About the contest

Our Ambition at Saint-Gobain

In everything we do, we are guided by our engaging purpose: Making the world a better home. For all businesses on the construction markets, we translate our purpose into a strategic commitment and concrete actions: We Care about Building Better.

We care about building better means being at our customers’ and partners’ side to innovate and help design, construct and renovate better buildings that reduce impacts on our planet, enhance people’s health and wellbeing and deliver reduced costs and increased value; providing our customers with innovative solutions to improve their performance and support their journey towards more sustainability; advocating for building better to accelerate the market transformation.

Thanks to our 350-year-long history and the synergies between our different businesses, specialist brands and skills, we want to demonstrate our thought leadership and be the preferred partner who cares about building better.

Contest Goal

We believe buildings can and should deliver both improved performance and sustainability. We care about maximizing health and wellbeing for everyone, everywhere – while minimizing impact on the environment over a building’s lifespan.

Universities are preparing future generations, and students are already building the future. Together we can build it better.

The objective of the Architecture Student Contest is to develop a project based on sustainability, both for people and the planet. The buildings will be highly energy-efficient, low-carbon, and provide a comfortable environment for their occupants, in order to create better living, working and leisure spaces everywhere.

How Does it Work?

Every year Saint-Gobain selects a country with an architectural challenge and works very close with the local municipality to develop a task that will address real social and cultural issues. Students from different universities all around the world are bringing up their best ideas to compete and win one of the prizes of this international contest.

01

National Stage

Competition against other students from universities of the same country. The best project will travel and compete in the International Stage.

02

International Stage

A 3-day event for winners of National Stages compete against each other with the same contest task, where the following activities take place: welcome ceremony, jury deliberation, city tour, feedback sessions, awards ceremony and gala dinner.

Who Can Participate?

Types of Studies

Students in architecture, design, construction engineering or other related disciplines.

Year of Study

All students from the 1st to 6th year of study taking part of the academic year of the contest. Students on scholarship and exchange programs can participate.

Team Localisation

Participants represent the university and the country where they are studying at the time of the competition.

Team Composition

Students can participate as individuals or in teams up to of 3 members.

Judging Criteria

OBJECTIVE:
Assure that focus is given to both building typologies by students and the jury.

*ARCHITECTURE:

Design excellence, functional concept, adapted to context, and building information. Master plan, interconnection of the buildings to the exterior public green space.

**SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION:

Design clearly addresses sustainability criteria:
- Carbon & energy (energy, LCA, passive strategy,...)
- Resources & circularity (material optimization, recycled materials/content, waste management proposals)
- Health & wellbeing (thermal, lighting, acoustic and indoor air quality comfort)
Quality and consistency of the proposed construction details with regards to building physics.
Correct usage and mentioning of Saint-Gobain products and solutions*

*Criteria evaluated during National Stage and must be fulfilled if considered for International Stage.