Commons of Coexistence: Shared Space, Shaped for Resilience — ETALASE 2026 Design Competition

Competition Brief

ETALASE 2026 is an annual architecture event organized by architecture students of Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES), Indonesia, featuring seminars, exhibitions, competitions, and other design programs. The 2026 design competition is titled “Commons of Coexistence: Shared Space, Shaped for Resilience” and challenges participants to design an adaptive communal space that responds to climate crises, drought, and extreme heat caused by El Niño. The total prize pool is IDR 11.8 million (approximately USD 656). The Regular registration and submission deadline is 15 August 2026.

The competition is open to students and young professionals in architecture and related design fields internationally. Both individual and team entries are accepted. The full Terms of Reference (TOR) and brief are available for download via the ETALASE 2026 Linktree at linktr.ee/unnesetalase2026.

Intent

The theme “Commons of Coexistence” addresses a pressing urban and environmental challenge: as climate change intensifies through phenomena like El Niño, communities face increasing threats from drought, extreme heat, and ecological disruption. The competition asks how shared public and communal space can be designed not simply as a social amenity but as a climate-adaptive infrastructure that fosters coexistence between people and nature.

Proposals should demonstrate spatial adaptability to climate extremes, responsiveness to the ecology of the site, and the potential to serve as a civic commons that strengthens social bonds and environmental resilience simultaneously. The concept entry is open to any location globally, emphasizing design thinking over site specificity.

Purpose

The competition functions primarily as a student and young practitioner learning platform organized within ETALASE 2026, the annual UNNES architecture festival. Winning and shortlisted entries are featured in the ETALASE exhibition program. The competition also supports the broader ETALASE event programming including seminars and public engagement activities.

Requirements

Open to students and young professionals in architecture and related design disciplines. Individual or team entries accepted. Full submission requirements and TOR are available after registration via linktr.ee/unnesetalase2026. Contact persons for registration and administration: Elvina (+62 812-8121-0184, Instagram @elvnarc) and Hazmi (+62 812-1284-9025, Instagram @m_hazmi_m). Technical information and TOR: Aprilia (+62 813-9465-0423, Instagram @aprilliaaf_) and Al (+62 812-9488-4899, Instagram @al_aflah_).

Jury

Jury panel composition is not publicly listed in the available competition information.

1. Jury Panel: Not publicly disclosed. Contact ETALASE 2026 via linktr.ee/unnesetalase2026 for jury information.

Registration Fees

Discounts of up to IDR 30,000 (approximately USD 2) are available. Full discount conditions are detailed in the TOR available via the ETALASE 2026 Linktree.

Prizes and Rewards

Total prize pool: IDR 11,800,000 (approximately USD 656 at current rates). Prize distribution across the 3 categories is specified in the full competition TOR available after registration.

Key Dates

✦ ArchUp Competition Review

The ETALASE 2026 competition is organized by architecture students of Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES), one of Indonesia’s public universities, as part of the annual ETALASE architecture festival. Student-organized competitions of this type are a well-established tradition in Indonesian architectural education, and ETALASE follows that pattern by using the competition as both a design challenge for external participants and a programming anchor for the festival’s broader educational activities. The theme “Commons of Coexistence” is topically relevant and well-framed: climate adaptation through communal space design is a genuine and underexplored area of architectural inquiry, and the connection to El Niño effects provides a specific and pressing environmental context. The total prize pool of IDR 11.8 million (~USD 656) is modest in international terms but consistent with Indonesian student competition prizes, and the entry fees of IDR 140,000 (~USD 8) early bird and IDR 170,000 (~USD 10) regular are among the most accessible entry costs in any active competition. The competition is listed on Competitions.archi, a reputable international aggregator, suggesting it meets basic credibility thresholds for a student-organized event. The main transparency limitations are the non-disclosure of jury members and the requirement to register before accessing the full brief and submission requirements. For Indonesian architecture students and young designers in Southeast Asia, this is an accessible, low-cost, and topically substantive competition with a direct connection to regional climate challenges. For international practitioners, the very low fees and the climate resilience theme make it worth considering as a portfolio exercise even at a distance from the Indonesian academic context.

Final Thoughts

ETALASE 2026 offers a student-organized design competition with a timely brief on climate-adaptive communal space at one of the lowest entry costs available in any active architecture competition globally. The Regular registration and submission deadline of 15 August 2026 gives participants approximately seven weeks from the current date to develop a proposal.

Full brief, TOR, and submission requirements are available after registration at linktr.ee/unnesetalase2026. For technical questions contact Aprilia (+62 813-9465-0423) or Al (+62 812-9488-4899). For registration contact Elvina (+62 812-8121-0184) or Hazmi (+62 812-1284-9025).

Registration Deadline

Brought to you by the ArchUp Editorial Team

Inspiration starts here. Dive deeper into Architecture, Interior Design, Research, Cities, Design, and cutting-edge Projects on ArchUp.