Architectural competitions are a great way to get experience about the field of architecture. Competitions help you to get an overview of what is going on in the industry and how you can contribute to it.

In architectural competitions, you need to find mentors and get feedback from professionals in the field. It’s also a good way for you to enhance your network and showcase your work and get noticed by potential employers or clients.

The competitions that have the most impact on the industry are those that are open to everyone. The ones that have a limited number of participants, or require you to pay for the entry fee, are also valuable but you may not entry these competitions in the first years of your career.

A proposal for Porin Aarre Competition Credit: Lundén Architecture Company – Lundén Architecture Company awarded purchase prize in Porin Aarre Competition (lunden.co)

Why Architects Join Competitions?

Architectural competitions are a great way to learn about different design styles and use cases. They also provide an opportunity to see how architects and designers work under pressure.

There are different types of architectural competitions that most of architecture firms join every year. The most popular ones are the international architecture design competitions. There are many aims of architects join these competitions to showcase their work. Some of them include:

-The chance to win a prize, which can be anything from cash to a commission for a building

-A chance to get feedback and criticism from an international jury

-A chance to network with other architects from all over the world and find new clients

-An opportunity for architects to prove themselves in front of their colleagues and other professionals in the industry

Winning proposal for Low-Impact Development in Tulsa Credit: 1Architecture Loves a Challenge – The Hows and Whys of Architectural Competitions — 1Architecture, LLC

 

Learning from Architectural Competitions

The design process of architectural competitions usually starts with a client briefing, which outlines the desired program, site, and budget for the project. Competitions are often held to generate innovative ideas for new developments or to find more economical ways of building existing structures. Learning from architectural competition is a way of improving your designs and understanding what makes a good design.

There is much to learn from architectural competitions, both for organizers and participants. It is a great advantage for regulatory firms, municipalities or institutions to see how many different potential ideas will work in the same field.

“InHabiting Underground” proposal for Non Architecture Competitions Credit: Inhabiting Underground – Non Architecture Competitions

Advantages of Architectural Competitions

Imaginative Designs

The architectural competitions are a way to see what the most innovative and creative minds in the architecture word have to offer. Competitions are a way for architects to show their talent and be recognized as one of the best in the world. One of the most important things that we can learn from these competitions is that there are no limits to what you can create with your imagination. Architects should be able to express themselves through their work without being limited by any boundaries or rules.

Prestige

There are many offices and famous architects who have made a name for themselves in architecture thanks to architectural competitions. Preparing for competitions is not an easy process that every team can accomplish, especially for large competition projects of considerable size.  As a result of these large-scale competitions, the award-winning teams and architects gain great prestige.

In a large architectural office, the designers of the competition team and other projects must be different. Most of the time, the projects of the offices preparing for the competitions are mostly competitions. But all these challenges are worth the price and prestige of the rewards.

Wining proposal of International Architecture Competition Credit: Copenhagen Architects Won First Prize in International Architectural Competition – Daily Scandinavian

Price

There are many offices that can finance themselves through competition prizes. In recent years, there has been a growing number of architectural competitions. They are often open to the public and people can submit their own ideas. Some architectural competitions have big prizes for the winners. These prizes can be in the form of money, or a chance to work with an architect on their building project.

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