NISHISANDO – Tokyo, 2023 © Sou Fujimoto
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Intro
NIDOS DE AGUA – ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION
Nidos de Agua challenges participants to envision a microarchitecture pavilion within the extraordinary landscape of La Albufera Natural Park, one of the most significant wetland ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin. Suspended between freshwater lagoon, rice fields and migratory bird habitats, this protected environment calls for architectural responses that are both sensitive and visionary.
The competition invites designers to propose a small-scale pavilion capable of enhancing the visitor’s experience while preserving the ecological balance of the site. The program is intentionally open: the structure may host activities such as contemplation, environmental education, observation, rest or seasonal events related to the landscape. What matters most is the quality of the spatial dialogue established with the surroundings.
Participants may choose any location within the Natural Park, carefully defining how their intervention relates to water, vegetation, horizon and access. The pavilion could float, rise slightly above marshland, embed itself within rice fields or settle along the shifting shoreline. Scale is flexible, but environmental responsibility and contextual coherence are essential.
Rather than imposing form, proposals should frame the landscape, intensify perception and demonstrate how microarchitecture can act as a mediator between human presence and fragile ecosystems.
Files
Download Competition Brief (.Pdf): English, Italiano, Español, Français
Download Competition Files (.Zip)
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10.03.2026 – 05.06.2026
3:00 pm CET
05.06.2026 – 31.07.2026
3:00 pm CET
31.07.2026 – 11.09.2026
3:00 pm CET
Prizes
PRIZE POOL
8.000 €
+ PUBLIC EXHIBITION
FIRST PRIZE
3.000 €
SECOND PRIZE
2.000 €
THIRD PRIZE
1.000 €
5 GOLDEN MENTIONS: COUPON FOR A FREE MEMBERSHIP
10 HONORABLE MENTIONS: COUPON FOR A FREE COMPETITION
30 FINALISTS: PUBLISHED ON TERRAVIVA CHANNELS
All Prizes (6.000€) and Mention Coupons (2.000€) are powered by Terraviva.
Upload
One A1 Panel 594 x 841 mm (horizontal)
A brief text describing the proposal
11.09.2026
3:00 pm CET
12.10.2026
12:00 pm CET
*Upload is under maintenance. We’ll be back soon*
* The “Extend” service allows you to extend the submission deadline by an additional 72 hours. The “Verify” service conducts a formal compliance check to ensure your submission meets all required rules.
* If your are unable to complete your project, the “Flex” service allows you to withdraw without losing your registration fee.
Jury

RAFFAELLA LAEZZA
Università Iuav di Venezia
[Venice, Italy]
Architect and PhD in Architectural Composition from the IUAV, where she studied under Peter Eisenman and served as an assistant to Franco Purini. She is Scientific Director and lecturer of Eco-Generative Architecture in the second-level Master’s programme…

LUCA BACILIERI
Zaha Hadid Architects
[London, UK]
Luca Bacilieri is an internationally active architect with professional experience across Switzerland and the United Kingdom. He completed an apprenticeship as a draftsman in Switzerland in 2009 before pursuing architectural studies in Bern, where he graduated…

Sílvia Forns Castells
DomperCastells
[Lucerne, Switzerland]
Founder and partner at DOMPERCASTELLS, an architecture and urban design firm based in Switzerland. Silvia is an architect graduated at Polytechnic of Catalonia, ETSAV. She completed her education at TU Dresden and she specialised in neuroarchitecture…

Mine Özoğuz Arba
Ozyegin University
[Istanbul, Turkey]
Dr. Mine Ozoguz Arbay is an interior architect, researcher, and design manager with over twenty years of international professional experience. She has led commercial, retail, institutional, and residential projects in the United States and Europe, overseeing all…

ISABEL LI
Snøhetta
[New York, USA]
Selected as one of the 30 Best Architects Under 30 by Metropolis Magazine, Isabel Li is an architect with over five years of international professional experience across NYC, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guang-zhou, and Shanghai. Currently an Architect at Snøhetta…

SOFIA NALLINO
Oficina de Proyectos
[Rosario, Argentina]
Sofía Nallino is an architect who graduated from the Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Design at the National University of Rosario (2017). Since 2018 she has been teaching at the same institution in the area of Theory and Technique of Architectural Design…

PABLO CASTILLO LUNA
À la Sauvette
[Las Palmas, Spain]
Pablo Castillo Luna is an architect from the Canary Islands and co-founder of à la sauvette. Trained at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, his work operates at the intersection of design, research, and cultural inquiry. He is currently a Visiting…

AMPARO DOMINGUEZ SOLER
Open House Valencia
[Valencia, Spain]
Founder and Associate Director of Open House Valencia, where she leads international relations and works to expand public access to architecture and cultural heritage. Through the festival, she fosters dialogue between citizens, institutions and the built…
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FAQs
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- Register to the competition: only the personal data of the team leader will be necessary. In case you participate as a team, the other members of your group will be indicated during the submission process.
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The competition is open to students, architects, designers, urbanists, engineers, artists, makers, activists and anyone interested in the architectural design.
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