Bulgarian Architecture Awards

Important dates

1st

July

Contest announcement

1st

September

Deadline for questions and answers.

10th

September

Deadline for entries submission. Entries will not be accepted by the system after 23:59 EET.

15th

September

Pre-selection and announcement of the 15 entries finalists.

18th

September

Judging

19th

September

Gala Winners Awarding Ceremony

Contest goals

“Bulgarian Architecture Awards” is the most significant professional and non-commercial architectural competition, which distinguishes good practices and quality works of architectural art in our country, regardless of their budget, size or function. The competition aims to promote the most valuable realized architectural projects by distinguishing their authors – the architects and the uniqueness of their idea with an emphasis on the quality of the architecture, aesthetics and the innovations used. In addition to this are the originality of the concept and sustainability of the respective project to improve the quality of life. The projects should stimulate the development of the social, cultural and economic life of the local communities, contributing to shaping the modern vision of Bulgarian cities. The competition is held in two categories: New projects and Preservation of cultural and historical heritage.

Awards

The winner of the “Bulgarian Architectural Awards 2024” prize in the New Projects category and in the Cultural and Historical Heritage Preservation category will receive a specially made statuette and diploma, accompanied by a certificate with reviews from the relevant jury. The winners of the special awards in both categories will be awarded with a statuette and diploma, accompanied by a certificate with reviews of the relevant jury.

Evaluation criteria

New projects

Benefits of the project to improve residents' quality of life, relationship to its surrounding environment, opportunity of inclusion of people0%
Architectural qualities of the project (of the interior and exterior spaces of the building, the materials used and the role that light plays in the project).0%
Innovations applied in the project and how they affected the architecture. Attitude to climate change / energy, carbon and environmental impacts and optimization of energy efficiency /: as level of materials used related to zero or low carbon footprint, recycled or regenerated materials, local natural products. Optimized structure and use of space.0%
Clarity of the organization from main planning to project completion - plans, function, space.0%
Clearly presented concepts involved in planning and the leading objectives of the project.0%

Cultural and Historical Heritage Preservation

Degree of preservation of the monument in its original form0%
Quality of restoration and conservation of the monument and artistic value of the new architectural interventions0%
Awareness and added value of modern function0%
Society significance - stimulate the social, cultural and economic life of the local communities0%

Judging

The first stage of judging covers a selection process by the two juries in the New Projects Category and the Cultural and Historical Heritage Preservation Category. The jury evaluates the submitted projects based on the published evaluation criteria and nominates 15 finalist projects from both categories. If there are fewer than 15 submitted projects for any of the categories, no pre-selection is made.

The second stage of judging includes the presentation by the designer or the design team of the nominated projects from the two categories to the separate juries. Presentations are up to 15 minutes.

In the final phase, the juries determine the winners of the Grand Prize, as well as four Special Prizes for the New projects category and two Special Prizes for the Cultural and Historical Heritage Preservation category.

For the the New Projects Category, the jury is international, and for the Preservation of Cultural and Historical Heritage Category, the jury includes only distinguished Bulgarian experts.

The authors of the awarded projects will be awarded during a Gala ceremony to be held on September 19, 2024.

Participation

The “Bulgarian Architectural Awards 2024” competition can be participated by architects with membership in the KAB with full or limited design legal capacity, independently and in the form of a design team.
The participants’ projects must have been implemented in the period from September 2021 to September 2024. These can be new buildings without limitation in area, volume and function, reconstructions, modernizations and adaptations of old buildings, interiors, urban spaces.
Builders, entrepreneurs, investors, owners or users of a building can participate in the competition with a project that is presented on behalf of its author – the relevant architect or design office.
In the “Bulgarian Architectural Awards 2024” competition, it is possible to participate in projects that have not yet been fully completed within the specified period, but are in the final stage of construction and are immediately before commissioning.
There is no limit to the number of participating projects per architect.

Promotion will be at national and international level through:
The website of the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria https://kab.bg;
• Presentation and archiving of the project in a special online platform for the national architectural awards – submitted materials will be published;
• Through the SHARE platform;
• Presentation of the project and its author’s team to the jury and the public within the framework of the International Architecture and Engineering Forum SHARE Sofia 2024;
• Representation through media partners;
• Opportunity for project authors to participate as speakers in the SHARE international architectural and engineering conferences in Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Hungary etc.

Project Requirements

Registration and Participation

Applications can only be submitted electronically – by registering on the “Bulgarian Architectural Awards” website, as well as by sending by e-mail to the address: baa@kab.bg

They do not need to be printed and sent to the organizer in paper format.

Materials to be submitted by September 5, 2024

Presentation boards - 3 pcs. Format PDF, A2, 300 dpi, up to 15MB/board
Photos and sketches of the project, not included in the boards - 10 pcs. Format JPG, minimum resolution 1000px x 1000px
Description of the project in Bulgarian and English in 4 sections: Initial state of the field; Objective of the project; Nature of the project; Impact to change the surrounding space.

Deadline

September 10, 2024, 23:59 hours, after which no participants will be allowed.

Language

All projects must be presented in both Bulgarian and English.

Content of Competition Boards

 

The three competition boards must contain the following information:

 

Map (or photographic map) showing the location of the building (in free scale)


Photoshoot of the site (preferably before and after construction and from the same angle, up to 5 photos)


Floor plans and other drawings, as well as architectural visualizations that contribute to the best presentation of the project

Textual explanations in Bulgarian and English, if necessary

Patronage

“Bulgarian Architectural Awards 2024” is held under the patronage of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW) and the Ministry of Culture (MC). The event is organized with financial support from the Ministry of Culture.

Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsors

Bronze sponsors

Media Partners