goal

"We want our common home—the earth—to be a better and more beautiful place to live for us and future generations. We can do this by protecting the environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy and raw material consumption or, finally, by ensuring the safety and comfort of buildings. Buildings can and should be more efficient and more environmentally friendly. We are committed to ensuring the health and well-being of people, while minimizing the environmental impact over the life of the building. Universities and polytechnics educate future generations of architects, and students are already creating our future. Together we can make it better."—write the organizers.

The goal of the international competition for architecture students is to develop a design based on sustainable principles, both for people and the planet. Buildings are to be highly energy-efficient, low-carbon and offer their occupants a comfortable environment, providing them with a better space to live, work and relax.

The competition task in the 2024 edition is located in Helsinki, Finland.

© Saint-Gobain

terms and conditions

The task for this year's edition of the competition, organized by the Saint-Gobain Group in close cooperation with the University of Helsinki and the City of Helsinki, is to design a residential development (for residents and researchers) in an area near the Viikki Research Farm and Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The property in the area covered by the competition task is owned by the University of Helsinki, which has commissioned the City of Helsinki to develop a plan for its development in the coming years.

Contestants are to present a vision for the area, taking into account both the natural features of the location and the expectations of students and researchers living in and visiting the area. The project includes the renovation of an existing building to be used as accommodation for researchers, as well as the construction of a new residential building. The proposal should also include a connection to the Gardenia building (the current tenant is craft brewery CooHead Brew) and its Japanese garden, as well as activities planned for the surrounding outdoor areas, since the old agricultural museum will be demolished.

The object of the competition, is to create a design for sustainable architecture for an integrated urban space while respecting the requirements described in the competition task, taking into account the climatic conditions and the regional, cultural and historical context of the city of Helsinki, Finland.

All technical guidelines that the project must meet are available in the English-language version of the regulations (Appendix 1).

Participants in the competition may be male and female undergraduate architecture students. Participants must have full student rights, i.e. have a valid student ID card for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Participants can take part in the competition individually or in teams of 2, and in exceptional situations, upon approval of the
organizer, also in teams of 3. There is one project per team or participant. A participant may not be part of two different teams submitting a project in the same edition of the competition.

Joining the competition means registering a team through the international competition website in accordance with the guidelines
in Appendix number 1, until March 29, 2024.

The competition consists of two stages: national and international.

The competition entry in the national stage should contain elements analogous to those required in the international stage:

• the name of the project (max. 60 characters with spaces) and a brief description of the project (max. 500 characters with spaces) in Polish, in a DOC text file,
• project presentation in PDF file (16:9 format, max. 50 MB),
• video—presentation of the project in MP4 file, max. 600 MB, duration max. 5 minutes, the video should include a 3-second intro of Architecture Student Contest 2022 and immediately after it an information board: project title, team number, names of participants, name of the university,
• graphics in JPG or PNG files with a maximum weight of 10 MB: building 3D model (1—3 pieces), architectural plan, insulation,
• photos of participants and the project promoter—JPG or PNG files of max. 10 MB
• a short biography of the project promoter,
• all components of the competition work should be prepared in Polish and placed in one folder.
  

The competition works submitted to the national stage of the competition will be evaluated by the jury according to the following criteria, depending on the nature of the designed building. For the design of a new building—weight of 60%, including: architecture—weight of 30%, sustainable construction—weight of 30% (sustainable design with a reduced carbon footprint, taking into account circularity and the health and well-being of users, construction details and building physics, appropriate use of Saint-Gobain products and solutions).

In the case of renovations, a weighting of 40%, including: architecture 20%, sustainable construction 20%.

Then, from among the submitted works, on April 11, 2024, the jury will select 10 teamsthat will be invited to participate in the national final
national final, during which they will present their project in person before the committee.

prizes

Prizes in the national stage:

• 1st place—PLN 3000 for the team and diplomas, participation in the international stage in Helsinki,
• II place—3000 PLN for the team and diplomas,
• III place—PLN 1500 for the team and diplomas.

Prizes in the international stage:

• 1st place—5000 EUR for the team and diplomas,
• II place—3000 EUR for the team and diplomas,
• III place—1500 EUR for the team and diplomas,
• Special Prize—Teacher Prize—1000 EUR for the team,
• Student Prize—Student Prize—1000 EUR for the team.

calendar

• registration and application of the project in the national stage—until March 29, 2024,
• verification and evaluation of the submitted projects (national stage)—from April 4 to 11, 2024,
• national final and adjudication of the national competition—from April 18 to 19, 2024,
• submission of projects qualified for the international stage—until May 3, 2024,
• international final and adjudication of the competition—from June 10 to 12, 2024.

competition commission

A special commission will be established for the national stage of the competition, consisting of external architects and representatives of industry circles (2-3 persons), internal Saint-Gobain experts (3-4 persons). The composition will be announced before the evaluation of the works and their qualification for participation in the national finals.

more information

For more information, detailed guidelines and an application form, visit the international competition website.

terms

https://www.saint-gobain.pl/konkurs-dla-studentow-architektury

regulations

https://www.saint-gobain.pl/documents/inne/regulamin-architecture-student-contest-2024-pl-zabczniki-en.pdf