Concrete Pavilion competition winners explore the material's potential

The results are in for Buildner's recent Concrete Pavilion competition, inviting participants to explore concrete "not just as a structural solution but as a medium for innovation, expression, and experimentation."

The brief asked architects and designers to envision a temporary or permanent structure no larger than 50 square meters (538 square feet), considering the sensory and tactile qualities of concrete, while providing both a functional exhibition space and serving as a sculptural object. One key expectation was incorporating sustainable design strategies to minimize the material's environmental impact.

Check out the winning entries and honorable mentions below. Got a favorite design? Share in the comments. 

1st Prize Winner: Re-Maze by Hamid Karimiantakbolagh, Saber Karamzadeh, Leila Nikjoosafa, and Amirmohammad Taheri (Austria)

Jury verdict: "Installed within a former industrial hall, this pavilion reinterprets concrete as an atmospheric and spatial medium rather than a purely structural one. A clustered triangular arrangement of cylindrical concrete elements forms a suspended volume beneath the existing steel trusses, hovering slightly above the ground plane. Each cylinder varies in height, opacity, and internal treatment, generating a porous interior landscape of light wells, shadow gradients, and layered thresholds. Suspended cables articulate the verticality of the intervention while referencing the industrial logic of the host structure. The composition operates both as object and environment: from afar, it reads as a dense geometric formation; at close range, it dissolves into tactile surfaces, apertures, and intimate chambers. Through rotation studies, connection diagrams, and material detailing, the project positions itself as a careful dialogue between heavy materiality and perceived lightness within a reclaimed industrial context."

2nd Prize Winner: Cultivating Pavilion by Nuttapol Techopitch (Thailand)

Jury verdict: "'Cultivating Pavilion' reinterprets the rural vertical water tank as a dual-purpose architectural intervention, merging agricultural infrastructure with public space. Composed of twelve cylindrical concrete silos arranged in a compact cluster, the project preserves the essential function of water storage while carving out a shaded communal interior beneath the suspended tanks. Strategic voids at the base and selective cuts within the cylinders transform solid mass into a porous spatial field, allowing light, air, and filtered views to animate the interior. Transparent acrylic inserts and light-conducting fibers introduce calibrated daylight below the water mass, creating a contemplative atmosphere shaped by thermal inertia and diffused illumination."

3rd Prize Winner: Push Pull by Koh Noguchi and Ssu-Kuo Lo (United Kingdom)

Jury verdict: "Inserted into a narrow residual gap between two existing buildings, this small pavilion transforms an overlooked urban void into a sheltered micro-landscape for informal gathering and play. The intervention operates through two primary gestures: a shallow, earth-formed concrete shell that shapes the ground into a soft inhabitable topography, and a thin suspended canopy that stretches lightly between the flanking walls. The lower shell is cast using the excavated ground as formwork, producing a tactile surface that invites sitting, climbing, and lingering, while the canopy introduces shade, compression, and moments of framed sky through circular apertures."

Buildner Student Award: Folding Concrete by Yi Yang and Chun Zhou (University of Pennsylvania, United States)

Jury verdict: "'Folding Concrete' proposes a compression-dominant concrete shell canopy generated through graphic statics and sheet-folding logic. The pavilion reimagines thin-shell concrete construction by subdividing a curved surface into foldable plywood formwork panels, enabling robotic milling, transport in pieces, and on-site assembly. Supported by slender steel columns and post-tensioned elements, the shell aims to achieve structural efficiency with minimal thickness while maintaining architectural clarity. Beneath the canopy, rotating display panels create an open-air gallery condition, framing views toward the surrounding landscape and skyline. The project positions itself as both a material experiment and a fabrication study, arguing for a digitally informed workflow that expands the feasibility and accessibility of thin concrete shells."

Buildner Sustainability Award: Earth Moves by Lain James Maxwell (supermanoeuvre collaborating with apeapeape, Arup, and the University of Technology Sydney)

Jury verdict: "'Earth Moves (eM)' is a thin-shell earth-cast concrete pavilion embedded within the landscape of Somersby, Australia. Conceived as both event space and cultural infrastructure, the project draws on local soil, on-site excavation, and First Nations-led principles to establish a construction methodology rooted in place. Rather than relying on conventional fabricated formwork, the pavilion is shaped through an earth-mound casting process: soil is formed into sculpted berms, scanned and refined, then coated with a thin shotcrete layer before excavation reveals the final shell. The result is a series of intersecting compression arches that frame fire, sky, and gathering space. By treating the ground itself as temporary formwork, the project positions construction as landscape transformation, reducing material waste while reinforcing a reciprocal relationship between architecture, material sourcing, and Country."

Honorable Mention: GROUND ZERO_Concrete as Witness by Roxana-Andreea and Irimia Mihai Bogdan Ionită (AEK design studio, Romania)

Honorable Mention: Kiwa by Chae Eun Kim and Chae Lin Kim (South Korea)

Honorable Mention: Archive of Aggregate by Diane Yun Choi and Yuka Imada (GSAPP, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, United States)

Honorable Mention: One Foot by Junyub Kim and Jeon Chaeeun (Switzerland)

Honorable Mention: Re:Concrete by Shivani Rastogi, Jialu Hou, Kaixin Su, and Taoyu Han (United Kingdom)

Honorable Mention: Cast in Reverse by Yanchen Yu and Hua Chai (United States)