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
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
South Dakota, USA

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

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + POTENTIAL TO BE REALISED
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 + POTENTIAL TO BE REALISED
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 14
Sep 14
Nov 08

Reccuring architecture competitions

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
Workplace Reimagined
Edition #3

Redefine the future of workspaces

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Sep 14
Nov 16
Jan 18
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 #4

Use architecture to create different emotional states

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Sep 27
Nov 28
Jan 30
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

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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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