THIS YEAR’S CHALLENGEThe Covid-19 pandemic is far from being over; nevertheless, architects and designers are already beginning to envision its effects on how buildings are designed and inhabited. The pandemic – particularly its lethal transmissibility that is exacerbated by human proximity – exposed the fragility of the spatial arrangements and technologies that organize our everyday life, be it in the home, the workplace, educational institutions, or shared cultural and civic activities. The accelerated integration of remote modes of communication due to social distancing challenges the very need for designating buildings to host productive and collective activities, and undermines the economy that relies on revenues generated from these activities. Moreover, the airborne transmission of the virus is compelling architecture to address issues, such as building environmental systems, that it has traditionally delegated to technical advisers and experts.

The 2021 MiG international student competition calls for submissions that explore the future of architecture in a post- Covid-19 world. The challenge set forth is to develop an ambitious thesis and explore its material, spatial, programmatic and cultural ramifications in the design of a single building. The project must be detailed to the scale of a building (i.e., 1:100 or 1:200) and include an explanation of the ideology behind the design. The design must address the wellbeing of the users and respect the building’s surrounding environment.