How can we design a city that is resilient to climate change, accessible to an aging population, and at the same time respectful of the existing urban fabric? Participants in the new edition of the Architecture Student Contest 2027 will tackle this challenge. This time, the competition moves to Madrid, where students will combine new development and the renovation of a historic neighborhood into a single project, with both areas connected by a green corridor leading toward Madrid Nuevo Norte.
From National Qualifiers to the Finals in Spain
The Architecture Student Contest is an international competition organized by the Saint-Gobain Group since 2004. Its aim is to challenge students with tasks that present real-world design challenges, taking into account the site context, user needs, technical requirements, and the environmental impact of buildings. The scale of the project is illustrated by the most recent edition—in 2026, the initiative attracted 1,400 students from 34 countries.
The competition takes place in two stages. The first stage is held at the national level, and its winners then qualify for the international finals. Participants may compete individually or in teams of up to three people, under the supervision of an academic advisor.
The finals of the upcoming edition will be held in Madrid from June 14–16, 2027. Registration is open until March 31—entries for the national round must be submitted by that date.
Three parts, one cohesive concept
The competition site is located in the Madrid Nuevo Norte area. This is one of the largest urban revitalization projects currently underway in Europe. It encompasses over 230 hectares of railway and post-industrial land and aims to create a new, mixed-use part of the city with approximately 10,500 new apartments, public spaces, and extensive green areas.
The competition entry consists of three components evaluated as a single whole. What counts is not only the quality of each component but also the functional, spatial, and architectural coherence among them.
New Development – Participants will design a facility combining a primary care center with a senior living section. The program includes, among other things, medical offices, diagnostic facilities, and an emergency care area. The senior living section will comprise 80 residential units offering varying levels of support, organized into small, home-like co-living communities.
Renovation – the second component concerns Colonia de San Cristóbal, a historic mid-20th-century residential neighborhood. The students’ task will be to develop a model renovation plan for one representative apartment building, which can also be applied to the rest of the complex.
The project must preserve the site’s architectural, urban, and social value. At the same time, it must improve accessibility, thermal and acoustic insulation, ventilation, and thermal comfort in the summer, while reducing energy consumption and the operating costs of the apartments.
Green Axis —the third element—is an approximately 1.2-kilometer-long linear park connecting Colonia de San Cristóbal with the new Madrid Nuevo Norte district. It is intended to serve as a pedestrian and bicycle path, as well as fulfill bioclimatic and social functions. The design should incorporate shading, water retention and infiltration, drought-tolerant vegetation, rest areas, accessibility, and noise reduction.
With People and Their Environment in Mind
Madrid presents participants with very specific climatic challenges. Average daily temperatures in July reach 32–33°C, and during heat waves they exceed 35°C; therefore, one of the most important considerations will be protection against overheating and the use of passive cooling strategies.
Technical parameters have been specified for the new building regarding energy efficiency, insulation of building envelopes, air quality, acoustics, daylighting, and fire safety. The following are mandatory: an energy simulation and a carbon footprint analysis in OneClick LCA for a 50-year reference period.
Circularity will also be important—the design should limit the use of virgin raw materials, promote recycled or renewable materials, and allow for the disassembly and reuse of components.
Criteria, Awards, and Benefits
Entries will be evaluated in two main areas: architectural quality and sustainable construction. New construction accounts for 60% of the evaluation, while renovation accounts for 40%. Green Axis is an integral part of the concept and will be evaluated, among other things, in terms of accessibility, mobility, acoustics, and material selection.
The jury will focus, among other things, on the coherence and quality of the concept, functionality, responsiveness to the local context, carbon footprint, circularity, user comfort, and the quality of technical solutions. Advancement to the national finals also requires meeting the minimum competition requirements and the proper use and identification of technologies and products from brands belonging to the Saint-Gobain Group.
In this new edition, the prize pools have increased at both the national and international levels. In Poland, participants will compete for a total of 18,000 PLN, and in the international finals—for 12,500 euros. In addition to first, second, and third place, there are also special awards: the Teacher Prize and Student Prize, selected through votes by teachers and students, respectively, and the Special Prize—awarded by the jury for a particularly original or exceptional aspect of a project.
However, participating in the Architecture Student Contest is not just about competition. The contest offers the opportunity to work on a complex, real-world design problem, use professional tools, develop a portfolio, and present one’s ideas to world-class experts. It is an opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences among students, universities, and specialists from many countries. The prestige of the competition is well illustrated by the composition of the jury for the Polish stage in 2026, which included: architect Ewa P. Porębska, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine “Architektura-Murator” from 1994–2024; architecture critic and curator Marcin Szczelina, editor-in-chief of “Architecture Snob”; architect Agnieszka Kalinowska-Sołtys, chief operating officer and board member of UN Global Compact Network Poland; Dr. Dorota Bartosz, Director of Sustainable Construction at the Polish Green Building Council (PLGBC), architect Marta Sękulska-Wrońska, partner and CEO of the WXCA studio, Michał Ciesielski, Director of Brand, Communications, and Strategic Marketing at Saint-Gobain in Poland and Ukraine; Piotr Wereski, PreFab Systems Development Manager at Saint-Gobain Solutions.
Participants also receive access to educational materials and tools to support their design work—including training courses, energy simulation software, and OneClick LCA.
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Formore information: https://www.saint-gobain.pl/konkurs-dla-studentow-architektury.
