Internal/External Competitions

Masonry is one of the oldest construction materials in the world that is still being practiced. All throughout history, buildings of great importance have been and continues to be constructed with brick, block and/or stone to ensure it will endure the ages. Some of the greatest contributions to architecture are masonry and this is a tradition we want to continue. In this contest, we want to see how far innovation can push a classic set of materials. What will be the next great masonry building?

Requirements

Our objective is to use progressive masonry materials to design a modern masonry concept on one of the three identified sites. How well the design integrates and complements the surrounding neighbourhood will be a consideration in judging the designs. Entries will need to:

• Incorporate brick, block and stone in design (no thin veneer)
• Are predominantly masonry
• Propose innovative use of masonry in any one of its forms
• Display an understanding of masonry and its integration in structural or facade systems
• Illustrate a good overall design for a mid-size residential building;
• Are considerate of urban context and specific site requirements;

TERM

The Masonry Design Competition begins in September and ends in May. Information on how to enter and prizes form part of these official rules (“Official Rules”). By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the Official Rules and warrants that his or her entry complies with all requirements set out in the Official Rules. This is a skill-based contest based on both innovation of design and implementation of all requested materials (brick, block and stone).

WHO MAY ENTER

Contest is open to any student of the University of Waterloo’s Architectural Program. Student must be majoring in architecture. Up to three students may work as a team to contribute an entry, but please note that any prize acquired will be divided evenly among team members.

HOW TO ENTER

Entries should be submitted electronically via the Masonry Design Contest webpage.

The building should be a mid-rise, multi-use structure set in 1 of 3 available sites featured on the “Contest Page”. The structure must use brick, block and stone in the design. The structure must use full-bed masonry as the principal feature and not thin veneer cladding.

Images must be fully rendered and at a quality of at least 300 dpi. Images must feature one of the three site options with buildings not expanding beyond the parameters given.

Images must not have been published previously in other media.

The design, in its entirety, must be a single work of original material created by the Contest entrant(s). By entering the Contest, entrant(s) represents, acknowledges, and warrants that the submitted designs are an original work created solely by the entrant(s), that the image does not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, and that no other party has any right, title, claim, or interest in the image.

Architecture & Film Symposium is a biennial event that engages the liminal condition between the built environment and the filmic space. It investigates the architectural quality of films and the cinematic structure of spatial experience. Apart from architecture informing scenography and cities serving as backdrops to moving images, film discourses have actively shaped and critiqued the built environment. And while architecture and design may not necessarily be central themes in a film, their latent influences inform cinematic processes of thinking and making.

The symposium adopts cinematic representations of the built environment as a cultural lens for interdisciplinary theoretical debate. It exploits the filmic capacity to produce virtual spatial experiences as design experimentation.

Every two years, scholars from architecture, interior design, urban design, landscape architecture, film studies, animation, production design, cultural studies, set design, etc. come together to discuss the year’s theme and the following broader provocations:

• How do films construct historical and cultural narratives of space?
• How does architecture enable, facilitate, empower, and challenge the cinematic narrative?
• How do films represent, filter, manipulate, and alter our perception of the built environment’s past, present, and future?
• How do films provoke design innovation and vice versa?
• How do cinematic narratives featuring artists, architects, and designers inform/misinform public understanding of the creative disciplines?

Prix de Rome in Architecture - Emerging Practitioners

The Canada Council Prix de Rome in Architecture – Emerging Practitioners is awarded to a recent graduate of a Canadian school of architecture who demonstrates exceptional potential in contemporary architectural design.

The prize recipient will have the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of contemporary architecture culture by visiting a selection of works of architecture abroad, and to expand their professional skills through an internship of their choosing at an international architectural firm.

Prize amount – $34,000

Eligibility
To apply for this prize, you must:

• be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status, as defined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. You do not need to be living in Canada when you apply.
• have received a professional bachelor’s or master’s degree from a Canadian school of architecture that is certified by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board, in the 36 months before the application deadline.
• be recommended by the director of the school of architecture that issued the degree.

J.B.C. Watkins Award: Architecture

As part of a bequest from the estate of the late John B.C. Watkins, this award provides fellowships of $5,000 to Canadian architects who are pursuing graduate studies in any country other than Canada, and who are graduates of a Canadian university, postsecondary art institution or training school. Postgraduate schools include postsecondary institutions or training schools, whether or not these are degree-granting institutions.

Priority will be given to applicants wishing to carry out their studies in Denmark, Norway, Sweden or Iceland.

Prize amount – $5,000

Eligibility 
To be eligible, you must be:

• an architecture graduate with a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a Canadian university, postsecondary art institution or training school
• a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, as defined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
• pursuing graduate studies in a country other than Canada.

You do not need to be living in Canada when you apply.

Application limits – you can apply once per year
You may receive a maximum of 2 J.B.C. Watkins Awards in your lifetime. You cannot apply to this award for a program of graduate studies that has already been completed before the program deadline.
Notification of results – approximately 5 months after the deadline date

Calling all Architecture Students! The Canadian Architecture Student Association (CASA-ACÉA) would like to celebrate the excellence of our Canadian architecture students who have continued to design this past year. CASA-ACÉA is calling for work to showcase at the 2023 RAIC Conference in May to continue our efforts to profile student work to potential employers, colleagues, and the public.

Eligible participants must be a current student or recent graduate* of an accredited Canadian school of architecture. Projects must be completed as part of school curricula and be the original work of the student(s). Individual and group work is accepted, provided all group members are clearly stated. Only one submission will be accepted per group or individual.

Full competition details can be found on the CASA-ACÉA website.

Please email questions to submissions@casa-acea.org

We look forward to seeing your work.

Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) Grand Valley and Toronto Chapters are delighted to once again offer Ontario students of post-secondary architectural and interior design programs, the opportunity to participate in the Annual Student Design Challenge.

Complete contest requirements, details, updates and pertinent links are posted on the Student Design Challenge website.

This award is offered to a Canadian architectural student who wishes to pursue postgraduate studies outside Canada, ideally in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, or Iceland.

Visit the Canada Council of the Arts website for award details.

The fund was set in 1956 in the memory of AA alumnus Michael Ventris who became world famous for deciphering the ancient Greek script of Linear B. Anyone from the field of architecture is eligible to apply (applicants may have a first degree in architecture or a subject related to project, and the award is open to applicants from all countries). The award is intended to support an independent project rather than a continuing programme of study.

This year, the award will present £5000 to support an independent project with a clear outcome. The creators contribution to the field should be an original endeavour in the field of architecture/archaeology reflecting the genius of Ventris in both disciplines.

Full details online.

The Student Ideas Competition is organized by the NCC and has been a part of the annual Urbanism Lab lecture series since 2019. Through this competition, the NCC invites students to think of design concepts for sites in Canada’s National Capital Region. 

The competition is open to students enrolled in an accredited educational institution in Canada. The NCC encourages students to form interdisciplinary teams to consider all aspects of urban planning, site design, architecture and landscape design.

Visit the Urbanism Lab for more information.

The Student Projects category is open to students that attend universities offering degrees in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and industrial design. The criteria for student projects are any theoretical or studio project that specifically relates to Ottawa.

Submission details.

The student category is administered through participating Canadian Universities. Submissions may also be made directly from a student enrolled in an accredited program in architecture, landscape architecture, or urban planning, in the past two years. Each school or individual student may forward submissions in the following categories:

• A submission from a studio with an emphasis on urban design;
• A submission as a result of a final project or an individual thesis.

Full information is on the RAIC website.

The Sustainable Buildings Network (SBN) a student-run network at the University of Toronto. An annual event that they host is the Sustainable Buildings Challenge (SBC). The SBC is a competition in which teams compete against each other to design innovative solutions that improve the sustainability and occupant comfort of a building.