Students in architectural design programs can begin to create a name for themselves even before they graduate. Entering architecture competitions for students provides the opportunity to get your name and your creative vision out into the world.
Entering architecture competitions for students also has the added advantage of helping you to become comfortable in creating unique designs and presenting them for peer review and judging. This is not always easy. Going through the competitive experience adds to your ability to understand requirements, consider options, and have feedback on your designs from leading architects and others in the industry.
Start With the Requirements
Most students do not have a significant amount of experience in entering architecture competitions. It is easy to become creative and to develop a concept that is truly amazing and unique but misses one or more of the essential requirements for the competition.
Take the time to read the premise and the brief, as well as any additional resources. These documents form the ground rules and information for the competition. For example, there may be a requirement for the use of sustainable materials or for specific design elements or functional components of the design.
Building these elements or requirements first helps to avoid overlooking them in the final project.
Think Outside the Box
The goal of most architecture competitions for students is to create a unique solution to a real-world or potential real-world problem. A common mistake made by students is to try to modify an existing design or concept to apply to the problem in the competition.
Instead, create a winning idea by thinking outside of the box. Look at the problem from a different angle before determining if you have the winning idea or a modification of a common architectural solution.
To find out more about open architecture competitions for students, visit UNI. Details on a range of different competitions can be found at uni.xyz/competitions.
