Architecture competitions are platforms where innovation meets imagination, where the boundaries of what we know about design and architecture are relentlessly pushed. Serving as spaces for architects and designers to realize groundbreaking ideas, competitions challenge our conventions and shape our future environments. While countless creative concepts are proposed, only a handful are realized. In fact, these winning designs stand as a showcase for the creativity of architects, redefining our future built environments.
These winning projects demonstrate the global initiative to rethink the way we interact with spaces. HOKA fosters community interaction, while RITSO Resort merges tradition with modernity. Science Forest transforms museums into hubs for dialogue, and Elan-Meenakshi apartments in Hyderabad integrate urban living with green spaces. Ranging from Vietnam, Greece, Rome, to India, these examples showcase the transformative potential of architecture competition winners, reshaping our perception and interaction with the spaces we inhabit.
Read on to discover the 8 unbuilt awarded competitions, along with their descriptions from the architects.
Hoka / KOSMO
IdeenPreis Wohnbau Hamburg 2023
HOKA aims to cultivate dynamic communal spaces that facilitate interactions and idea exchange, actively engaging residents in collectively shaping their future. These spaces are designed to embrace diverse aspects of urban culture while supporting a range of residential and professional lifestyles.
RITSO Resort / MI Architects
IOO% HOTEL DESIGN AWARDS by IOO% Hotel Show
"RITSO Resort" seamlessly merges modern architecture with Monemvasia's traditional essence, crafting a captivating, one-of-a-kind ambiance. Luxurious pavilions, blending contemporary aesthetics with local heritage, feature Monemvasia cistern-inspired roof channels and private pools, offering mesmerizing vistas. Natural materials like stone, wood, and metal infuse warmth and authenticity, while the innovative Brise Soleil design creates a unique atmosphere.
Science Forest / ADAT Studio
Museo della Scienza di Roma (Science Museum of Rome)
Science Forest is an urban intervention by ADAT Studio. This open building redefines the museum experience by creating a public and shared space that focuses on the relationship between history, humanity, and nature. The project aims to change the way knowledge, nature, and history engage in a constant dialogue. The museum becomes a hub for citizens and researchers, a new open community that surpasses conventional boundaries between public and private, natural and artificial, past and future.
Elan - Meenakshi / Architectural Dialogue
Iconic housing in Hyderabad India
Located in the exclusive neighborhood, just moments from the HiTech City & Financial District of Hyderabad, India, the project consists of 4-bedroom luxury apartments stacked in a manner to create green terraces at each level. These unique towers elevate the living experience through a heightened connection to the city. While being elevated and connected to the sky, it still retains its connection to the ground and the landscape by carrying the idea of balcony planting on all levels. A terrace garden is there on all its floors, bringing the connection and idea of the ground; the geometry of the gardens is organic and adds to the softening of the edges.
Atrium Habitat / P4architecture
Hellenic Architecture Awards
Nestled amidst the untamed beauty of the Mediterranean wilderness and the rustic charm of the Greek countryside, this synthesis delves into the harmonious integration of a vacation house within its Mediterranean backdrop. The exploration delves into the delicate equilibrium between the built environment and the pristine landscape, an ongoing pursuit within our architectural practice. In this instance, we sought to expand the boundaries between domestic space and the encompassing landscape, allowing the house to merge seamlessly with its environment. The design revolves around a cluster of dwelling rooms arranged around a small fragment of untouched nature, creating an enclosed courtyard of tranquility and introspection.
The Silk's Flow / KKA and Partners
"Discovering New - Khơi Nguồn Chất Mới"
The Pavilion – designed to honor the Van Phuc Silk Village, is located in Dam Tri-West Lake, Hanoi. The project is inspired by the image of Van Phuc silk village and the very process of silk production made possible by the ingenious craftmanship of its experienced artisans. The Pavilion - the harmony between man and nature, modernity and tradition, state-of-the-art 3D construction printing, and ancient sericulture.
Sedhiou’s Walls Of Tales / Handover Projects
Kaira Looro
The center aims to create a contemporary iconic architectural structure that considers Sedhiou’s vernacular architectural history and spirit, preserving, and reformulating their local architectural language through a contemporary expression. Creating an environment that fits the local community's needs and aspirations through bridging the gap between their legacy and the future.
PixPort Lagos / SA lab + Santiago Sánchez
Hackcity Urban Design Challenge 100 moving pixels
SA lab and industrial designer Santiago Sanchez won the first prize in the HackCity Competition, using AI to address modern city issues and plan a "15-minute" community ecosystem. PixPort is an open design system that offers worldwide implementation, allowing multiple modes of transport to coexist and fostering economic growth, job creation, and business resilience while contributing to a more resilient local economy.
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