House of No Waste Ideas Competition 2025

The House of No Waste Ideas Competition (HØW) 2025, initiated by United Nations University-FLORES (UNU-FLORES), invites young architects, engineers, planners, scientists, and designers worldwide to rethink how we construct and manage buildings and cities. This competition is part of UNU-FLORES’s 50th-anniversary celebrations, aiming to foster innovative solutions aligned with circular economy principles and sustainable resource management.

HØW challenges participants to propose concepts that minimize waste, close resource loops, and incorporate sustainable practices throughout the lifecycle of buildings and urban spaces. Submissions can range from building concepts, urban planning strategies, material systems, construction technologies, or products related to the built environment. Participants have the flexibility to define their own site, context, or target user group, promoting creative freedom and contextual sensitivity.

With a focus on human-centred design, resource efficiency, and environmental sustainability, HØW seeks to set new standards for how society approaches construction, material use, and urban development. Participants are encouraged to explore innovative ways to integrate the European Union’s 9Rs of circular economy—Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Repurpose, and Recycle—into their proposals, supporting the broader United Nations mission for a pollution-free planet.

Competition Overview

• Organizer: United Nations University-FLORES (Dresden, Germany)
• Target Participants: Students and young professionals under 40 years old (born after 31 August 1984)
• Disciplines: Architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, urban planning, material and environmental sciences, product design, and built environment professionals
• Submission Types: Building concepts, urban strategies, construction technologies, material systems, products for the built environment
• Competition Fees: Free of charge
• Prize Pool: Minimum €30,000 divided among three main prizes and three acknowledgements

HØW encourages mixed, transdisciplinary teams combining multiple skill sets to address complex sustainability challenges.

Eligibility

• Open to young professionals and students up to 40 years old.
• Participants can come from diverse disciplines related to the built environment.
• Teams can be international and transdisciplinary.
• Professional experience is welcomed, but age limits apply strictly.

Application Requirements

Participants should prepare:

• A concept or design submission aligned with HØW criteria, addressing circular economy principles and human-centred design.
• Documentation including sketches, diagrams, technical drawings, or digital visualizations that clearly communicate the proposal.
• Optional written explanations for context, methodology, and expected outcomes.

Submissions can define their own site, user group, or context, emphasizing creativity and innovation while addressing global sustainability challenges.

Competition Format

• Online submission via the official competition portal: houseofnowaste.org
• Participants are encouraged to subscribe to the HØW Newsletter for updates, reminders, and webinar information.
• Two online webinars are provided to guide participants and answer questions:
  • Monday, 8 September 2025, 10:00 a.m. CEST
  • Monday, 22 September 2025, 10:00 a.m. CEST

Key Dates

Awards and Recognition

Jury

The independent jury, representing different continents, includes:

• Tatiana Bilbao – Architect, Mexico City, Mexico
• Barbara Buser – Architect, Basel, Switzerland
• Momoyo Kaijima – Architect, Tokyo, Japan
• Mark Lee – Architect, New York, USA
• Zegeye Cherenet Mamo – Architect, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
• Jane Wernick – Engineer, London, Great Britain

Architectural Analysis

HØW encourages participants to rethink the entire lifecycle of buildings and urban systems. Submissions are expected to demonstrate how materials, technologies, and spatial arrangements can support circularity, resource efficiency, and sustainability. Participants must consider interconnected systems, including energy, water, waste, and material reuse.

A critical reflection lies in balancing innovation with feasibility. While bold ideas are encouraged, proposals must be grounded in practical potential and measurable impact. By integrating transdisciplinary approaches, teams learn to navigate complex systems thinking, merging architecture, urbanism, engineering, and environmental science to create holistic solutions.

Project Importance

The House of No Waste Competition highlights the urgent need to close resource loops and reduce construction waste. It demonstrates how circular economy principles can reshape architectural practice, urban planning, and material management.

The competition teaches participants to:

• Innovate in sustainable design and material use.
• Integrate human-centred solutions with environmental responsibility.
• Collaborate across disciplines to tackle global sustainability challenges.

These lessons are particularly relevant now, as urban growth and resource scarcity demand solutions that are both inventive and ecologically responsible. HØW provides a platform to explore future-proof architectural strategies that can be replicated globally.

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

HØW presents a forward-thinking platform for young professionals to explore circularity in architecture. The competition emphasizes material efficiency, system integration, and human-centred design, fostering critical problem-solving skills. A reflective challenge lies in balancing conceptual ambition with practical feasibility: how can proposals push innovation while remaining implementable? Despite this, HØW offers invaluable exposure, collaboration, and the chance to influence sustainable practices in the built environment, promoting a global shift toward zero-waste construction.

Conclusion

The House of No Waste Ideas Competition 2025 is a global initiative redefining how we conceive, design, and construct the built environment. By encouraging innovative approaches to circular economy principles, the competition empowers young architects, engineers, and designers to envision buildings and cities with minimal environmental impact.

With a focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, HØW allows participants to explore novel construction methods, material reuse strategies, and urban planning innovations. Winning proposals receive UNU recognition, public promotion, and monetary awards, incentivizing excellence and furthering sustainable development goals.

Ultimately, HØW serves as a catalyst for systemic change, promoting circular thinking and sustainable design solutions that are not only visionary but actionable. It challenges the next generation of professionals to rethink architecture’s role in society, encouraging solutions that are responsible, inclusive, and future-ready.

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