.
Days of smoke, years of fuel
Cleaned, salted and rinsed, the trout are suspended by their tails from long, narrow wooden sticks and carried into the smokehouse, where they hang above the smoke source, with open flames avoided. Smoking can continue over several days, and in some traditional operations the smoke is kept going through the day and night. Birch, twigs and dried sheep dung have all been used as fuel. The dung may dry and mature for several years before use, so a batch of smoked food can depend on work begun long before the fish is caught.
Knowledge passed between generations
These traditions continue through people who practise them. Local producers describe learning to smoke fish from relatives, including an uncle teaching a nephew, while other families trace their work across several generations. Around Mývatn, family smokehouses still produce food for customers and restaurants, keeping this knowledge in regular use.
Give the craft an architectural voice
Architecture can become a language for these stories. Through space, light, material and movement, a building can communicate the care invested in a process and awaken curiosity about its meaning.
How might a place express patience, reveal transformation or evoke the presence of generations who have practised the same familiar gestures?
The aspiration is for architecture with a sense of wonder: a place whose identity grows from the activity within it and leaves a lasting impression on those who encounter it.
The site: a working family farm
The competition site forms part of a working family farm in the Lake Mývatn area of northern Iceland. The farm accommodates residential life, sheep farming and a small enterprise producing traditionally smoked trout. The existing buildings described by the client include:
- Two residential houses
- Two sheep barns
- A fish-processing buildingSeparate rooms for gutting and packing fish
- A traditional smokehouseBuilt by the previous generation, valued for its form and performance, still used for its intended purpose
- A second, concrete smokehouseUsed less frequently, mainly for smoking meat at Christmas
Participants may incorporate the existing smokehouse into their proposal, adapt or extend it, or propose a separate new building. The client identifies the protected status of Mývatn and Laxá, where new construction requires environmental permission, and smoke-producing spaces must sit far enough from the homes to limit smoke disturbance.
Open to everyone. Everywhere.
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 smokehouse that gives a living craft its architectural voice.
The official language of the competition is English. All communication is carried out in English.
Download the competition brief for full details and guidelines.
Download competition brief
The full competition brief can be downloaded as often as required; no additional information will be provided after registration.
How might a place express patience?
Jury
Jury
The jury panel for ICELAND SMOKEHOUSE 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
Ask questions to the jury panel directly!
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If you are registered, please access your upload panel and look for the Jury Questions & Answers section.
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Register nowPersonal design assessment
Request 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.
Award
An opportunity built to elevate architects
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.
The Buildner Medal
Learn moreWinners 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.
1st place25,000 €
2nd place15,000 €
3rd place5,000 €
Student award5,000 €
Enter Iceland Smokehouse competition
Register and submit your project before the deadline.
Be among the winners
1st, 2nd or 3rd Prize, or a special award such as the Student or Sustainability Award, depending on the competition.
Access invitation-only
Buildner Medal AwardInvitation sent to every winner. Nothing to submit, nothing to pay.
Share 50,000 € prize fund
The jury awards the Buildner Medal among invited projects only.
Awards
Four titled winners, six honourable mentions and a forty-strong shortlist.
40
Shortlisted
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
Every participation adds a project to your portfolio, and real experience to your name.
Guaranteed before the jury ever sits.
Skills
The skills you build here stay with you.
The Iceland Smokehouse competition is designed to strengthen these skills:
Trained by the brief itself; the optional design assessment turns your submission into structured feedback.
Construction
Winning projects have the potential to be realised.
The family behind the project is interested in building a new smokehouse, giving the competition the potential to inform a future built project. Winning and honourable mention proposals may be considered for further design development.
Any decision to proceed with construction will depend on the family’s plans, available resources and the necessary approvals.
Your work, seen worldwide
Build your name, attract new clients and partnerships
Publication is guaranteed for every winning entry: online, in print, and across international media.
ArchDaily feature
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.
Print: the Buildner annual book
Winning projects are printed in Buildner's annual book, a permanent, physical record of the year's best unbuilt architecture, distributed internationally.
Winner interview & permanent project page
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.
Does this competition carry a monetary prize of its own?
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.
Eligibility
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.
No professional qualifications are required. 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.
Key dates
Key dates
-
Closing date for registration
22 July 2027
-
Competition Q&A deadline
27 July 2027
In order to guarantee equal opportunities to all competition participants, no new questions will be answered after this deadline.
-
Project submission deadline
6 September 2027
23:59 (London time)
-
Announcement of the winners
19 October 2027
Registration fees
Registration fees
I'm
I will pay in
Early bird
28 Oct – 27 Jan
45 € × 3
Full award package
Advanced
28 Jan – 1 Apr
52 € × 3
Full award package
Last minute
2 Apr – 22 Jul
55 € × 3
Full award package
+4.5% VAT
FAQ
Ask questions to the jury panel directly!
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 answerAsk a
specific jury member
Ask questions about
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
Register now. Don't fall behind.
- Ask the jury direct questions
- Read questions and answers from other competition participants
If you are registered, please access your upload panel and look for the Jury Questions & Answers section.
Register nowAbsolutely 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.
Celebrate your idea. Register today!
Registration deadline · 22 July 2027
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