Architectural competitions have long offered a space for experimentation: platforms where ideas can be tested, typologies reimagined, and critical questions addressed through design. Freed from some of the constraints of commercial commissions, competition entries often reflect ambitious visions for how architecture can respond to environmental, cultural, and social challenges. Whether focused on future habitats, public institutions, or small-scale community infrastructure, these proposals give shape to the values and priorities driving architectural thinking today.
This month's Unbuilt selection brings together eight competition-winning projects submitted by the ArchDaily community. Each received first, second, or third place in recent local and international competitions. The featured proposals span a wide range of programs and geographies: a sustainable library in Lima, a Martian habitat exploring closed-loop systems, an adult orphanage designed for empowerment in India, a new French school in Athens, and a placemaking initiative in Singapore rooted in local folklore. While varied in scale and scope, they all highlight architecture's capacity to engage context, foster inclusion, and propose new ways of inhabiting space.
Campus sidewalk. Render. Image Courtesy of stantec
Stantec, an architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firm, has been selected as the winner of an international competition organized by the State Tax University (STU) to redesign its Main Campus building. The building was partially destroyed in 2022 during the early stages of the war. The international call for redesign proposals was launched in November 2024, free of charge and "open to all design bureaus, architectural firms, and individual architects from every corner of the globe." The goal of the competition was to develop a 21st-century educational building described as a "progressive and comfortable place for learning, research, and student leisure based on innovative educational standards," as stated in the competition announcement.
1.Overview In July 2022, KOKUYO entered a capital and business alliance with VUILD, inc. (HQ: Kawasaki, CEO: Koki Akiyoshi). Since then, KOKUYO has adopted VUILD's digital wood fabrication machine "ShopBot" and has been offering services that utilize digital fabrication technology referred to hereafter as "DigiFab technology" to create original interior spaces, artworks, and furniture primarily using wood materials. These creations have been produced for a wide range of clients and have been implemented in various settings, including office environments. (*DigiFab technology: The production of physical objects by digital data.)
In this issue of Dearq "Perennial: Architecture's Timeless Dimensions" we are particularly interested in the relationships between materials, architectural elements, spatial and formal arrangements, as well as the instruments and methods we use to describe and classify these connections in order to better understand what stands the test of time and what does not.
Design a MODULAR, ADAPTABLE, and ASPIRATIONAL pre-school design appropriate to the social, environmental, and financial context of South Africa!
Designers are invited to envision the future of early childhood development (ECD) infrastructure in South Africa through a scalable, modular, and aspirational pre-school design. This competition challenges entrants to critically analyse their design approach, considering social impact, environmental sustainability, and financial feasibility to create a model that redefines the learning spaces of tomorrow. The winning proposal will be constructed in conjunction with Education Africa's - Social Architecture Program during 2026, serving as a prototype for the cost-effective development of high-quality pre-school infrastructure in the future. Entrants are encouraged to present bold yet practical proposals that respond to the realities of South Africa's diverse communities, reimagining the future of early childhood education - Beyond the Classroom.
The site is located at the heart of the local economy, near Donghae Station (925, Seodong-ro, Donghae-si, Gangwon-do). The site is currently being used as the location of a steel factory. With a long-term vision, we plan to relocate the factory and redevelop the entire site(661,000㎡). Our goal is to transform the underutilized areas such as 'Vacant Land' and 'Employee Housing Land' into a remarkable destination that attracts both domestic and international visitors.
INT 2025: Final Call For Entries (featured project: INT 2024 Winner - Poggenpohl Shanghai Experience Center by Ippolito Fleitz Group GmbH)
Don't miss your last chance to join the world's most inclusive interior design awards. With the final days to enter upon us, INT urges designers from around the world to submit their most groundbreaking projects for global recognition.
The 2025 National Single Stair Architectural Design Competition invites designers to rethink multifamily housing through the innovative use of single-stair configurations. Entrants are challenged to create affordable, efficient, and livable mid-rise buildings that maximize density, light, and ventilation.
On 19 June 2025, the exhibition will expand to include models of the three winning proposals, which will be announced during the EUmies Awards Day 2025 at Palazzo Michiel in Venice. This event will also unveil the winners of the Young Talent Open, which extends the awards' reach beyond the Creative Europe countries to include participants from the Council of Europe member states and the Asia-Pacific region. All selected works will be documented in a publication and incorporated into the EUmies Awards Archive, contributing to a growing repository of architectural experimentation and discourse.
📌 Mircea cel Bătrân Square is the social and administrative center of Tulcea Municipality, easily accessible from all areas of the city and historically and spatially connected to the Danube waterfront.
Enter The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial / Edition #6 Architecture Competition now! 10,000 € in prize money! Closing date for registration: November 13, 2025
With the future in such a state of uncertainty and political relationships more strained than ever, there is one silent threat that could prove more deadly and dangerous to humanity than a hundred pandemics: nuclear weapons.
Together, let's all go to the sports center! More than $30,000 in prizes to promote invisible accessibility
The Faculté de l'aménagement at the Université de Montréal is pleased to announce the launch of an international, multidisciplinary and anonymous ideas competition, reserved for students, to create inclusive experiences at the CEPSUM, the Université de Montréal's sports center. With a total of $31,500 in prizes, the competition promotes the idea of invisible accessibility, an experience of the built environment that is of high quality to all, where the design of accessibility is integrated in an indistinguishable manner, and where universal accessibility is envisaged as a global state of the project experience, rather than a dedicated path made up of identifiable and visible solutions. Participants are invited to propose transformative ideas that offer inclusive and equitable experiences for all users. The competition is structured around three typical sports center experiences that are not currently universally accessible: 1. The main entrance - Rethinking the entrance and reception of the sports center; 2. Carabins stadium - Improve the game-going experience; 3. The pool - Creating an inclusive swimming experience. The proposals received over the summer will be evaluated by a multidisciplinary jury of eight experts. For each of the three experiences, three winning projects will be selected, making a total of nine winners. All proposals will be presented in October 2025 at a conference organized by the Faculté de l'aménagement, bringing together researchers working on accessibility in the built environment. « We warmly welcome students from around the world to propose bold, creative ideas that reimagine universal accessibility—not as an add-on, but as an integral, seamless, and uplifting experience for everyone, says Carmela Cucuzzella, Dean of the Faculté de l'aménagement. We are looking for designs that are not only inclusive, but also invisible in their accommodation, free of stigma, and full of delight and safety. Think beyond the box—then break it wide open. » « A public space that is not accessible to everyone cannot be considered public, says Bechara Helal, Associate Dean of Research and Scientific Life. It is high time to rethink the place of universal accessibility in design disciplines, and that is what this competition aims to do: define innovative ways of designing the built environment so that it can become the setting for quality public experiences for all. »
To celebrate 25 years of SketchUp, Trimble has announced a global “Design Sprint Challenge” inviting architects, designers, and creative professionals to imagine how small spaces can shape a better future. This time-limited competition challenges participants to design a meaningful space in just 60 minutes using SketchUp, with a grand prize of $5,000 and more.
The Dewan Award for Architecture 2025 invites architects, designers, students, and emerging studios from around the world to reimagine Baghdad's Central Railway Station — a historic landmark poised for transformation.
Madang Project Design Competition for the Korean Museum of Urbanism and Architecture
MaDang Design Competition Held for “The Nature & The Artificial in the Museum” - Korean courtyard spaces is called “MaDang” - The Korean Museum of Urbanism and Architecture Finds a Designer and Architect for Its Courtyard Space
The National Cultural Foundation of Barbados, in collaboration with internationally renowned architecture firm Adjaye Associates and the Ministry of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology (Barbados) is excited to announce The Barbados Carifesta XV Competition. This open design initiative is calling on emerging visionaries to reimagine space, culture, and climate resilience in a post-colonial Caribbean context.
Enter the The Architect’s Stair Architecture Competition now! 7,000 € in prize money! Closing date for registration: June 5, 2025
The stair is one of the most elemental and enduring components of architecture. It is a structure in motion—a connector of levels, a sculptural form, a spatial sequence, and a symbol of ascent, descent, and transition. It guides the body and engages the mind. It is at once practical and poetic.
