Dewan Award for Architecture 2025
Overview
Dewan Architects + Engineers, in association with the Tamayouz Excellence Award, announces the launch of the Dewan Award for Architecture 2025. This global design competition invites architects, students, designers, and studios to propose visionary yet grounded ideas that reimagine one of Baghdad’s most iconic architectural landmarks.
Why You Should Participate
This award offers a prestigious platform to engage with Iraq’s architectural heritage while proposing new models for public space transformation and urban connectivity. Participants gain international recognition, the chance to showcase their talent in front of a distinguished jury, and a potential career opportunity at one of the region’s leading architecture firms. It’s a rare chance to make a real-world impact on an underutilized but culturally rich urban site.
Key Highlights
Project Focus:
Reimagine the Baghdad Central Railway Station, transforming it into a sustainable, accessible, and future-oriented public transport node.
Objectives include:
- Enhancing connections with Al-Alawi Garage Terminal and Al-Zawraa Park
- Integrating a vibrant public realm
- Responding to historical, social, and spatial context
- Proposing practical and visionary architectural solutions
Eligibility:
Open to architects, architecture students, studios, and multidisciplinary teams from around the world.
Organizers:
Dewan Architects + Engineers in collaboration with the Tamayouz Excellence Award.
Entry Fees
Participation is completely free.
Prizes and Recognition
| Award Tier | Prize & Benefits |
|---|---|
| First Prize | $6,000 or a 6-month employment opportunity at Dewan Architects + Engineers |
| Second Prize | $3,000 |
| Third Prize | $1,000 |
| All Winners | Invitation to the Tamayouz Awards Ceremony |
Submission Details
Participants must submit design proposals addressing both architectural renewal and urban strategy. Proposals must be original, contextual, and technically feasible. Further submission formats and documents will be provided on the official website.
Important Dates
| Phase | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Registration Deadline | 30 September 2025 |
How to Join
To participate, visit the official website at: www.dewan-award.com
Create an account, download the brief, and upload your submission by the stated deadline.
Judging Criteria
- Contextual Responsiveness: Engagement with Baghdad’s social, cultural, and spatial identity
- Innovation & Feasibility: Visionary ideas that are buildable and sustainable
- Public Engagement: Strategies for inclusivity, mobility, and urban activation
- Architectural Quality: Aesthetic coherence, material expression, and clarity of concept
Jury
An independent panel of esteemed professionals will evaluate the submissions:
- Wendy Pullan (Chair) – University of Cambridge
- Dr Jala Makhzoumi – American University of Beirut
- Dr Mohamed Al Assam – Dewan Architects + Engineers
- Dr Ahmadreza Hakiminejad – Leeds Beckett University
- Nadia Habash – Bethlehem University
- Dr Khaled Al-Sultany – Architect and Author
- Davide Ponzini – Politecnico di Milano
- Fernando Olba Rallo – Fernando Olba Arquitectura + Urbanismo
- Sebastian Hicks – Oxford Brookes University
✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight
This competition presents a critical exercise in adaptive reuse and urban reinvention within the Iraqi context. The project brief encourages a comprehensive intervention that goes beyond preservation, urging designers to respond to contemporary mobility, sustainability, and civic identity. While the brief is rich in architectural ambition, more technical clarity on the submission process could support first-time entrants. Still, the inclusion of a potential job opportunity adds practical value and makes this an especially relevant platform for emerging architects.
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