Fairy Tales 2017: Blank Space launches fourth annual architecture storytelling competition

After the record breaking success of last year’s competition which drew over 1,500 participants from 67 countries, Blank Space is excited to announce that the 2017 edition is open for registration. Now in its fourth year, Fairy Tales is the largest annual architectural competition in the world.

Blank Space is proud to partner with the National Building Museum and the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) along with Bustler, Archinect, Archdaily, and DesignMilk. The competition will be capped with a special celebration at the National Building Museum in February 2017 for all winners, participants, jurors and VIPs.

Fairy Tales is open to all, and invites architects, designers, writers, artists, engineers, illustrators, students and creatives to submit their own unique architectural fairy tales. A successful entry crafts a text narrative, along with 5 images, in the most spectacular way possible.

“Every week or two we are approached by someone that has used the Fairy Tales competition as a springboard to something larger. Some have gone on to host exhibitions or to put together wildly successful Kickstarter campaigns. Many have been published internationally and others have been expanded to become films, books, theses, research papers and comic books,” say Matthew Hoffman and Francesca Giuliani, Founders of Blank Space. “This is the ultimate goal of the Fairy Tales competition to prove that architecture can do more.”

This is the ultimate goal of the Fairy Tales competition to prove that architecture can do more.

This year’s entries will be reviewed by some of the most influential authorities in architecture, design, storytelling, and business. The jury includes:

• John Maeda (Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers),
• Dan Wood (WORKac),
• Chase W. Rynd, Hon. ASLA (National Building Museum Director),
• G. Martin Moeller, Jr. (National Building Museum Senior Vice President and Curator),
• Michel Rojkind (Rojkind Arquitectos),
• Antti Nousjoki (ALA),
• Sarah Balmond (Balmond Studio),
• Marion Weiss (Weiss/Manfredi),
• Michael Maltzan (Michael Maltzan Architecture),
• Jing Liu (SOIL),
• Alan Maskin (Olson Kundig),
• Minsuk Cho (Mass Studies),
• Michael Van Valkenburgh (Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates),
• Robert Hammond (The High Line),
• Gro Bonesmo (Space Group),
• Stefano Boeri (Stefano Boeri Architetti),
• Sarah Wahlgren (AIAS National President),
• Rachel Law (AIAS National Vice President),
• Alexander Walter (Editor, Archinect & Bustler),
• Becky Quintal (Executive Editor of Archdaily),
• Matthew Hoffman and Francesca Giuliani (Blank Space Founders).

Speaking of their winning entry to last year’s Fairy Tales competition, Alan Maskin (Principal, Olson Kundig) said: “Our Fairy Tales 2016 submittal became a tangential detour from Olson Kundig's ongoing investigation into urban rooftops, the largely neglected uppermost layer of cities. The idea of applying a narrative filter to both built and conceptual projects became another way to look at and critique design ideas.” He continued, “The truth is, the Fairy Tales competition introduced a connection to visual narratives and architecture that is now morphing to other ideas and projects in the studio. Submitting to the competition was the best provocation for us.”

Participants can register for a $40 Early Bird Discount until Wednesday, September 14. Following that, Regular Registration ($60) will be open until November 2, and Late Registration ($80) until the Submission Deadline on December 9, 2016.

To register for Fairy Tales 2017 and for more detailed information, please visit: www.blankspaceproject.com