UIA International Student Competition 'Catalysts of Resilience'

To boost the architectural education which mainly focuses on basic skill training in its conventional and progressive system, this International Student Competition takes the role as an external platform for student to embrace a brand-new thinking approach in order to improve their comprehensive problem-solving skill, meanwhile it is alsosome kind of headhunter for discovering emerging elite architects.

Description
The competition invites students to engage with the theme Catalysts of Resilience by addressing vulnerable places at risk of future habitational discomfort, inequality or even collapse. Vulnerability may stem from various factors, such as global warming or rising sea levels in certain geographical locations, but it could also arise from issues like political conflict or economic pressures in socially tense areas, among other concerns. The goal is to propose interventions that anticipate and mitigate these challenges by fostering resilience and adaptation to protect and care for these vulnerable sites. This competition asks students to think beyond conventional design methods, using time as a design strategy to catalyse resilient futures.
Participants should identify and creatively address sites predicted to face severe discomfort or collapse in the future --whether human or nonhuman-- due to ecological, social, or material pressures. The main task is to design strategies that anticipate and mitigate these harmful consequences, helping these vulnerable places adapt and build resilience against predicted challenges. These contexts may include urban, suburban, or rural areas where failure may not result in absolute collapse but instead lead to fragile, partially damaged, and complex territories or cities, still retaining traces of hope for uplifted futures. The aim is to characterise these found vulnerable sites and design catalysts of resilience that foster transformation for eco-social betterment over time.

Jury
Jury members:
• Tatiana Bilbao (Mexico)
• Josep Ferrando (Spain), acting as jury chair
• Marianna Rentzou from Point Supreme (Greece)
• Sumayya Vally from Counterspace, UIA representative (South Africa)
• Wtanya Chanvitan from Bangkok Tokyo Architecture (Tokio and Bangkok)
Alternate Jurors:
• Alternate Juror 1: Donn Holohanfrom Superposition (China)
• Alternate Juror 2: Alejandro Vargas Marulanda from Entropía, UIA representative
(Colombia)

Prize
1st prize 5000€ and a certificate
2nd prize 4000€ and a certificate
3rd prize 3000€ and a certificate
4th prize 2000€ and a certificate
5th prize 1000€ and a certificate

Entry Fee
None

Timetable
January 2026, Announcement of results

Organizer
UIA World Congress 2026 organisation (CSCAE and COAC)

Official Website