Annual AFSF High School Design Competition 2026 - International Contest

The Architectural Foundation of San Francisco (AFSF) is excited to announce the 57th Annual AFSF High School Design Competition! This prestigious event invites high school students from both public and private schools across the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond to showcase their creativity and vision in urban design.

San Francisco, like many other coastal cities, is re-imagining its waterfront with an eye towards mitigating sea-level rise and meeting other urban challenges while enhancing iconic civic spaces.

Aligned with the city’s Climate Action Plan, the plan, called “Fisherman’s Wharf Revitalized,” calls for mixed-use development of Seawall Lot 300/301, a section of the waterfront just west of Pier 39.  Proposed elements include:

1)  Two public plazas or promenades (one of which will replace the last block of The Embarcadero)

2)  A visitor’s center

3)  A restaurant & boba cafe

4)  Eight short-term vacation rental units

Design Brief and Guidelines

Find details in this year’s design brief, along with context, suggestions, and more aspects to consider. 

The competition has an online submission process with two options:

1)   Individual Entry

2)   Group Entry

Awards will be given to the best designs in each of these two categories.  The option you choose to enter will determine which awards you are eligible for.

All deliverables (drawings, model, and design description) must be captured in a Google Slides deck for presentation. 

To explain your thinking to the judges, we also require a brief video describing your project (2 minutes max). In previous years, many entrants enjoyed this opportunity to talk about the overall goals and aspirations for their design and their design process.

Awards & Recognition

The competition will award multiple prizes in the following categories:

1. Best Design (Single Entrant)

2. Best Group Entry

In addition to the standard prizes, the first place winner in the overall superiority category receives a four-week Summer Pre-college Scholarship at the California College of the Arts.

Final entries must be submitted on FRIDAY, May 8th, 2026

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Kaira Looro 2023 Architecture Competition

Kaira Looro Architecture Competition is a design contest open to students and young architects with aims to discover new talents and to adopt sustainable architecture models for humanitarian purpose to improve life conditions in developing countries. Cash prizes, Internship and construction are provided for winners, selected by an international jury made up of pregistous architectural firms.

The challenge of 2023's edition is to design a ‘Primary School’ in Southern of Senegal. We are looking for a new school model that can protect and foster the development of every child's potential!.

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Women's Pavilion 2021 Architecture Competition

The worth of a civilization can be gauged from the place that it gives to women. Women today have distinguished themselves in various spheres of life as orators, doctors, diplomats and so on. There is no denying the fact that women all across the globe have made tremendous progress in this constantly developing economy.

While many have taken on the world with confidence there are still an awful lot of women trapped in the shackles of domestic violence and gender inequality. Violence against women need not refer to only physical violence. It is much broader and includes sexual, emotional, psychological and financial abuse.

The obstacle between violence and empowerment is often a lack of education. Education has the potential to help women seek employment opportunities and make them financially independent. It is this independence that empowers women to not only seek growth themselves but also acts as a catalyst to empower others around them.

It's imperative that we facilitate a sustainable environment for women; one that is empowering and opens up multiples avenues for them to thrive.

Eligibility

Women’s Pavilion 2021 is an open ideas design competition. The competition is open to students and professionals from all walks.

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Architecture Model Competition-2021

In collaboration with ArchiVoice, Mango Architecture is happy to announce its first in category Architecture Model Competition-2021. ‘A representation of reality, where a representation is the expression of certain relevant characteristics of the observed reality and where the reality consists of the objects or systems that exist, have existed or may exist.

The competition includes a Prize Money of USD 700 equivalent to INR 50,000 where Top 20 Handmade, Top 20 Machine Made, Top 20 Digital Models, and Top 10 Best Model Presentations will get a chance of media publication on our media partners website and social media handles.

Architecture models have the unique ability to showcase the entire design process in one go. The ability to give you a 360-degree insight into a design process and details related to it.

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Sustainable Architecture - Architecture Essay Competition

Sustainable Architecture is a 2021 Architecture Essay Competition, organized by Archiol. Sustainability in architecture is achieved with the use of design strategies in the built environment that reduce the negative environmental impact. Environment that is built based on ecological principles and resource efficiency .The competition, Sustainable Architecture is looking for essay submissions on the topic of sustainability in architecture.

• A write-up of 1500 words on sustainability of architecture.

• An Image supporting your essay (size 42cm X30cm)

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Co-living Housing in California: A Community Housing Challenge

s more of us flock to urban living in quest of enhanced lives and professions, there is a paradigm shift in the way we live, work, and play. Today, more than half the world’s population lives in cities. The century has witnessed a dramatic population shift from rural to urban to experience the growth dynamism of the world’s metropolises. However, this ‘growth’ is chewing the space and adding a ‘weight’ to the functioning of the cities. The housing stock isn’t growing as fast as their migration and hence there is a resurgence of co-living.

Co-living is becoming a housing model that allows anyone from millennials, young professionals, single women, digital nomads, or individuals relocating to frame their lifestyles with people sharing a common thread. It is the intentional community participating in an increasingly shared economy and the affordability of a convenient housing solution. Co-living is also touted as one of the solutions to the environmental problems, a step towards the phase of the transformation. Today, the expanse of human construction has withdrawn people from the communal living in the urban areas. Humans are integrally social and co-living is the novel social connector. The core characteristic of co-living is re-connecting the vibrant communities with people and nature. It is built on the notion of openness and collaboration to cohabit.

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Tiny Library 2021 Architecture Competition

Tiny Library 2021 Architecture Competition is an open ideas design competition with no intentions to execute the proposals submitted in any form. The competition is open to all and students and professionals from all walks can join the competition.

With the world constantly evolving, there is a ton of information being formulated out there. The human civilization is expected to keep up with this change and evolve with this developing world to open up multiple possibilities for a better future. Despite all the information available around us, the only way to best access it, is through reading and self-learning. As a major tool for the 21st century, self-learning is an important skill that is to be refined for future generations as they journey through education and beyond.

Despite its importance, education is largely inaccessible to various disadvantaged communities in both urban and rural areas around the world. The pandemic raging currently has come with its own set of challenges when it comes to learning or working distantly. While we face a future that we cannot foresee, the ability to adapt and learn is key. It is important to power the growth of like-minded networks. Hence self-learning through reading is the only way to equip ourselves and our community with the mobility we need to combat this unknown future.

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Re-Think Dupont Circle Architecture Competition

Building on the success of our first international competition, the Dupont Underground is launching a second competition: Re-Think Dupont Circle. One of the key public spaces in Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s famous urban plan for the nations capital, Dupont Circle was not built out until the late 19th century and has not seen a significant redesign since the 1940’s when the automobile was ascendant. 

The competition covers the immediate urban area of Dupont Circle (the exact scope is at the discretion of each participant) and takes place at two scales — macro and micro  — that must be interwoven through concept and design. Encourage entrants to thoroughly read and research the history of the Dupont Circle.

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SITE TEMPLE international architecture ideas competition

The Site Temple is a secluded place to enhance a meditative experience of solitude while stimulating the senses through the elements of light, matter and water; an intimate journey to immerse oneself into silence and profound tranquility.

This international one-stage architecture ideas competition invites all architecture students, young architects and young professionals with a degree in architecture studies (≤ 40 years old) to develop and submit compelling ideas for the design of a Site Temple located at the ‘Vera Cruz da Figueira’ Fortress, Algarve, Portugal.

The ‘Vera Cruz da Figueira’ Fortress, isolated on a prominent location, is a powerful natural scenery with shear cliffs dropping dramatically into the Atlantic Ocean.  The stone wall traces rise from the landscape and the cliff surface eroded by the wind and water are notable features within this setting.

When generating a vision for an intervention located within such a remarkable place, it is essential that each design proposal emphasises, respects and celebrates the site and existing ruins, while providing a unique and memorable experience. 

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Tiny House 2020 Architecture Competition

Home is a space that is intimate to all of us. A home goes beyond its everyday function of being a physical shelter for people and their activities; a home connects with its users at a personal and emotional level.

Our humble abodes are being redefined with every passing day. The world is changing constantly, and along with it, our homes are seeing us spend more time within them. The built form of a home is evolving rapidly; its design adapting to various other needs that were not limited to this space before. Homes today are versatile entities – doubling up as offices, play areas, work-out zones, spaces for interaction and recreation, as also being an abode for our furry friends and providing for their needs.

Opportunity

The global scenario today is highlighted by a pandemic along with the environmental and financial concerns along with the desire to have more freedom has led people to follow simpler and efficient ways of living. Today, the home has become the superhero – protecting its inhabitants from a virus, while providing them with the basic necessities for survival. With all of humanity spending almost of all their time indoors now, this scenario has presented designers an opportunity to redefine the idea of “home”. The inclination of the users to follow simpler and efficient ways of living, coupled with a rapid development in technology and materials, there is a great opportunity to create a versatile and innovative personal space.

The Tiny House Movement, once again, celebrates the concept of simple, yet resourceful living. The homes can be designed to re-imagine sustainability through the innovation of maximum usable space in minimum footprint.

Living Small, Yet Living It All

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