The Contemporary Home

This competition, is part of a strategic partnership
between Buildner and ArchDaily, that aims to
explore “The Contemporary Home”.
Learn more here.

Competition introduction

Competition organisers

Yoga House 
in the Bog

Known for its wide beaches, rich biodiversity, and vast green forest, Latvia is quickly gaining popularity as a tourist destination, especially for those looking for sustainable tourism destinations. And while tourism worldwide is slowly recovering after the pandemic – with the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) recording a 4% increase in international travel – central-eastern Europe is ahead of the curve, seeing tourism increase by 18% since 2020.


With sustainable travel and wellness tourism set to be some of the biggest tourism trends in coming years, Latvia seems to welcome more visitors than ever, looking to experience its lush and diverse landscape and spend some time in nature.

 

Latvia features over 500 km of beaches along the Baltic Sea coastline, with crashing waves along the Kurzeme coast and calmer waters from the Gulf of Riga hugging the coast at Cape Kolka. The country's most popular stretches of white sand beaches are in Riga and Jurmala, contrasting with the rocky beaches of Vidzeme. Punctuated by dunes, cliffs, sandstone outcrops, rocks, and caverns, the Baltic Sea coastline is home to charming and unspoiled fishing villages, imposing port cities, and the popular resort city of Jurmala.

 

Baltic Sea is famous for its amber fragments that are often washed up on beaches, appearing in a variety of shades which characterise Latvia. Originally formed from fossilized pine tree resin about 40 million years ago, the shiny specimens that wash up along the Baltic Sea coast sometimes contain plant and insect inclusions, from ferns to frogs and even dragonflies caught in the pine tree resin eons ago.

 

Roughly 20% of Latvia is protected land, with four national parks, 42 nature parks, 260 nature reserves, 355 nature monuments, seven protected marine areas, 24 micro reserves, and a biosphere reserve. However, these resources are finite, and so significant measures were taken to preserve them not just for their own sake but for the economic benefits that they provide in terms of tourism.


For the Yoga House in the Bog competition, participants are asked to submit designs for a yoga house located in a Latvian bog that is surrounded by forest and is a few hundred meters from Baltic Sea Beach. The location is a one-hour drive from Cape Kolka, a unique spot on the shores of Latvia where two seas clash. The entire region is the perfect place to experience the tranquil purity of nature and the local landscape.

Kolkasrags, known in English as Cape Kolka, is a cape near the entry of the Gulf of Riga and is the point at which the Gulf of Riga and the open Baltic Sea meet. The pronounced shore is part of Slitere National Park and is a source of great natural beauty, as two seas clash, and thousands of migratory birds fly overhead.


The yoga house should allow guests to experience and connect with nature during their stay. While they need shelter and protection from the elements – high temperatures in summer and strong winds, rain, and snow in the winter – the yoga house should make them feel a part of the environment, not separated from it.

 

The competition site is located in a Latvian bog which is surrounded by forest and is a few hundred meters from Baltic Sea Beach. The location is a one-hour drive from Cape Kolka, a unique spot on the shores of Latvia where two seas clash. The entire region is the perfect place to experience the tranquil purity of nature and the local landscape. 

 

For the Yoga House in the Bog competition, the jury panel will be looking for designs that interact harmoniously with the unique and sensitive environment surrounding it. It should be both an iconic design and a positive example of green building practices.


Download the full competition brief for more information!

The 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.

Full competition brief

The full competition brief can be downloaded as often as required; no additional information will be provided after registration.

  • - (!) FULL COMPETITION BRIEF
    • Reglas de la competencia
    • Regolamento del concorso
    • Règles de compétition
    - SITE PLAN CAD & PDF
    - SITE PHOTOGRAPHS

Prizes

10,000 € + Construction
Total Prize Fund
1st PRIZE
4,000 €
Publications
Certificate of Achievement
2nd PRIZE
2,500 €
Publications
Certificate of Achievement
3rd PRIZE
1,000 €
Publications
Certificate of Achievement
CLIENT’S FAVORITE AWARD
1,000 €
Publications 
Certificate of Achievement
BUILDNER STUDENT AWARD (more details)
1,000 €
+ 50 € ARCHHIVE BOOKS Gift Card 
+ 50 Points BUILDNER Architecture University Rankings 

Publications 
Certificate of Achievement
BUILDNER SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
500 €
+ 50 € AAPPAREL.com Gift Card 


Publications 
Certificate of Achievement
+ 6 HONOURABLE MENTIONS

 

CERTIFICATE:


Buildner will also acknowledge the outstanding performance of all winners and honourable mentions with Certificates of Achievement.

Publicity campaign

The Buildner’s extensive global publicity campaign for the competition winners:

  • "SEEN BY" ONE MILLION Results published on buildner.com - one of the leading websites in the industry and is visited by over one million unique visitors each year.
  • "SEEN BY" 800 000 MORE Publications on Buildner's social networks (over 600,000 followers) and newsletter campaigns (over 200,000 subscribers).
  • INTERVIEW Exclusive interview published with the results and shared on Buildner's social networks.
  • MOVIE The competition winners will be granted and opportunity to submit a movie about themselves. The video will be published on the Buildner's website and social networks.
  • MEDIA PARTNERS The competition results will get international art and design media coverage and will be featured in the world’s leading architecture media outlets.

Jury panel

Jury members shall under no circumstances be contacted by competition participants or their representatives. Participants who attempt to contact jury members, shall be disqualified.

All jury members are involved in the evaluation based on their availability at that time. All communication regarding the competition should only be carried out with Buildner staff. For any questions please contact us on [email protected]  

 

Find the extended list of jury panel biographies here!

Alexandra Barker Founder and Principal at Barker Associates Architecture Office - baao USA
Xuanru Chen architect at ZJJZ Atelier China
Olha Kleytman Founder of SBM studio Ukraine
Nicolas Lapierre Founding Partner of Atelier L'Abri Canada
Marco Lavit founder of Atelier LAVIT France
Judson Moore Design Director at Waechter Architecture USA
Anna Maria Orrù Co-founder/director, Nordic Biomimicry and Affiliated Senior Lecturer in design ecology, Konstfack Sweden
Tom Schroeder Patkau Architects Canada
Yimeng Teng architect at Ro Rockett Design USA
Sam Brown Co-founder of O’DonnellBrown Scotland
Daniel Zamarbide partner at BUREAU Switzerland
Carine Pimenta partner at BUREAU Switzerland
Galliane Zamarbide partner at BUREAU Switzerland

Key dates

Closing date for registration

26 April, 2023

Closing date for project submission

07 June, 2023 (11:59pm London time)

Announcement of the winners

12 July, 2023

Competition Q&A deadline: 01 May, 2023

In order to guarantee equal opportunities to all competition participants,
no new questions will be answered after this deadline!

Registration fees

  • Registration Deadline
    09 February - 26 April
  • Architects / Enthusiasts / Companies
    155 €
    This registration provides a complete set of prizes, including certificates of achievement, monetary rewards, and potential construction benefits.
    110 €
    This registration offers a comprehensive set of prizes, including recognition through publicity, certificates of achievement, and potential construction-related benefits, without any monetary awards.
  • Students
    125 €
    This registration provides a complete set of prizes, including certificates of achievement, monetary rewards, and potential construction benefits.
    85 €
    This registration offers a comprehensive set of prizes, including recognition through publicity, certificates of achievement, and potential construction-related benefits, without any monetary awards.
+4.5% VAT

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.

 

Competition results in media

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F.A.Q.

Competition related questions

The project's approach to ecotourism places emphasis on the construction and materials used, aiming to promote sustainability and green living. The focus is on the building's construction and end results, rather than the actions of the occupants.
No additional maps are available. For the purpose of this competition, participants should treat the site as flatland.
The primary access point is indicated in the plan, which can be downloaded from the competition website.
Regrettably, a photo map is not available for this competition.
The competition location does not have a specific local name.
Yes, you are allowed to use the provided site photographs in your renders.
Utilities are available in the area, so a self-sufficient design is not required.
The en-suite space should include a bedroom with a toilet. A double bed is preferred, and a small kitchen is also required.
Yes, the road leading to the site can accommodate a truck carrying prefabricated wall panels and a crane to lift them into place.
There are no specific restrictions on the maximum height of the building mentioned in the brief.
The maximum buildable area on the site is not defined in the brief.
Accessibility is recommended but not required in the design of the yoga house.
The kitchen should be small but fully functional. No specific size or equipment specifications are given for the bedrooms.
No, there is no maximum number of people specified for the yoga house.
The size of the two en-suite double bedrooms is not defined in the competition brief.
The size of the kitchen is not defined in the competition brief.
The size of the toilets and storage spaces is not defined in the competition brief.

General questions

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.
Only one proposal per registration is permitted. Participants are entitled to register multiple times if they wish to participate in the competition with several proposals.
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.
Yes. If the jury panel selects a Sustainability 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.
Please contact us – [email protected] and we will address the problem directly.
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.
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