Berkeley Undergraduate Prize for Architectural Design Excellence 2021 Essay Competition

Brief Description:

Submissions are now open for the Berkeley Undergraduate Essay Prize Competition 2021. The Berkeley Undergraduate Prize for Architectural Design Excellence is an initiative of the Department of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley College of Environmental Design. The prize aims to promote the exploration of architecture as a social art. Annually, the PRIZE Committee chooses a topic important to the understanding of the communication of people and the built world that becomes the focal point of the Essay Competition. And, the Committee designates a question related to the topic.

The question for 2021 edition is: “As a future architect, what is the best manner you can serve the needs of your local community?” Students can enter the competition by submitting an essay on this question and two photographs of their chosen project.

Details:

Submission deadline: November 1, 2020

Organizer: University of California, Berkeley, College of Environmental Design

Number of semifinalists: 25-28

Number of finalists: 5-8

Value:
In total worth $35,000, of which a minimum of $9,000 is awarded to the first-place winner. The remaining is awarded at the discretion of the committee.

Eligibilities

The essay contest is open to:

·        Current full-time students enrolled in the undergraduate architecture program;

·        Undergraduate students majoring in an architecture program in accredited schools of architecture around the world;

·        Diploma in undergraduate students who have not yet completed their Diploma;

·        Eligible students may also make teams with undergraduates from relevant arts and social sciences programs and submit proposals in two-member teams;

In the case of team submission;

·        One member of a team must be a current full-time student enrolled in an undergraduate architecture degree;

·        The other team member must be a current full-time registered student in a non-architecture program such as landscape architecture, urban studies, the social sciences, engineering;

·        All submissions must be in English;

·        Both students’ names must appear on their proposal and essay, and if granted a prize, the prize is to be equally shared;

·        Both finalists will need to provide proof of current registration in the form of copies of actual school transcripts; and

·        Applicants are still eligible to compete if both of them were undergraduate students on September 15, 2020, but one or both of them graduate before the awards are scheduled to be given.

Photograph requirements

Include digital photographs of the two buildings of your choice with your essay. The photographs should be a minimum of 500 pixels in width, and in .jpg format. Do not submit more than two photographs. In addition, the photographs must have been taken by one member of the tea and must be original not copied from the Internet.

Besides, include a brief caption_ maximum 50 words_ to your photograph telling what the photographs represent and why you have particularly chosen them.

Judging Criteria

The judgment of the essay competition is on a numeric system. The members of the BERKELEY PRIZE Committee will evaluate each essay in light of the following criteria:

·        Does the Proposal address the Question?

·        How creative, or creatively advanced, is the Proposal?

·        Would the Proposal be clear to a far-reaching audience?

·        How does the Proposal rate in terms of writing style?

·        To what extent socially significant the Proposal is?

·        What is the potential for developing this Proposal into a strong essay?

·        Each criterion carries a score of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest)—the top nearly 25 scoring Proposals progress to being Semifinalists.

Also, the committee asks Semifinalists to submit a 2,500-word essay, again in English, expanding on their proposals after they pass stage one of the competition.

Competition timeline

How to Apply?

Complete the following steps to enter:

Meet the Requirements listed above.

Submit a 500-word proposal for an essay on Essay Question for 2020 stated above.

Provide one photograph of each of your chosen projects.

Submit the essay and photographs online.

Apply now

Deadline: 1 November 2020