Current Edition: 2022-2025
Key dates
The competition takes place in two successive phases:
In the first phase, Spanish municipalities are invited to submit potential topics and sites. An international jury then selects the three proposals that best align with the competition’s objectives and criteria.
In the second phase, which is international in scope, architects of any nationality are encouraged to submit architectural and urban design proposals for any of the three selected sites.
Finally, the competition selects and rewards proposals that can serve as models for better architectural, urban, and heritage preservation practices, particularly in deteriorated architectural ensembles and urban areas that are degraded and/or threatened by depopulation.
April 28, 2021
Publication of the Rules for the First Phase of the 2022-2025 Edition
January 17, 2023
Deadline for submission of proposals for the First Phase of the 2022-2025 Edition
March 2023
Meeting of the Jury for the First Phase of the 2022-2025 Edition
June 2024
Publication of the selected sites
October 16, 2024
Publication of the Rules for the Second Phase and detailed documentation on the proposals from the municipalities
February 4, 2025
(19:00h CET) Deadline for submission of proposals for the Second Phase
March 2025
Meeting of the Jury for the Second Phase
Publication of the codes for the selected projects
May 2025
Publication of the winning projects of the second phase and the identities of the team members
June 2025
Awards Ceremony
First Phase - Municipalities (Phase Closed)
In this first phase, potential themes and sites for the competition are sought; to this end, Spanish municipalities are encouraged to submit proposals.
An international jury, with representation from the various institutions collaborating in this initiative, will select, from the submitted proposals, the three that best align with the outlined objectives.
Evaluation criteria
The Competition is open to all municipalities within Spain. The jury will evaluate submittals according to the following criteria:
1. The potential of the proposed topic for urban and architectural designs contributing to create more beautiful, coherent, sustainable and socially integrating towns.
2. The viability of the possible proposals.
3. The potential impact of the proposed topic for the community and the anticipated civic support of the proposal.
4. The existence of local building and architectural traditions which the new designs may enhance or use as a basis.
5. The degree to which completion of this project may stimulate additional improvements and the likelihood the project can serve as a replicable model for other communities.
The proposed topics and locations could be significant or able to become significant public places, degraded urban boundaries, lost significant buildings which could be recovered, new urban developments that are coherent with local tradition, remodeling of existing urban fabric, etc. The jury may consider the geographic balance of the submissions when selecting the final locations.
Format and contents of the proposal
Interested municipalities must submit the following documentation by December 14, 2022:
1. A summary document of the proposal, in both English and Spanish, using the template that can be downloaded at the top of this page or requested through the contact provided at the end of these rules.
2. Application for admission of the proposal, signed by the mayor of the corresponding municipality. This document can be downloaded at the top of this page or requested through the contact provided at the end of these rules.
3. A descriptive report of the municipality, up to two pages in length, in PDF format. It should include: its history, architectural and urban structure, as well as its architectural and construction traditions. The report should be accompanied by up to 15 images (photographs, plans, or drawings) in digital format that illustrate these topics (at least 5 for each). These images should preferably be provided both as separate files (jpg or tiff, 300 dpi) and in PDF format, with each image presented on a single page and properly labeled.
4. Planimetry of the municipality in digital format, preferably in CAD format, if available.
5. Descriptive report of the intervention area or the space, building, or group of buildings involved, up to three pages in length and in PDF format. If relevant, historical information about the site and its pre-existing structures should be provided, as well as its current and past use, the issues and opportunities it presents, its context and relationship with the surroundings, and its value to the community. A section on the economic and technical feasibility of the proposal, up to one page in length, in PDF format, should also be included, accompanied by proof of ownership of the spaces or properties to be intervened. Additionally, photographic documentation of the intervention area or the space, building, or group of buildings involved should be provided, up to a total of 20 images (photographs, plans, or drawings) in digital format (jpg or tiff, 300 dpi). If available and relevant, up to 15 images (photographs, plans, or drawings) relating to the history of the proposed site and its previous configurations should also be included. These images should be submitted, whenever possible, both as separate files (jpg or tiff, 300 dpi) and in PDF format, with each image placed on a single page and properly labeled.
6. Planimetry of the intervention area or the space, building, or group of buildings to be intervened, preferably in CAD format, if available.
7. Responsibility Statement signed by the authors of the proposal. This document can be downloaded at the top of this page or requested through the contact provided at the end of this document.
8. Commitment of adhesion signed by the municipality, in which, if their proposal is selected as the winner, they commit to hiring the winning team from the second phase, at least for the preparation of the basic project. This document can be downloaded from the competition page or requested through the contact provided at the end of these rules.
The winning proposals will be announced in May 2023, following the jury meeting. The submitted proposals may be re-evaluated in possible future editions of this competition.
All documentation, including personal data, is treated with the utmost confidentiality. This documentation must be submitted in digital format by December 14, 2022.
Results of the First Phase
In the first phase of the competition, a total of ten municipalities submitted their proposals for themes and sites. From the received applications, the jury selected:
Second Phase - Architects (Phase Closed)
Open Call
When the second phase of the competition, of international scope, is launched, architects of any nationality are invited to submit architectural and urban design proposals for one or more of these sites. A second international jury in which the various institutions collaborating in the initiative will again be represented will appraise the proposals, and for each of the three locations will select those deemed to best meet the competition criteria. The jury will also contain representatives of the municipalities to which the sites belong.
Rules for the Second Phase
Entrants
Competition entrants may be natural or legal persons, from Spain or any other country. Teams may also be formed by several natural persons, several legal persons, or by natural persons and legal persons at once.
The number of natural and legal persons who may form a team and figure as authors of a single proposal is limited to four, although the team may contain additional collaborators figuring as such.
Composition of Teams
Teams shall be made up of at least one architect in possession of a university qualification entitling him/her to practice or at least one architecture firm licensed to practice the profession.
Teams shall include one or more associated proposal authors of which one will figure as the team representative, and may also contain further collaborators.
Associates: Associates are regarded as co-authors of the project and as such will figure in any publications or exhibitions concerning the winning projects. They may be natural or physical persons. At least one of the associates must be licensed for the practice of architecture.
Team representative: Each team should appoint from among its number a “team representative,” who shall be the sole contact person throughout the competition. All communications shall pass through a single email address, that of the team representative, which may not be changed during the competition.
Collaborators: Teams may include assistants known as “collaborators,” from the same or other disciplines. Collaborators, whether qualified or not, are not regarded as authors of the project but are deemed to have contributed to its realization. They shall figure as collaborators in any publications or exhibitions concerning the winning projects.
Results, awards and publicity
For each of the three project sites the jury may award no more than one first prize (to the competition winner) and no more than three honorable mentions.
For each of the three sites the authors of the proposals winning the first prize will receive a total of €12,000 (VAT not included), and the authors of proposals receiving any honorable mentions that the jury may award shall receive €2,000 (VAT not included).
Once the results have been announced, the Traditional Building Cultures Foundation will hold an awards ceremony and may organize other activities for presenting the results as well as issuing publications or mounting exhibitions to give them publicity.
The various prizes involved in this competition shall be paid against an invoice made out by the winners for the prize received and the relevant amount.
Registrations and documentation to be submitted by entrants
Registration
Registration is free of charge via the competition website: www.driehauscompetition.com.
Entrants should fill out the registration form with name and contact details for every team member, and accept these rules. The main email address with which each team is registered (linked to the “team representative”) shall be the channel of communication with the team and may not be changed. Once the registration process is complete you will receive a confirmation email with a CODE that will identify your project and guarantee the anonymity of proposals submitted. The personal data and contact details linked to this code will be stored so as to ensure that proposals remain anonymous until the jury has given its decision.
Only one proposal may be submitted for each registration, though the same team may register and submit proposals for more than one site. An independent code will accordingly be assigned for each such registration.
Queries
Any queries or inquiries that entrants may have in the course of the competition may be sent through the query tool provided on the frequently asked questions section of this website, although any communications with the organization should not allow the proposals to be linked to their authors, so that anonymity is maintained.
Documentation to be Submitted
Proposals must be submitted digitally, in the formats indicated below. No paper documents or other physical media such as models may be supplied. Nor will videos or animations be admissible.
The proposal should be submitted before 4 February 2025 at 19:00 (Madrid time)
The information may be supplied in English or in Spanish.
The documentation deliverable to the competition will consist of the files detailed below, to be uploaded via the document upload tool provided. All files should be identified with the code assigned to the team on registration. No file may contain any reference to the identities of the proposal authors or of their collaborators. Should either of these rules not be observed, the proposal will have to be disqualified.
The following files should be supplied:
1.- A minimum of two and a maximum of four horizontal A1-size panels in PDF format, including at least the following graphic information:
- A site plan.
- An overview of the proposed design, showing its relationship with the context for which it is intended.
- As many detailed views as required for the proposal and its relationship with the context to be duly understood.
- Plan views, sections, and elevations as required to suitably define the proposed architecture and urban design.
- Construction details reflecting a knowledge and application of local building tradition.
Each panel should clearly indicate the proposal title, the site for which it is intended, and the team’s CODE. All drawings should be accompanied by the corresponding graphic scale.
They should be uploaded with a filename containing the team code followed by an underscore and the panel(s) included, e.g. 0654_Panel1 or 8795_ Panels1-4.
Should a team need to correct and resend any documents, these should be given the same name (e.g. 0654_Panel1 or 8795_ Panels1-4.) to replace the one previously sent.
2.- A3-size dossier in PDF format, including the following information:
- A description of the proposal of up to two pages.
- Basic estimated budget and quantities and basic approximate timeline for possible completion milestones. This section should be of up to four pages.
This document should also contain the proposal title, the site for which it is intended, and the team’s CODE. These should be uploaded with a filename containing the team code followed by an underscore and the word “Dossier”, e.g. 1685_Dossier.
Should a team need to correct and resend the dossier, it should proceed as indicated above for panels.
3.- Promotional material including a description of the proposal of up to 300 words in Word format and up to 8 pictures (jpg or tiff, 300 dpi, max size A4), with drawings and images representative of the proposed design. All promotional material should be uploaded in a single compressed file in zip format.
The documents should also contain the proposal title, the site for which it is intended, and the team’s ID code. The file with this material should be uploaded with a filename containing the team code followed by an underscore and the word “Promotional”, e.g. 1685_Promotional.
Should a team need to correct and resend this promotional material, the procedure shall be as indicated for the panels and dossier.
Any non-observance of these specifications may entail the disqualification of a team of entrants.
Submitting a proposal involves unconditional acceptance by participants of all the contents of these rules.
Anonymity of Proposals
Once the period for submitting proposals has ended, the documentation delivered by each team will be prepared for the jury’s consideration by persons not part of the jury. This material shall be invalid if it contains any reference to its authors beyond the code provided to the team on registration.
Once the competition prizes have been assigned, the jury will lift the anonymity of the winning proposals. This will automatically connect the project code with the team members detailed in the initial registration via the competition website.
Entrants undertake, on submitting their proposal, not to publicize it prior to the jury’s decision, so as to assure anonymity and the competition’s objectivity. Any breach of this undertaking shall result in a proposal’s immediate disqualification. Entrants may not enter into communications concerning the competition with the jury members.
Jury and appraisal of proposals
The jury shall be responsible for appraising and rating the proposals submitted so as to determine which are most suitable in keeping with the competition rules and the prizes offered.
The jury will consider all the projects complying with the competition rules and will be sovereign in its assessment. The jury may decide whether or not to exclude a team of entrants according to these rules, and whether or not to award the competition prizes according to the quality of the proposals received.
The jury may decide not to award all of the prizes offered or to declare the competition void if none of the proposals submitted is considered to satisfy the criteria provided in these rules. In this event the jury will make its reasons public.
Composition of the Jury
The Members of the Jury are appointed by the institutions collaborating in the organization of the competition: the Traditional Building Cultures Foundation, the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport, and the Spanish High Council of Institutes of Architects.
The authorities responsible for the proposed sites will also supply a jury member to appraise the proposals for the relevant location.
Appraisal of proposals
In selecting the winning projects, the jury shall take account of the following criteria in assessing the proposals:
- Their ability to help generate an urban fabric that is more beautiful, sustainable, coherent, and socially inclusive.
- Their ability to give a response of quality to all the issues or opportunities of interest to the community for which they are intended, as well as offering solutions of quality to other issues or opportunities detected by the authors.
- Their attention to environmental and socioeconomic durability and sustainability in such a way as to enhance habitability and energy efficiency, offer solutions of quality to considerations of accessibility, and foster the use of traditional building techniques and materials that are reusable and characteristic of the area so as to contribute to the local and regional economy and to reductions in the future generation of waste and emissions.
- Their suitability to the context in which they are to be implemented along with their accordance with local cultural heritage and their ability to enrich it harmoniously.
- The degree to which they give continuity to local traditions of architecture and urban design, helping to preserve or enhance a sense of place.
- Their impact on the community: their likely degree of acceptability to local people and their ability, if the proposal can finally be implemented, to generate more and better-quality employment in the region’s building trades.
- The ability of their possible implementation to foster continuity, giving rise to new improvement projects, and to become a model for projects in other communities.
- Their viability in technical and economic terms, and the ratio between the investment that their implementation would entail and the benefits involved for the community and its cultural heritage.
Intellectual property and data protection
On agreeing to participate in this competition, the winning entrants transfer to the Traditional Building Cultures Foundation the rights to utilize, reproduce, exhibit, and publish the proposals submitted to the competition in accordance with intellectual property law, valid with national and international scope and without limitation in terms of time or means, including, as appropriate, variations in detail as required or desirable for publicizing and promoting this competition.
The Traditional Building Cultures Foundation may publicize all or part of the projects, as considered appropriate, through exhibitions and publications in physical or digital format or online. Such publicity shall always refer to the source and authorship of the projects in the case of the winning proposals and maintain anonymity in the case of unrewarded ones.
The authors shall retain intellectual property over their projects. The projects submitted to the competition may not be used for purposes other than those referred by these rules, and may not in any event be used as material or as a basis for the preparation of other projects by architects or practitioners other than the respective proposal authors.
Participants in this competition should respect the confidential nature of any information to which they may have access in connection therewith.