Bustler's Top 10 Architecture Competitions of 2019

It's been another busy year for architecture and design competitions worldwide, and Bustler kept you in the loop about the latest challenges and noteworthy results. 

From the need to create innovative housing solutions, to designing touristic landmarks in Iceland and Abu Dhabi, the library of the future, all the way to recurring audience favorites, like eVolo's Skyscraper Competition, Laka's Architecture that Reacts, and Fairy Tales, the Competitions section on Bustler hosted an eclectic mix of challenges this year.

Out of the hundreds of design competitions that happened over the last 12 months, we compiled a list of the Top 10 Competitions of 2019. Have a look.

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1. The HOME Competition 2019

"The HOME competition invites all designers to explore ideas of domestic architecture for the future. Designers may consider the impacts of global population shifts, proximity of major cities to coastlines, new materials and building techniques, as well as the rise of co-housing, tiny homes, smart houses and marketplaces like Airbnb. HOME creates a platform to speculate the ways new technological, political, environmental and cultural changes can redefine the spaces where we live. What do you believe will be the future of home ?"

Check out the competition results here.

2. MICROHOME 2019 - Small living, huge impact!

"The first annual MICROHOME architecture competition is part of the Bee Breeders Small Scale Architecture Appreciation Movement, which hopes to highlight the fact that bigger isn’t always better. With great design and innovative thinking, small-scale architecture could change how this and the next generation view residential property."

3. Iceland Volcano Museum

"The Iceland Volcano Museum competition is the third in Bee Breeders' Iceland architecture competition series and tasks participants with designing a multipurpose structure to feature local tourism attractions."

4. Abu Dhabi Flamingo Observation Tower

"The Abu Dhabi Flamingo Observation Tower competition is looking to celebrate these magnificent creatures by tasking participants with designing a new observation tower for the reserve. As the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) has expressed an interest in the construction of this tower, designs will need to be both in keeping with the look and purpose of the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve, while having the potential to become an iconic landmark in its own right."

Find the competition results here.

5. Iceland Black Lava Fields Visitor Center

"Dimmuborgir is one of the region’s most popular tourism spots, with thousands of tourists visiting the black lava fields every year. There is currently a simple visitor center constructed from container modules offering basic food & drink options and a gift shop. With the Iceland Black Lava Fields Visitor Center architecture competition, Bee Breeders architecture competition organisers are looking to reinvent their on-site facilities and create an innovative structure that will act as the face of this incredible tourist attraction."

6. Future Library Competition

"CODE - COmpetitions for DEsigners and  Università degli Studi di Genova launch “Future Library”, a competition of ideas for the design of a learning space for the University of Genoa. Designers will have the opportunity to interpret and shape the future of places dedicated to learning and knowledge."

7. Paris Affordable Housing Challenge

"The Bee Breeders Global Housing Availability Challenge series in partnership with ARCHHIVE BOOKS turns its attention on Paris for the next competition in the series. [...] The Paris Affordable Housing Challenge is tasking participants with designing a sustainable solution to Paris’ affordable housing problem."

8. Laka Competition 2020 "Architecture that Reacts"

"The subject of the competition is architectural, urban, technological, or product design that is capable of dynamic interaction with its social, natural, or built surroundings. The main focus of the competition is on solutions developed through a process of changes and adjustments. Achieving such a goal requires an interdisciplinary approach that often goes beyond typical solutions."

9. Urban Confluence Silicon Valley Competition

"The competition seeks a transformative design complete with dramatic lighting, a net-zero energy approach, and an impressive physical presence that will become a powerful and enduring symbol of how Silicon Valley operates as a bridge from past to present to future. Urban Confluence Silicon Valley can be a structure, an object, a sculpture, a work of architecture—with an activated landscape enjoyed both day and night."

10. Fairy Tales 2019

"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 will craft a text narrative, along with 5 images, in the most spectacular way possible."

Don't miss the competition results here.

Looking for the Top 10 Architecture Events of 2019? Click here.