Saint-Gobain Romania announces the winners of the XIXth edition of the National Architecture Competition for Students, a competition based on Saint-Gobain's vision of sustainable buildings, open to students in architecture, design, construction engineering, or other related disciplines, regardless of their year of study.

The objective of the Student Architecture Competition is to develop a construction project based on sustainability, both for people and the planet, with energy-efficient buildings, reduced carbon emissions, and a high level of comfort for occupants. Students can participate individually or in teams of up to two members, alongside a coordinating professor.

Each year, Saint-Gobain selects a country where it proposes an architecture theme and collaborates closely with the local municipality to design a project that addresses a series of real social and cultural aspects. Students from various universities worldwide propose projects to compete for and win one of the competition's prizes.

The judging criteria, applicable to both stages, include the following components: new construction 60% (architecture 30%, sustainable construction 30%) and renovation 40% (architecture 20%, sustainable construction 20%): excellence in design, functional concept adapted to context, solutions and strategies for reducing energy consumption, embodied carbon, and operational carbon levels, reducing the use of non-renewable resources, improving thermal comfort, lighting levels, acoustic comfort, and indoor air quality, quality and consistency of execution details regarding building physics, etc.

The Student Architecture Competition takes place in two stages - national and international, with the project ranked first locally automatically entering the race for prizes at the international level.

Awarded projects at the national level

First Prize

TRIO OF THE NORDIC GREENS, team composed of Diana-Mariana Munteanu and Alexandru-Răzvan Moscaliuc, Faculty of Architecture "G.M. Cantacuzino", Iași

Second Prize

THE LINE, team composed of Alexandru Dulfu and Szabolcs Gyorgy, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Timișoara

Third Prize

EVERGREEN VIEWS, team composed of Alexandra Elena Tuleu, Alex Georgel Ban, and Sebastian Sgaroiu, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Timișoara

Honorable Mention I

VERTICAL GARDEN, team composed of Adela-Monica Mustață and Alexandru-Aurel Tudoroiu, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Timișoara

Honorable Mention II

B.E.L., team composed of Adriana Moldovan and Tudor Bigu, Faculty of Architecture "G.M. Cantacuzino", Iași

Theme of the XIXth edition of the Student Architecture Competition

This year's theme of the competition consisted of developing project proposals for the revitalization of an area located in the northeast of Helsinki, Finland.

The main challenge was to design a new residential building, alongside renovating and converting an existing office building into a mixed residential function intended for accommodating researchers and/or students.

Additionally, participants had to design the interconnection of these buildings, integrating also the other constructions in the study area, as well as the public outdoor space. Special attention was given to circularity concepts and reuse of materials and construction parts.

Before the competition launch, the theme of each edition is subject to debate, being agreed upon together with professors from participating universities during the event called Professor's Days.