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:
- 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.
- 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:
For enquiries, please contact the PAM secretariat:
Tel: +603 2202 2866 / +6013 685 5538 (Muhammad Ridzwan)
Email: arcasiapeakma@gmail.com