This competition is part of a strategic partnership between Buildner and ArchDaily that aims to explore "The Contemporary Home".
Learn moreThe contemporary home
Introduction
The Valli Wine Tasting Room competition invites architects and designers to propose a contemporary tasting space for Valli Unite, an agricultural cooperative located in the rural hills of Piedmont, northern Italy. The competition explores how architecture can create meaningful connections between wine, landscape, hospitality, and sustainable rural life through a modest and carefully integrated architectural intervention.

Located near the small village of Costa Vescovato in the Colli Tortonesi wine region, the site is surrounded by vineyards, cultivated fields, forests, and rolling valleys. Known for its natural beauty and strong agricultural traditions, the region has become internationally recognized for natural and organic wine production, particularly the revival of the native Timorasso grape variety. The quiet and deeply rural character of the landscape plays a central role in the identity of the competition.

Valli Unite itself is one of Italy’s pioneering agricultural cooperatives dedicated to organic farming and natural wine production. Founded in the early 1980s as a collective response to rural abandonment, the cooperative has grown into a community-oriented agricultural and cultural landmark. Today, Valli Unite manages vineyards, farmland, agritourism facilities, and communal spaces while promoting values of sustainability, collective work, environmental responsibility, and close connection to the land.


The competition asks participants to design a wine tasting room extension connected to the existing wine storage facility. The challenge encourages sensitive and sustainable proposals that respond carefully to the surrounding landscape and the philosophy of Valli Unite. Participants are invited to explore how architecture can shape intimate visitor experiences while strengthening the relationship between wine culture, agriculture, and the rural environment.
Download the 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 rules summary is available for download at any time in the following languages: English, French, Spanish, and Italian
FULL_COMPETITION_BRIEF [ENG][FR][IT][ES]
- SITE CAD PLANS & PHOTOS
Prizes
10,000 €
5,000 €
2,500 €
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.
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 partnershipJury
The jury panel for Valli Wine Tasting Room 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
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
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
Ask questions to the jury panel directly!
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Personal 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.
Key dates
Send reminders14 January 2027
19 January 2027
In order to guarantee equal opportunities to all competition participants.
No new questions will be answered after this deadline.
15 February 2027
30 March 2027
19 January 2027
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 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.
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 answer
Ask 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
Why would you want to enter an architecture competition?
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