Unbuilt Award 2027
Organizer record: Buildner · Directory record not yet reviewed
Brief
Unbuilt Award 2027 is the fourth edition of Buildner’s international ideas award for unbuilt architecture. It accepts completed, developing, published or unseen concepts across architecture, interiors, landscape and furniture, including speculative work without a real site. This is an ideas award: the organiser does not announce a construction commission or implementation commitment.
Purpose, categories and eligibility
| Item | Official position |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Recognise unbuilt design ideas and presentation quality rather than procure a built project. |
| Small Wonders | Projects up to 100 m². |
| Medium Marvels | Projects from 101 to 999 m². |
| Large Visions | Projects over 1,000 m². |
| Eligibility | Entrants aged 18 or over worldwide, individually or in teams of two to four. No professional qualification is required. The terms exclude sanctioned or legally prohibited participants and residents of North Korea. |
| Project status and site | Work may be conceptual, theoretical, visionary, in progress, previously published or entered elsewhere, provided the entrant owns the rights. A real site is not mandatory. |
| Language | The presentation text must be in English. |
The public competition page says the board must be anonymous and warns that names or logos cause disqualification, but the current Terms section 5 says this competition is not anonymous and permits author or studio identification. This unresolved conflict affects a disqualification-sensitive requirement; entrants should use the live upload instructions and obtain written clarification before their first upload.
Submission requirements
| Component | Published requirement |
|---|---|
| Board | One A2 landscape presentation board, static only, maximum 10 MB. |
| File format | The competition page describes a static board; the Terms specify JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg) for presentation panels. |
| Content | Visuals plus concise explanatory text in English, arranged as a self-contained presentation. |
| Anonymity | Conflicting official instructions: the competition FAQ requires anonymity; the current Terms say this award is non-anonymous. |
| Delivery | Online through the organiser’s portal after registration, payment or eligible AN+ registration, identity verification and UIC validation. Email submissions are not accepted. |
| First upload | The Terms state that after the first successful upload, editing or replacement may require a separate reactivation fee; its amount is not published on the reviewed page. |
| Multiple entries | Multiple projects are allowed. The FAQ describes them as separate entries, while the Terms also describe additional submissions under one UIC in selected cases; the live checkout should be checked before purchase. |
Schedule
| Stage | Official date | UTC |
|---|---|---|
| Early-bird fee period | 24 September 2026–4 February 2027 | No daily closing hour published. |
| Advanced fee period | 5 February–6 May 2027 | No daily closing hour published. |
| Last-minute registration | 7 May–15 September 2027 | Registration closes 15 September; no hour published. |
| Competition Q&A closes | 20 September 2027 | No hour published. |
| Project submission | 18 October 2027, 23:59 London time | 18 October 2027, 22:59 UTC. |
| Winners announced | 7 December 2027 | No hour published. |
Registration ends more than a month before project submission. The countdown at the foot of this article tracks the submission deadline, not the registration deadline.
Fees and awards
| Item | Official amount and approximate USD |
|---|---|
| Early bird — professional / enthusiast / company | €75 (about USD 84); student €65 (about USD 73). |
| Advanced | €105 (about USD 118); student €85 (about USD 95). |
| Last minute | €140 (about USD 157); student €120 (about USD 134). |
| Instalments | Three-payment totals are higher: early €120 / €111; advanced €150 / €132; last minute €186 / €165. The Terms describe this difference as an additional instalment fee. |
| Tax and verification | The fee table says prices include 4.5% VAT. Mandatory Architects’ Network identity verification carries a separate fee whose amount is not stated on the competition page; the Terms say it is non-refundable once verification begins. |
| Three scale-category winners | €10,000 each (about USD 11,202 each). |
| Honourable mentions | Five per scale category, €500 each (about USD 560 each): 15 awards in total. |
| Student prizes | One in each scale category, €2,500 each (about USD 2,801 each). |
| Best presentation | €5,000 (about USD 5,601). |
| Total stated cash fund | €50,000 (about USD 56,010). |
USD equivalents use EUR 1 = USD 1.1202 on 11 October 2026 and are indicative. The three main winners also receive the Continuum Trophy; the organiser lists book and media exposure separately from cash. An ArchDaily internship is advertised in the prize introduction, but its eligibility, duration and monetary value are not defined in the reviewed public details.
Jury and evaluation
| Question | Published information |
|---|---|
| 2027 jurors | Names and individual biographies for the 2027 guest jury were not published on the reviewed official page. The visible professional carousel is presented as previous Buildner jurors, not the current panel. |
| Process | The Terms describe an organiser-led review and shortlist, followed by ranking by the invited guest jury using a point system. The organiser may also appoint in-house judges and specialists. |
| Criteria | The public page does not publish a weighted scoring matrix. Registered entrants can use a jury Q&A area for questions about the brief, task and design direction. |
| Relevance of expertise | Cannot yet be assessed for this edition because current juror identities are unannounced. |
Organiser, history, rights and refunds
Buildner is the trading brand of BUILDNER SL. The organiser identifies this as the fourth Unbuilt Award edition and reports a broader fifteen-year programme comprising 191 competitions, 1,319 awards and 622 guest jurors; these are organiser-reported totals. The current award is organised as a global ideas and publication programme, not a site-specific procurement process.
| Issue | Official terms reviewed |
|---|---|
| Authorship | Entrants retain ownership and authorship and must hold rights to all submitted material. |
| Publicity licence | Registration permits broad use of submissions, descriptions, images and participant information for promotion across the organiser’s and third-party channels. Advertised publication placements are stated not to be binding. |
| Refunds | Registration costs and preparation expenses are generally non-refundable. The Terms state that fees are returned if the competition is suspended. AN+ subscription, verification after commencement, template packages and edit-reactivation fees are non-refundable. |
| Implementation | No construction budget, commission or obligation to realise a winning design is announced. |
| Prize taxation | The reviewed page does not state whether winners’ taxes or bank-transfer costs are deducted; winners should check the applicable award-payment terms. |
✦ ArchUp Competition Review
The broad eligibility and three size bands make this a flexible route for strong ideas that do not fit a site-specific brief. A single A2 board limits production overhead, while the cash distribution is transparent and extends beyond three main winners to students, honourable mentions and presentation quality.
The principal caution is procedural rather than conceptual. The anonymity conflict, mandatory identity verification with a separately priced service, and possible post-upload editing charge all affect entry risk. The 2027 jury is also not yet named, so entrants cannot evaluate the panel’s direct relationship to their project type. Publication reach and the advertised internship should be treated as non-cash benefits whose delivery or detailed value is not equivalent to the €50,000 prize fund.
Reviewed on 11 October 2026 against the official competition page and current Terms and Conditions.
Related competitions — Editorial team selection
For other opportunities centred on speculative or emerging design, see the AR Future Projects awards 2027 and the Design Circle’s Art Gallery Competition.
Time remaining for project submission
18 October 2027 · 22:59 UTC (converted from 23:59 London time).
Official award page
Check the live categories, terms and entry form before payment and upload.
