New architecture and design competitions: League Prize, Queen Elizabeth II memorial master plan, Alexei Navalny memorial, and Deborah J. Norden Fund

If you're in search of new, exciting architecture and design competitions, take a look at the latest curated picks of challenges listed on Bustler. Featured below are four briefs seeking projects by young architects and designers that demonstrate the way plot is present in their work, proposals by students and recent graduates in search of travel grants that will help advance their studies in architecture, architectural history, and urban studies, designs of a master plan in London's St. James’s Park that memorializes Queen Elizabeth II, and memorial designs that honor the late Alexei Navalny.

For the complete directory of newly listed competitions, click here.

Queen Elizabeth II National Memorial Masterplan Design Competition
Registration/Submission Deadline: Monday, January 20, 2025

"The Queen Elizabeth II National Memorial Masterplan Design Competition is an open two-stage design competition comprising an Expression of Interest period followed by a closed design stage for a shortlist of five competitors. [...] Envisaged as a celebration of Elizabeth II as well as a place of reflection, the memorial project needs to tell the story of a long reign and be beautiful, inclusive and sustainable. The site traverses London’s Grade I listed St James’s Park from Marlborough Gate on The Mall covering land surrounding the pathway to, and including, the Blue Bridge and across to Birdcage Walk. This elegantly connects the informal ambience of the Park’s landscapes with the ceremonial formality of The Mall. In the competition brief are defining elements, including a new bridge over the lake, as well as opportunities for artistic interventions and enhancing existing landscaping."

League Prize 2025: Plot
Registration/Submission Deadline: Thursday, January 30, 2025

"Whatever the narrative, architecture can’t help but engage with plot. This is an open call for designers with a story to tell. Every building has its lore, and plots are known to thicken. Which dramas are shaping architecture’s arc today? The truth may be stranger than fiction. Despite the best-laid plans, design so often deals in circumstance. That is, while architects may endeavor to write their own stories, projects always present twists. The 2025 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers competition asks entrants to interrogate Plot and map out the throughlines that shape their work. How is architecture informed by considerations of plot, whether as land, drawing, or scheme? We invite young designers to chronicle that which bookends their practices and to demonstrate plot’s persistent role as main character."

Design the memorial to Alexei Navalny
Registration/Submission Deadline: Friday, January 31, 2025

"We are calling for designs for the monument to Navalny, which will mark his grave in the Borisovskoye Cemetery, Moscow. In Putin’s dictatorship, any hint of dissent is brutally put down, but the Alexei Navalny memorial will be a symbol of hope and strength for all who dream of a free and fair country. [...] The best three designs for this remembrance place will be chosen by Alexei Navalny’s family. On 4 February these three designs will be put to a public vote. The most popular one will be made into the Alexei Navalny memorial."

Call for Proposals: The 2025 Deborah J. Norden Fund
Registration/Submission Deadline: Monday, February 24, 2025

"The Deborah J. Norden Fund, a program of The Architectural League of New York, was established in 1995 in memory of architect and arts administrator Deborah Norden. The competition awards travel grants to students and recent graduates committed to the study of architecture, architectural history, and urban studies. [...] In 2025, the Norden Fund will award a grant of up to $7,500 to one individual or team. Applicants must submit a proposal of up to three pages which succinctly describes the objectives of the grant request and how it will contribute to the applicant’s intellectual and creative development."

Would you like to contribute competitions, award programs, or calls for submissions that aren't listed on Bustler yet? Send them directly to our team to review. We may include them in our next roundup.