Competitions

Published: 24 June 2026

PAM is pleased to announce the PAM - DBKL Public Toilet & Public Shower Design Competition is now open for registration to PAM Student Members!

This competition invites innovative design proposals for public toilet facilities throughout Kuala Lumpur based on the “Bersih, Menawan dan Wangi (BMW)” concept, focusing on practical, sustainable and user-friendly solutions that enhance accessibility, functionality and the overall image of public amenities while meeting DBKL’s requirements.

The competition is an open architectural design ideas competition with Prize Money for Winners as follows:

• 1st Prize RM 6,000.00 + certificate
• 2nd Prize RM 4,000.00 + certificate
• 3rd Prize RM 2,000.00 + certificate

The summary of the timeline of the competition is as follows: 

No	Schedule	Date
1	Opening for registration	Mon, 22 Jun 2026
2	Closing of registration and submission of queries period	Fri, 10 Jul 2026
3	Replies to Queries	Wed, 15 Jul 2026
4	Competition closing date for submission of Entries	Mon, 10 Aug 2026
5	Final Jury Meeting and Deliberation	Week of 17 – 21 Aug 2026
6	Announcement of Competition Results	End of Aug 2026

Registration Fee: Free admission

The Competition is open exclusively to

1. All full-time architecture students with a valid PAM Student Membership.
2. Entries may be submitted individually or as a team comprising a maximum of four (4) members. All team members shall be architecture students and hold valid PAM Student Memberships. Interdisciplinary collaboration is not permitted.
3. Each individual participant or team shall be supervised by a lecturer from their respective institution. The lecturer shall act as an academic advisor and shall not be considered a participant in the Competition.
4. No member of the organizing team from PAM and DBKL, nor member of the Jury, nor any associate or employee, nor any family members, nor any person who has been concerned with the preparation or organization of the competition shall be eligible to compete or assist a competitor.

Kindly click the link below for the registration form.

Organised by the PAM Awards & Competition Committee 2026-2027
Competition Convener:        Ar. Ng Chee Twan, PAM
Competition Co-Convener:   Pn. Hanum Ain binti Zainal, Pengarah JPPPB, DBKL

Published: 24 June 2026

PAM is pleased to announce the PAM - DBKL Public Toilet Design Competition is now open for registration to PAM Corporate Members!

This competition invites innovative design proposals for public toilet facilities throughout Kuala Lumpur based on the “Bersih, Menawan dan Wangi (BMW)” concept, focusing on practical, sustainable and user-friendly solutions that enhance accessibility, functionality and the overall image of public amenities while meeting DBKL’s requirements.

The competition is an open architectural design ideas competition with Prize Money for Winners as follows:  

• 1st Prize RM 20,000.00 + certificate
• 2nd Prize RM 12,000.00 + certificate
• 3rd Prize RM 8,000.00 + certificate

The summary of the timeline of the competition is as follows: 

No	Schedule	Date
1	Opening for registration	Mon, 22 Jun 2026
2	Closing of registration and submission of queries period	Fri, 10 Jul 2026
3	Replies to Queries	Wed, 15 Jul 2026
4	Competition closing date for submission of Entries	Mon, 10 Aug 2026
5	Final Jury Meeting and Deliberation	Week of 17 – 21 Aug 2026
6	Announcement of Competition Results	End of Aug 2026

A non-refundable registration fee of RM162 is payable upon registration.

The Competition is open exclusively to

1. All Corporate Members of PAM with a valid LAM membership.
2. A groups of Teams incorporating other architects, individuals, designers, allied professional, specialist, etc are permitted to participate so long as the registered participant of record fulfils conditions (1) above.
3. No member of the organizing team from PAM and DBKL, nor member of the Jury, nor any associate or employee, nor any family members, nor any person who has been concerned with the preparation or organization of the competition shall be eligible to compete or assist a competitor.

Kindly click the link below for the registration form.

Organised by the PAM Awards & Competition Committee 2026-2027
Competition Convener: Ar. Ng Chee Twan, PAM
Competition Co-Convener: Pn. Hanum Ain binti Zainal, Pengarah JPPPB, DBKL

Published: 13 May 2026

 

Organized by the ARCASIA Committee on Architectural Education (ACAE) Commissioned under the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) In conjunction with the 23rd ARCASIA Forum hosted and curated by the Indian Institute of Architects.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the ARCASIA Students’ Architectural Design Competition is to provide a meaningful platform for students from ARCASIA Member Institutes to participate in ARCASIA activities and engage in critical architectural dialogue across the region. The competition offers an opportunity for students from diverse cultural, climatic, and social contexts to exchange ideas and propose innovative design responses to a common issue raised by ARCASIA each year. It aims to encourage sensitivity to place, people, tradition, and sustainability while nurturing the next generation of architects in Asia. For the 2026 edition, students are invited to explore how architecture can learn from and reinterpret vernacular knowledge systems for contemporary and future needs.

COMPETITION THEME

Bringing Back… Vernacular Wisdom Across Asia, vernacular architecture has long reflected a deep understanding of climate, geography, materiality, culture, craftsmanship, and community life. From courtyard houses and shaded streets to bamboo structures, earthen settlements, timber systems, and water-responsive habitats, traditional built environments have evolved through generations of lived intelligence. In the face of rapid urbanization, climate crisis, cultural homogenization, and the increasing dependence on universal building models, many of these indigenous and local architectural practices are being overlooked. As cities expand and construction becomes increasingly standardized, there is a growing need to revisit vernacular wisdom not as nostalgia, but as a source of knowledge for resilience, sustainability, identity, and innovation. The theme “Bringing Back… Vernacular Wisdom” calls upon students to investigate how traditional architectural values and regional intelligence can inform contemporary design.

DESIGN PROBLEM

This edition of the competition adopts a problem-driven approach. Central Guiding Question How can vernacular wisdom inform scalable, climate-resilient architectural or community infrastructure solutions for contemporary Asia? Students are required to develop design proposals that respond to this question through grounded, context-sensitive, and forward-looking architectural strategies. Entries should demonstrate how vernacular knowledge can be meaningfully reinterpreted to address present-day challenges across Asia.

ELIGIBILITY

Any current full-time student studying in an Undergraduate Architecture programme accredited or recognized by the respective National Institute of Architects of ARCASIA Member Institutes shall be eligible to participate in the competition. Description

IMPORTANT DATE

National Stage (MALAYSIA)

13 May 2026: Announcement of competition
25 May 2026: Submission Deadline
25 May – 5 June 2026: Judging period
9 June 2026: Announcement of 3 shortlisted candidates to represent Malaysia
10 June 2026: Submission of 3 Finalists from each Member Institute to IIA

International Stage (ARCASIA)

6 - 15 July 2026: Final Judging & Announcement of Winners
11 September 2026: Declaration of Winners and Award Ceremony

NATURE OF DESIGN PROPOSAL

Each entry must propose a clearly defined architectural or community infrastructure solution rooted in vernacular wisdom and relevant to contemporary Asian conditions. The proposal may address typologies such as community space, learning space, cultural centre, housing intervention, public building, climate-responsive shelter, or other forms of community-oriented infrastructure, provided the response is specific, scalable, and aligned with the central design problem.

• Local climate
• Materials and construction systems
• Social traditions and cultural practices
• Regional identity
• Environmental challenges
• Future relevance and scalability Submissions are expected to demonstrate:

SITE CRITERIA

All entries must be based on a clearly identified site within an Asian context. Each submission must demonstrate:

• Site relevance: why this site has been selected
• Climatic relevance: the environmental and climatic conditions influencing the proposal
• Cultural relevance: the vernacular, social, and spatial traditions informing the design
• Context-specific challenges: the particular issue or issues the project is addressing

DELIVERABLES

Each submission shall include the following:

1. Presentation Board (Mandatory) One A1 sheet (594 mm × 841 mm) in landscape format

The board must include:

• Site plan (clearly scaled)
• Plans, sections, and/or elevations (clearly scaled)
• Climatic response diagrams
• Vernacular strategy diagrams
• Concept diagrams and spatial organization
• Visualizations such as perspectives, axonometric views, or equivalent representational material

Note: All drawings must include scale indicators.

2. Design Statement A Design Statement of maximum 500 words in PDF format. It must clearly articulate:

• Design problem
• Site relevance
• Vernacular interpretation
• Environmental strategy
• Scalability

INDIVIDUAL / TEAM SUBMISSION

Individual and team submissions are accepted. There is no limitation on the number of team members. However, each student is allowed to participate in one submission only, either individually or as part of a team.

ANONYMITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF ENTRIES

No identification marks shall appear on the graphic layout or the Design Statement. Participants shall keep their entries confidential and take the necessary steps to ensure that the work is not disclosed to any third party throughout the competition process until the public announcement of results.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Intellectual Property Rights shall remain with the author(s). However, upon submitting an entry to the competition, the participant declares, warrants, agrees, and undertakes that the submission, including all intellectual property contained therein, may be used by the organizers for the promotion, publication, exhibition, and documentation of the event.

ENSURING COMPARABILITY

To ensure fairness and consistency across all submissions, all entries must adhere to common parameters, including:

• clearly defined project scale
• mandatory core drawings and diagrams
• explicit site and climate analysis
• alignment with the stated evaluation criteria

These common requirements are intended to strengthen the quality of submissions and enable a more rigorous and comparable review process.

ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES

The selected entries submitted by all National Institutes of Architects of ARCASIA shall be evaluated by the Jury Panel based on the following criteria:

Concept and overall design response (25%)

Interpretation of vernacular wisdom (20%)

Environmental and climatic response (20%)

Feasibility and clarity of proposal (15%)

Presentation quality and communication (20%)

The decision of the Jury Panel shall be final and binding on all parties concerned and shall not be subject to appeal. Participants shall not have the right to request access to the Jury comments or adjudication records.

EXPECTATIONS OF DEPTH

This competition emphasizes rigor over representation. Submissions are expected to demonstrate:

• strong contextual understanding
• depth of research
• critical, not superficial, use of vernacular knowledge
• relevance to contemporary challenges

The strength of an entry will depend not only on the quality of its visual presentation, but also on the depth, clarity, and authenticity of its architectural thinking.

PANEL OF JURORS

Ar. Umar Saeed, Chairman, ACAE – Head Juror

Ar. Mohamed Amdhan - Maldives Zone A

Dr. Ar. Rattapong Angkasith - Thailand Zone B

Ar. Sakata Izumi - Japan Zone C Arcasia President’s Nominated Representative (To be Confirmed)

Awards Committee

Ar. Shweta Balasubramoni- Convenor

Ar. Nishtha Pandey- Co-Convener

AWARDS

One Gold Award - Gold Medal and Certificate

One Silver Award - Silver Medal and Certificate

Three Bronze Awards - Bronze Medal and Certificate

EXHIBITION AND PUBLICATION OF ENTRIES

The organizer shall be entitled to display or exhibit, on any date and at any venue, the entries or any part thereof, and to publish the reports of the competition together with selected entries as part of the Forum documentation, catalogue, website, publications, and promotional materials.

LANGUAGE

All entries shall be submitted in English.

Rules & Guidelines:

Submit your project or design via this link:

Click here

For enquiries, please contact the PAM secretariat:

Tel: +603 2202 2866 / +6013 685 5538 (Muhammad Ridzwan)
Email: arcasiapeakma@gmail.com

Published: 07 May 2026

The main goal of this international competition, organized by ARCHIDEX and Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM), is to solicit new, innovative architectural and urbanistic ideas that address current issues and challenges. The competition aims to generate thoughtful and provocative concepts that truly benefit mankind. The design challenge is to define architecture by proposing a design solution ranging from the urban to the architectural scale. Beyond being a simple design competition, ARCHITALENT will continue to encourage creativity, audacity and the capacity to envision the future of the built environment.

For the fifth time, ARCHIDEX is hosting ARCHITALENT 2026 as an ARCASIA level architecture competition, featuring works from architecture students representing the 24 member institutes of the Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA).

1. IAB Institute of Architects Bangladesh (Zone A)
2. BIA Bhutan Institute of Architects (Zone A)
3. IAP Institute of Architects, Pakistan (Zone A)
4. IIA The Indian Institute of Architects (Zone A)
5. SLIA Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (Zone A)
6. SONA Society of Nepalese Architects (Zone A)
7. AAM Architects Association Maldives (Zone A)
8. AAK Architects Association Khmer (Zone B)
9. IAI Ikatan Arsitek Indonesia (Zone B)
10. ALACE Association of Laos Architects and Civil Engineers (Zone B)
11. AMA Association of Myanmar Architects (Zone B)
12. ASA The Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage (Zone B)
13. VAA Vietnam Association of Architects (Zone B)
14. PAM Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (Zone B)
15. PUJA (B) Pertubuhan Ukur Jurutera dan Arsitek, Brunei (Zone B)
16. SIA Singapore Institute of Architects (Zone B)
17. UAP United Architects of the Philippines (Zone B)
18. AAM Architects Association of Macau (Zone C)
19. ASC Architectural Society of China (Zone C)
20. HKIA The Hong Kong Institute of Architects (Zone C)
21. JIA The Japan Institute of Architects (Zone C)
22. KAU Architects Union of Korea (Zone C)
23. KIRA Korea Institute of Registered Architects (Zone C)
24. UMA Union of Mongolian Architects (Zone C)

 Theme: RE: PLACE

“META_SPACE” invites architectural students to envision hybrid spatial interventions that transcend the boundaries between the physical city and the digital realm.

This is not only about designing physical spaces but about expanding spatial experience through digital augmentation, virtual environments, and interactive systems that redefine how people connect, engage and inhabit place. In an era shaped by rapid technological advancement, digital immersion and shifting patterns of human interaction, this competition asks:

How can architecture bridge the physical and virtual worlds to create meaningful, inclusive and future ready environments?

Participants are challenged to propose urban and architectural interventions such as plazas, pavilions, streetscapes, infrastructures or hybrid programs that:

• Integrate physical and virtual experiences
• Enhance user interaction through digital layers (AR/VR, data and interfaces)
• Reimagine how people perceive, occupy, and connect within space

Projects should be grounded in contextual understanding, while simultaneously expanding into speculative and digital possibilities.

Each proposal should aim to redefine the relationship between people, space and technology by creating immersive and interactive experiences that seamlessly integrate digital and physical environments. It should foster social connection and participation while remaining adaptable, scalable and applicable to future urban contexts.

ARCHITALENT 2026 serves as a platform for future architects to explore the transformative potential of META_SPACE. It encourages participants to challenge traditional notions of architecture, place-making and interaction envisioning a future where the physical and digital worlds converge to enhance the quality of life for all.

Prizes

Champion: USD 1,000 + Certificate & Medal

1st Runner-up: USD 800 + Certificate & Medal

2nd Runner-up: USD 500 + Certificate & Medal

2× Best Presenter Awards: USD 200 each

Timeline

5 May 2026: Registration Opens

30 May 2026: Submission Deadline (by 6:00 PM, Malaysia Time)*

1 - 9 June 2026: First Round Judging*

10 June 2026: Announcement of 10 Finalists (3 International, 7 Local)*

1 August 2026: Presentation of 10 Finalists (3 International, 7 Local, 10.00 AM)*

1 August 2026: Awards presentation ceremony at the PAM Pavilion, MITEC, KL (2.00 PM)*

*Final Presentation: 10 shortlisted finalists (7 Malaysia, 3 international) will present on 1 August 2026 at MITEC, Kuala Lumpur.

Download

Submit Your Design Here

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For inquiry, please contact PAM secretariat:

Tel: +603 2202 2866 / +6013 685 5538 (Muhammad Ridzwan)

Email: architalent.pam@gmail.com / ridzwan@pam.org.my

Website: www.pam.org.my