New architecture and design competitions: AIA Chicago Awards, The Architect’s Stair, Computational Design Young Voices Award, and Madang Project Design Competition

For this week's curated picks of architecture and design competitions listed on Bustler, we are featuring four calls seeking student projects that exhibit the best in computational design, proposals for two sunken courtyards at the Korean Museum of Urbanism and Architecture in Sejong, South Korea, outstanding work from the Chicago architecture community, and imaginative conceptual explorations of the stair.

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

Computational Design Young Voices Award
Registration/Submission Deadline: Friday, May 9, 2025

"The Computational Design Young Voices Award (née Leland Jobson Prize) recognizes architecture students who have created a project demonstrating strong technological ingenuity, celebrating them with the hope that it emboldens them to continue on the path to computational design as well as inspiring others to do the same."

Madang Project Design Competition for the Korean Museum of Urbanism and Architecture
Registration Deadline: Thursday, May 15, 2025
Submission Deadline: Monday, May 19, 2025

"XORBIS Inc., one of the consortium currently undertaking the exhibition design, production, and installation for the opening exhibition of the KMUA, is hosting this design competition under the overarching theme of 'The Natural & the Artificial in the Museum.' The northern courtyard is designated under the sub-theme 'Rest,' while the southern courtyard is associated with 'Play.' Through this competition, the intent is to define the characteristics and functions of each courtyard—positioned respectively at the core of the exhibition space (north) and the workshop studio & fabrication lab (south)—and to derive the most suitable design proposal that harmonizes natural and artificial elements."

2025 AIA Chicago Awards
Registration/Submission Deadline: Friday, June 6, 2025

"Submissions for the prestigious AIA Chicago 2025 Awards program are now open! This is your opportunity to showcase your firm's exceptional work and contribute to Chicago's legacy of architectural excellence. [...] Award Categories open for Submission: Design Excellence Awards - Celebrating outstanding work across project sizes (Architecture: XS-XL and Interior Architecture: S-L); REIMAGINED FOR 2025: Decarbonization Award - Recognizing projects that go beyond basic energy reduction and demonstrate leadership in sustainable design; BACK IN 2025: Unbuilt Award - Celebrating innovative conceptual projects that address social, cultural, environmental, and technological challenges; People's Choice Awards - Selected by public voting from Design Excellence Awards finalists; Lifetime Achievement Award - Honoring architects who have made enduring contributions to Chicago's built environment; Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award - Recognizing excellence in projects guided by the belief that quality architecture is a human right ($2,500 prize); Dubin Family Young Architect Award - Celebrating emerging talent and significant contributions from young architects ($2,000 prize)"

The Architect’s Stair
Registration Deadline: Thursday, June 5, 2025
Submission Deadline: Monday, July 14, 2025

"This competition invites architects, designers, and creative thinkers to explore the stair as a pure expression of architectural language. Participants are asked to reflect on its symbolism, geometry, movement, and potential—free from constraints of program, material, or scale. There are no limitations on style, function, context, or dimension. Whether monumental or minimal, abstract or inhabitable, real or speculative—what matters is the clarity and creativity of the concept. We are not looking for compliance with regulations or typical stair design solutions. Instead, this is a conceptual exploration of an essential architectural element, reimagined as a means of expressing your unique design philosophy. How can a stair tell a story? How can it embody spatial ideas, emotions, ideologies, or atmospheres? How can it become a metaphor, a movement, a manifesto?"

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.