Why enter Europan?

Europan 10 gives young design teams the chance to put their housing and urban design ideas into practice. This is of particular value in the UK, where - despite a lively construction industry - the chances for young talent to cut their teeth on large projects are all too rare.

But it’s not all about the prize money. This is an opportunity for you to pit your design intellect against some of the most serious challenges facing the UK, including how to:

  • increase the number of good-quality, affordable homes across the UK
  • improve local communities
  • make homes adaptable to the future needs of communities
  • deliver within realistic budgets
  • deliver in a sustainable way, with as small an impact on the environment as possible.

The sites to be proposed by Europan UK will be real sites, with real developments and real partners eager to work with young new talent.

Involvement in Europan can also be an excellent networking opportunity for those starting out in their careers. After prizes are awarded, hundreds of Europan prize winners and site representatives convene in a major forum to debate 21st century housing and urban issues across the continent.

In the past, the competition has been responsible for launching the careers of architects that are now well established and successful:

‘The Europan competition is the only open, European competition that really gives younger architects a chance to win something based on the merits of their ideas. The length of time a team has to put together a submission is what sets this competition apart from other competitions.’
LOOP Architecture and Harry Dobbs Design Ltd.

The Europan 8 winner on the Stonebridge site in London was led by an already well established young practice, Witherford Watson Mann Architects, which had won the competition in the UK twice before. They also found the competition a valuable experience.

‘Winning Europan 8 has given us the chance to develop our ideas in dialogue with the experienced client and masterplanning team, who have already delivered so much.’
Witherford Watson Mann Architects