Re:Paris Prize
Open-call brief
Re:Paris Prize is a research fellowship for designers working on civic design and citymaking through reparative and regenerative urbanism. Van Alen Institute relaunched its historic Paris Prize with the Pan-African Biennale; this public call selects one United States–based winner to join two Africa-based awardees in a twelve-month research cohort.
This is an independent-study and field-research fellowship, not an architectural commission. The United States open call awards one US-based designer or team a US$35,000 prize and requires research outside the country. No construction contract or implementation budget is promised.
Key information
| Organizer | Van Alen Institute. |
| Eligibility | United States–based designers and practitioners whose work shapes cities or public space; relevant experience may substitute for an accredited design degree. |
| Entry fee | No application fee is stated on the official project page or in the reviewed application form. |
| Registration deadline | No separate advance registration. The application is submitted in one step by the final deadline. |
| Submission deadline | 22 November 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT — 23 November 2026, 04:59 UTC. |
| Total prize fund | US$35,000 for the one United States–based winner selected through this open call. The wider three-person cohort represents US$105,000 in awards. |
| Partner | Pan-African Biennale; founding curator Omar Degan supports the themes and mentorship. |
| Format | One-stage open call followed by staff review and finalist referral to the selection committee. |
| Duration | Twelve months of independent research, field engagement and collective public presentation. |
| Team size | The form accommodates individuals, teams and studios, but publishes no maximum team size. |
Themes and proposal requirements
| Purpose | Advance an important new concept or existing project through international travel, field research and exchange with affected communities. |
| Land and development | Models of land use, planning and regenerative development that repair harmed neighborhoods and broaden prosperity. |
| Materials and resilience | Building systems that support climate action, circular economies and waste reduction. |
| Data and public realm | Ways digital infrastructure changes public space, civic life and spatial perception. |
| Interdependent ecosystems | Urban design for ecological repair, stewardship and resilience. |
| Cultural hybridity | Work that recenters local, Indigenous and underrepresented knowledge. |
| Travel plan | Name research destinations and the institutions, practitioners or communities the applicant intends to engage. |
| Completion | Applicants must be able to complete the proposed project within twelve months; United States winners must undertake some research outside the country. |
Application package
| Project description | Project title and description of up to 200 words, plus a cover image and image credits. |
| Theme selection | Identify every applicable regenerative-urbanism theme and explain the project’s connection to them. |
| Video statement | Required video, maximum five minutes, covering contribution, wider relevance, need for the award, methodology, experience and intended outputs. |
| Portfolio | Up to 15 examples. Submit either one PDF or separate images and written descriptions; include title, location, duration, medium and optional relevance commentary. |
| References | Two professional references, each with name, title or affiliation, contact information and professional connection. |
| Mentors | Name two desired project-relevant mentors. |
| Optional material | CV for each team member and relevant written work may be included. |
| Submission method | Online Airtable form linked from the official Van Alen project page. The public form does not publish maximum file sizes. |
Eligibility, selection and jury
Eligible disciplines include architecture, city planning, engineering, landscape architecture, interior and industrial design, environmental graphics, lighting, experience and interaction design, placemaking, service and systems design, transportation and urban design. Van Alen anticipates many applicants will hold accredited design degrees, but explicitly welcomes relevant professional experience. Current Van Alen staff and board members are ineligible.
| Nora Akawi | Assistant Professor at The Cooper Union; her academic role connects architectural research and pedagogy to the fellowship’s critical themes. |
| Ifeoma Ebo | Founding Principal of Creative Urban Alchemy; her practice is directly related to community-centered urban design. |
| Mark Gardner | Principal at Jaklitch / Gardner Architects; an architect and educator with practice-based relevance. |
| Kabage Karanja | Co-founder of Cave_bureau; his spatial research and work in African contexts align with the program’s field emphasis. |
| Mphethi Morojele | Managing Director of MMA Design Studio; an architect with practice across African urban and cultural contexts. |
| Process | Van Alen and Pan-African Biennale staff review applications and refer up to ten finalists. The five-person committee selects the winner; any nominator of a finalist is excluded from the committee to avoid conflict. |
Rights, outputs and implementation
| Award use | The US$35,000 award supports travel and research. The public materials do not divide it into construction, salary or reimbursable-expense categories. |
| Cohort activity | Winners meet at the Brooklyn kickoff and closing and at a midpoint event; they share field learning and co-design public presentations. |
| Outputs | The program anticipates exhibitions, lectures or other public formats at Van Alen in fall 2027 and at the second Pan-African Biennale in 2028. |
| Intellectual property | The reviewed public page and visible application form do not publish a detailed copyright or license clause. Applicants should review any terms presented before final submission. |
| Implementation | No building client, procurement route, construction budget or guarantee that a proposal will be built is published. |
| Refunds | No fee is stated, so no fee-refund policy appears in the reviewed public material. |
✦ ArchUp Competition Review
The strongest feature is the clear relationship between funding and field research. Applicants are not being asked for a speculative image alone: the proposal must name travel, knowledge partners, communities and outputs, and the five themes establish an explicit urban and ecological frame.
The award is substantial for independent research, and the published committee spans architecture, education, community design and African spatial practice. The twelve-month format and collective presentations also create a more legible outcome than exposure-only competitions.
The principal limitation is geographic: this open call is only for designers based in the United States, while the other two cohort places were selected separately through the Pan-African Biennale. The public form is demanding—video, portfolio, references and travel planning—and detailed intellectual-property terms are not visible on the reviewed public pages. Applicants should therefore reserve time to check the final submission interface before the deadline.
Related competitions — Editorial team selection
For another opportunity connecting place, ecology and public engagement, see the Eulsukdo Land Ecological Art Open Call. The Moscow. Architecture of Time competition offers a different research-led reading of urban sites through photography; eligibility and outputs differ.
Time remaining for final submission
The timer tracks the official application deadline: 22 November 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EDT, equivalent to 23 November 2026 at 04:59 UTC. The open call has no separate advance-registration deadline.
