International Architecture Competition

The Marker
Design Challenge

A dedicated recognition of women in architecture!

Results

Competition organisers

The Marker 
Design Challenge

Official Partners

The Marker 
Design Challenge
1st Prize Winner

Project name

SHED LIGHT

Authors

Hagar Abiri
Justyna Piasta
Zuzanna Światowy
Klara Krešo

Company

Haa&d

Germany

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

CompePPon is an opportunely to make a statement, to be criPcal and to show an alternaPv to tradiPonal methods and material. It is an opportunity to be adducted and use new tools. It is a way to be involved with projects and topics that are not being pracPsed in the daily rouPne and at the same Pme working on a compePPon enriches other projects that run parallel. Also, it is a great method to get to know your team members- their strengths, their set of tools and methods. You can learn from each other, improve yourself and grow together.

Jury feedback summary

Shed Light reveals the name of the little-known female co-designer of the Barcelona Pavilion with Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, Lilly Reich. The minimal steel letters horizontally mounted reveal her name when sunlight casts its shadow against the exterior travertine wall. The marker is both subtle and powerful in commemorating the female designer’s role, writing a new conscious memory of Lilly Reich’s contribution to the making of this modernist classic. Shed Light serves as a permanent “intervention” to a building originally meant to be the temporary German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition. This Markerfunctions well in any climate, in any season as it literally writes a new kind of narrative, strengthening women’s positions in the architectural pantheon with compelling evidence. According to the jury, it is “elegant with a universal application” and “can be implemented anywhere. We love that it is both sacrilegious and good word play.”

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

Portal

Authors

Tayla Clarke

New Zealand

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

As a recent graduate working in the industry, I participate in competitions to further develop my creative and design skill set. Competitions have also provided unique briefs and typologies that are intriguing as they aren’t as common in everyday practice. This has given me the freedom to explore new ideas, think outside the box and not be afraid to be innovative. A way of fulfilling my creative passion for Architecture as a young designer.

Jury feedback summary

Portal honors architect Lina Bo Bardi with a free-floating exterior frame (or pavilion), in the form of a large interactive screen which serves to educate visitors on Bo Bardi’s design of the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP). In addition, Portal functions as a new piece of small architecture that “expresses the power of design identity in concert with the existing landmark”. This Marker proposes an on-going digital, global mapping of places and spaces designed by women - according to the jury - “not only a testimony to Bo Bardi, but also an experiential journey building a collective visual memory by providing the larger public with awareness of women’s material contributions to the built environment.” This Marker commemorates the female architect and keeps the memory of her and her peers alive and in the minds of the community and beyond.

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

Highlight

Authors

Weronika Zaborek

Poland

Jury feedback summary

Highlight provides a neon-lit arch-frame through which one can view the housing complex at Grunwaldzki Square - one of the most innovative examples of modernist residential architecture in Wroclaw, Poland designed by Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak, the first woman in Poland to receive the title of architect. This Marker both figuratively and literally draws attention and focus to the buildings, while providing a peaceful pause to learn about Grabowska-Hawrylak’s career. The floor-mounted digital infographics below the neon frame provide interactive information on the culture and identity of the Plac Grunwaldzki housing estate to be respected and preserved. Highlight visually links the legacy of Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak, and according to the jury, “has the potential to inspire, enrich the community and revise the cultural record of women working in the built environment professions.” In its elegance and simplicity, Highlight “is designed to spark serendipitous interactions, and encourage reflection”. It is at once an expression of the contemporary while erecting testimony to its past.

ARCHHIVE STUDENT AWARD

Project name

In praise of Shadows

Authors

Cristina Bao Ye
Ignacio Urbistondo Alonso

Spain

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

We consider the format of architecture competitions to be a really good creative muscle work out. The time span is short, and the productivity is high, plus we get to work on unusual projects, it’s a win-win.
AAPPAREL SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Project name

Opening the corner

Authors

Grusa Bauman

Ireland

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

For me, architectural competitions are the purest essence of our work. They are fields in which to try our ideas, to stretch and broaden our way of thinking, to try something new and to say something we are usually not in a position to say. Fields to explore and play. Pure joy! (If it results with prize or realisation even better, of course.) Secondly, competitions are the most democratic way of acquiring work, an opportunity for small and young offices to get important jobs and recognition. For the society it means “handpicked” independent well-designed architecture, in an ideal case of course. In Croatia every public building and every private building of more significance has to pass through the open competition. In Ireland, on the contrary, competitions are rare and open just to handful of biggest offices.

Honorable mentions

VIEWclose HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Project Name

WINGS OF CHANGE

Country

United Kingdom

Project authors

Dunja Ratkovic

Project Name

The Bo Bardi Stage

Country

United Kingdom

Project authors

Alexandra Arad
Leman Zlatkova

Project Name

Invisible Stumbling Blocks

Company

Landmark planning & design inc.

Country

Canada

Project authors

Tessa Mccharles
Choi Ho
Evan Allan
Marie Etcheverry

Project Name

Should have been built

Country

Ukraine

Project authors

Olena Kondrashevska

Project Name

Hittite Sun

Country

Germany

Project authors

Asli Cinar

Project Name

Embroidered Cushion

Country

United States

Project authors

Catalina Ruiz
Dee-Anna Ancliff
Abby Critselous
Edgar Betancourt

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
project COMPETITION
Sansusī Forest Food Court

Design a sustainable food court structure for the heart of a classical music festival

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jan 10
Feb 08
Apr 06
ideas COMPETITION
The Home of Shadows

Design a home with no artificial lighting

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 05
Jan 24
Apr 18
project COMPETITION
Portugal Elderly Home

Design a comfortable and accessible home for the elderly in Portugal

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 06
Jan 25
Apr 19
project COMPETITION
Portugal Olive Guest House

Design a guest house and olive oil tasting room located in Portugal

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 08
Jan 27
Apr 21
project COMPETITION
Yoga House in the Bog

Design a yoga guest house located within rich bog wildlife

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jan 11
Feb 08
Apr 26

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.
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
ideas COMPETITION
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
Run repeatedly
Children's Hospice
Home for the Terminally ill / Edition #2

Design a safe and supportive space for children struggling with a terminal illness

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 06
Feb 08
Apr 06
Register now
Run repeatedly
Milan Affordable Housing Challenge
Affordable Housing Series #15

Design a concept for affordable housing in Milan

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 07
Jan 26
Apr 20
Register now
Run repeatedly
Virtual Home
Edition #2

Design virtual home as architecture moves into the metaverse

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
May 02
Jul 04
Sep 06
Register now
Run repeatedly
Office
Office Design Challenge / Edition #2

Reimagine the workplace of the future, and design the new way of working

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jan 03
Mar 01
May 04
Register now
Run repeatedly
Portable Reading Rooms
Edition #2

Design a portable reading room that encourages reading in any location

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + SCOLARSHIP
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Feb 13
Mar 23
May 15
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

Creativity gym Short term competitions for you to exercise your creativity

T-SHIRT DRAWING COMPETITION
The Architect's T-shirt
Edition #18

Design THE architect's t-shirt!

Prize: 3,000 €
Eligibility: open to all

registration deadlines

Remind me
Feb 28
Mar 31
Apr 30
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

MICROHOME

MICROHOME

Small living, huge impact! Edition #4
Hong Kong 
Pixel Homes

Hong Kong Pixel Homes

Affordable Housing Series #2
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