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Habitare Design Competition 2024

The Habitare Design Competition 2024, organised by Habitare and Aalto University, is now open. Now being held for the 20th time, the theme of the competition will be Comfort Zone. The finalist designs in the competition will be displayed at Habitare  from 11 to 15 September 2024.

Every year, the Habitare Design Competition, organised by Messukeskus and Aalto University, puts the spotlight on up-and-coming design and architecture students. The competition is open to entries from people studying design and architecture in Finland, as well as University of the Arts Helsinki students or teams of students. The grand prize for the competition (€5,000), donated by the Finnish Fair Foundation, has been used to encourage young students to continue their studies and build successful careers. 

The theme of this year’s competition is Comfort Zone.

The theme of the competition is Comfort Zone

The design brief

The brief is to design and build a comfort zone for one or more people, in keeping with the spirit of the Habitare 2024 theme of Layers. Competition entries should reflect the theme of Layers in their concept or use of materials.

Through its theme, Habitare wants to explore how homes or spaces come into being: how the present is shaped by the past, individual styles, things we do not perceive, dialogues, and the collision of things.

“The notion of a comfort zone adds a human dimension to the Habitare theme of Layers. What are the spaces, places, states, or shapes that enable us to feel comfortable? What do we need around us to create an individual layer of comfort in the spaces we inhabit?” asks Creative Lead at Habitare, Päivi Helander.

 

Who can participate?

The competition is open to entries from people studying design and architecture in Finland, as well as University of the Arts Helsinki students or teams of students. Team size is not restricted. The competition organisers encourage contestants to assemble multi-disciplinary teams that can approach the brief with an open mind. The contestants, including all team members, must be enrolled at the institutions mentioned above at the time of the competition launch, on 7 March 2024.

 

The Competition Schedule

The deadline for submitting entries for the first stage of the two-stage competition is 3 May 2024 at 16:00. In the first stage, the jury members are Habitare’s Creative Lead and Aalto University lecturer Päivi Helander; the architect and Aalto University professor Pentti Kareoja; the interior architect and Aalto University lecturer Martin Relander; and the designer and Aalto University professor Tomek Rygalik.

The jury will select the finalists, whose competition entries will be displayed at Habitare from 11 to 15 September 2024. The winner of the competition will be chosen by the head judge, who will be announced later. The winner will be announced at Habitare on its opening day, 11 September 2024.

The Habitare Design Competition 2024 has a grand prize of €5,000, donated by the Finnish Fair Foundation.

 

Evaluation Criteria

The Jury will evaluate the competition entries based on their artistic and design quality. The entries will also be assessed based on their functional, material and structural characteristics.

 

Read more about competition task description and rules