Metropolis, the renowned magazine of Architecture & Design has announced its 9th annual design competition. This prestigious event trails back to 2003 with a view to promote environmental activism, social involvement, and entrepreneurship in young designers. This year they have challenged the designers to develop solutions that empower, advance, and include the groups that are often overlooked in the design process. For example take our rapidly increasing aging population and citizens with disabilities. The form is up to the applicants, considering how people are becoming attached to technologies and what devices, materials, and modes of transportation will stay relevant 20 years from now. Keep in mind what other groups will benefit from the design. 
It’s hard to think about 1.13 billion people’s unique problems and solutions, and to make it easy for the designers, you can consider your mom, your dad, your uncle or aunt, your friend, your kid brother or sister, your grandparents, any of your relations with special needs. The proposals should also respect the core values of good design—incorporating systems thinking, sustainability, accessibility, materials exploration, historic relevance, and technology—while forwarding our thinking on what designers can accomplish.
Eligibility The competition is open to any Designer and Architect in practice for 10 years or less, as well as design students. Collaboration between inter disciplinary personals like architecture, urban planning, landscape design, interior design, product design, and graphic design are encouraged. The entry fee is $75 for each submission. Up to three submissions will be accepted from an individual or team of collaborators. A separate application and entry fee is required for each project submitted.
Deadlines All entries must be submitted by February 18, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
Awards The $10,000 prize is intended to support designers whose entries reflect considerations of inclusive design, systems thinking, sustainability, materials exploration, progressive technologies, function, and provocative form.
For more information visit the Competition Site.
eVolo Magazine is pleased to invite architects, students, engineers, designers, and artists from around the globe to take part in the eVolo 2013 Skyscraper Competition. Established in 2006, the annual Skyscraper Competition is considerably one of the most prestigious awards for high-rise architecture. It recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the implementation of novel technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations along with studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution. It is a forum that examines the relationship between the skyscraper and the natural world, the skyscraper and the community, and the skyscraper and the city.
Architecture students from around the world are invited to design forward thinking environments for our ageing population. You are asked to design a dwelling or precinct for yourself and/or others when aged and retired. Your proposition may be a house for an extended family; a multi-generational precinct; an agile planning strategy accommodating changing family structures from cradle to grave; housing for unusual demographic mixes or another well-considered option. The competition asks for designs that facilitate security, dignity, access and participation of aged people in communities. 
