Submit your ideas to design a new landmark in the Silicon Valley for the Urban Confluence Silicon Valley Ideas Competition!

San José Light Tower Corporation invites visionaries, place-makers, architects, artists, designers, students, and dreamers to help define the identity and spirit of this extraordinary region, to reflect the breathless sense of possibility we all feel, and to propel that influence and hope into a world-class landmark.

We want to bring to built life the visceral feeling of vibrant progress that threads its way through our beloved environment, while at the same time protecting the existing landscape in the midst of urban sprawl.

Call for Entries!

The San José Light Tower Corporation announces the launch of Urban Confluence Silicon Valley (The Competition), an international open ideas competition. Artists, architects, urban planners, landscape architects, students, designers, engineers, and anyone with a passion for place-making is invited to submit ideas for creation of an iconic landmark project to enhance community life in San José, California, the largest city in Silicon Valley. 

Representing the region with prestigious allure, this enduring and distinctive project will be part of a world-class gathering place infused with the magic and spirit of innovation. This urban masterpiece will exist in harmony with nature, build civic pride, and spur economic development. This landmark will be a “must-see” attraction that inspires locals and visitors from around the world, creating a destination for people of all ages and abilities.

Combine the spirit of the Eiffel Tower with the breathtaking gift of the Statue of Liberty, add the possibility of civic transformation witnessed with the Guggenheim Bilbao, mix with the profound power of majestic landscape. Think extraordinary illumination, a passion for place-making, harmony with nature. This is the design opportunity of a lifetime, and we are thrilled to invite you to work with us to create an icon that produces an urban identity for this unique valley of possibility.

The competition is open; the desires are clear. The only requirement is passion to create a must-see landmark that will enhance community life in America’s tenth largest city while reflecting the extraordinary legacy of this remarkable global center of life-changing thought. 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. 

Register Here to enter the competition! Be sure to review all studies in Resources for Submitters.