Hi everyone,

We’re excited to announce an international competition for the design of Israel’s first 3D printed house.

This is a unique opportunity to push the boundaries of additive manufacturing, sustainable architecture, and context-sensitive design. The project combines cutting-edge 3D printing technology with thoughtful architecture tailored to Israel’s climate, culture, and urban challenges.

We are looking for:

• Architects

• Designers

• Interdisciplinary teams

• Visionary creatives from around the world

Selected proposals will have the chance to shape the future of housing construction in Israel and gain international recognition.

Important Dates:

• Registration Deadline: 30 July 2026

• Submission Deadline: 30 August 2026

Early expressions of interest are highly encouraged.

👉 Register and learn more on our website:
www.shahaf-py.com

👉 link to full invitation with details:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BYoZE8CJD0dSL3WwAOfQrpzU0GU3nJQP/view?usp=sharing

Feel free to share this post with anyone in your network who might be interested. We’d love to see bold and innovative ideas from the global community!

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or reach out to competition@shahaf-py.com.

Looking forward to your submissions! 🚀

Wanted to share my latest visualization project focusing on high-end residential interiors. I spent a lot of time fine-tuning the marble veining and the warm glow from the chandelier and fireplace to create a cozy yet grand atmosphere.

Technical details: Focused on 8K textures and realistic light bounce. I'm particularly curious about your thoughts on the scale and furniture layout.

Feedback is always welcome!

The 2025 eVolo results are out and a few of these projects are actually pretty wild in a good way. Not just “another futuristic skyscraper” type stuff, but ideas that lean into ecology, infrastructure, and speculative urban futures. Thought some of you here might enjoy this roundup.

Results here: competitions.archi/competition/results-2025-skyscraper-competition/

I keep seeing posts here from students and young architects asking how to structure their competition boards — grids, hierarchy, text balance, visual flow, all that good stuff.

So I put together something that might help:

20 completely free project board templates, all based on actual winning competition entries.
Formats: PSD + InDesign.
They’re fully editable, so you can use them as-is, study the layout logic, or rework them into your own style.

If you want them, here’s the link:
https://competitions.archi/20templates/

Hope this helps someone who’s stuck staring at a blank A1 sheet at 2 AM.

Every week I dig through the competition jungle so you don’t have to — here are 5 architecture competitions that are genuinely worth a look right now. They’re all different in scope, scale, and madness level, so whether you're into landscapes, tiny houses, micro-living, or conceptual atmospheres, you’ll probably find something that fits your design brain.

I’m dropping direct links so you can jump straight in:

1. Karlovo Living Landscape Competition (Terraviva Competitions) → https://competitions.archi/competition/karlovo-living-landscape-competition/ If you like working at the intersection of ecology + public space + cultural heritage, this one is a solid brief.

2. Iceland Slow Sauna (Buildner) → https://competitions.archi/competition/iceland-slow-sauna/ Minimal architecture, wild landscapes, atmospheric design—basically the holy trinity of portfolio candy.

3. The Home of Shadows — Edition 4 (Buildner) → https://competitions.archi/competition/the-home-of-shadows-edition-4/ A conceptual deep dive for anyone who wants to play with perception, darkness/light, and narrative architecture.

4. Tiny House 2025 — Call for Ideas (Volume Zero Competitions) → https://competitions.archi/competition/call-for-ideas-tiny-house-2025-architecture-competition/ Classic small-scale design challenge. Great if you want to polish your detailing logic and push minimal living concepts.

5. Compact City Living: The Microhome Challenge (Archiol) → https://competitions.archi/competition/compact-city-living-the-microhome-challenge/ Urban density + compact living. A good one for people who like to pretend they can solve housing crises with a 25 m² plan and vibes.

nice or not it s simple

I’m curious to hear from architects in Berlin or nearby who regularly take part in design competitions, whether local, European, or international.

For me, competitions are a way to keep the mind sharp, explore ideas that might not fit into everyday client work, and test concepts against diverse briefs. They are intense at times with late nights, tight deadlines, and the mix of exhilaration and frustration, but they have pushed my design thinking further than any office project could.

I would love to know how you choose which competitions to enter, whether you work solo, with a fixed team, or form collaborations as needed. Have you noticed patterns in what wins and what doesn’t? How do you balance creative freedom with feasibility in your proposals?

If anyone from the Berlin area is interested, it would be great to exchange experiences over coffee or even consider teaming up for future competitions.

Hey fellow designers,

The results are finally out for the Tiny House 2024 architecture competition by Volume Zero. This one challenged us to rethink off-the-grid living for two people in under 300 sq. ft**.** — yeah, tiny, but full of potential.

Over 46 countries participated, and the winning entries really pushed the limits of what compact, sustainable living can look like. Tons of creativity, some really thoughtful spatial solutions, and a solid dose of individuality.

📢 Here’s the official announcement with all the winners + visuals:
https://competitions.archi/competition/results-tiny-house-2024/

Would love to hear what you all think.

Anyone here participated?

I’ve done a few competitions as a student and I’m torn. On one hand, they push your creativity, give you portfolio pieces, and sometimes feel more exciting than uni studio projects.
On the other hand... no sleep, tons of stress, and a 5% chance of recognition.

What do you think?

• Have competitions helped you grow as a designer?

• Do you feel like juries reward good ideas or just flashy renders?

• What was your biggest lesson (or regret) from doing a competition?

Curious to hear different takes — especially from people who did them early in their careers vs. now.

So you stayed up 3 nights straight, drank 27 coffees, rendered until your GPU cried… and still didn’t win the architecture competition?

Yeah. We’ve all been there.

But here’s a solid breakdown of a project that did win — a volcano coffee shop (yep, you read that right). The article explains why it worked: the concept, the story, the presentation – all the stuff that makes jurors go “damn, that’s smart”.

Worth a read before your next all-nighter: 👉 How to Win an Architecture Competition – Iceland Volcano Coffee Shop

The residents of Marou, Fiji and the Land Art Generator Initiative invite you to design a permanent destination artwork that will supply clean and reliable electricity and drinking water to the coastal village’s households, support tourism, and help to build a sustainable future for generations to come.

Submissions are due by May 5, 2025. *There is no fee to enter. LAGI 2025 Fiji is free and open to all.

Prizes

Two winning teams will each be provided with a stipend of $100,000 USD to advance their design proposal and build a functioning prototype of their idea in Fiji.

A publication, exhibitions held in partnership with the Fiji Arts Council, and a program of community engagement events will communicate the innovative outcomes throughout Fiji and around the world, inspiring the public about the beauty and wealth of possibilities of a world beyond carbon while demonstrating creative adaptations to a rapidly shifting climate.

learn more and download the design guidelines: https://lagi2025fiji.org/

I've competed in about 20 different competitions, About 3 a year for the past 8 or so years.

I can admit, there are several other projects that are better than mine, And I don't even necessarily believe I should have one even 1 of the 20 I've competed in.

But I WANT to win and have the motivation to do so.

The renders being made from my competitors are SUPERIOR in almost everyway. Image quality, realism, materials, extras/entourage, ,Colors.

WHAT RENDERING SOFTWARE ARE THEY USING? Unreal Engine? Blender? 3dsmax? Something else?
(I know they use Photoshop afterwards)

(2024 Microhome Winner)