A place on your shelf.
For dog-eared pages, desk-side references, and ideas you come back to. Delivered worldwide, with free shipping.
The Buildner bookshop / Ideas worth keeping
For minds
that build.
A new perspective. A spark for your next project. Books that belong on your desk, and in your thinking.
Find your next read01–12Architecture. Design. Possibility.
In print & on screen.
In print & on screen.
↗ Free worldwide print shipping▤ Print, PDF, or both↶ 14-day returns on printed books
The reading room
Your next big idea
starts here.
From a single chair to a different way of living.
Find the perspective you’re looking for.
The printed books
Made to be
held.
Six of the titles come in print, from a 256-page hardcover to a notebook that fits in a pocket. Printed copies ship free, worldwide.
The review
Nine minutes
inside a book.
Show It Better, the YouTube channel on communicating architecture visually, goes through What is Small-Scale Architecture?, from the interviews to the competition designs.
A review by Show It Better, on Buildner’s YouTube channel.
In their words
Two architects,
two questions.
Every ARCHHIVE book asks one question. Ben van Berkel and Kengo Kuma answer two of them.
Ben van BerkelFounder and principal architect, UNStudio, Amsterdam.What is Small-Scale Architecture?“Small scale projects sometimes generate ideas which can later be extended to larger scale projects. They not only perform as a testing ground for geometric, material and construction related considerations, but they are also invaluable when testing ideas on a conceptual level. Or better said, how to combine the two.”
Kengo KumaFounder, Kengo Kuma & Associates, Tokyo.What is Affordable Housing?“In our current era, it’s imperative to reevaluate and alter our understanding of ‘living’ within a home. The key aspect of this evolution is ensuring that all housing we envision and bring to life must be accessible in terms of affordability.”
The MICROHOME collection / Issues 01–04
Less space.
More possibility.
Small homes are a testing ground for big ideas. Explore built projects and competition concepts that rethink how we live.
See all four issuesYour desk. Your device. Your choice.
Keep it close.
A library that goes with you.
Take your reading from the studio to the train. Digital editions for your laptop, tablet, or phone.
The best of both worlds.
The printed edition for your desk and its digital companion for everywhere else. Available on selected titles.
Find your perfect pair ↗From the world of Buildner
Good architecture starts
with an open mind.
For over a decade, Buildner has brought architectural ideas into the world through international competitions. These books bring that spirit to your bookshelf: different voices, unexpected approaches, and possibilities worth exploring.
Discover Buildner ↗- 12
- titles, in print and PDF
- 1,800+
- pages
- 590+
- projects, essays, interviews and poems
- 15
- years of Buildner competitions
A few useful things
Before you
turn the page.
Can I choose between print and digital?
Yes. Each book page shows the editions available for that title. Some are PDF-only, some offer print and PDF, and selected titles also have a print + PDF bundle.
How much does shipping cost?
Nothing. Printed books ship free worldwide, and we email you the tracking details as soon as your order is on its way.
Can I return a printed book?
Yes. You have 14 days from the day it arrives to change your mind: choose Withdraw from contract at the bottom of any page, then send the book back. The bookstore terms have the details.
What format are the digital editions?
Digital books and MICROHOME magazines are supplied as PDFs. A print + PDF bundle includes both editions of the same title.
Entry magazine
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Entry magazine
Buildner's magazine
for winners.
For future, current and past winners of architecture competitions: what is open now, who won and why, and what the results teach.
€7 to sign up and get your first issue right away.
Then €7 each time a new issue is released (3-4 times per year).
Who it is for
Your regular update
on what matters.
Entry gathers what is important in architecture competitions on Buildner, and Buildner aims to publish 3-4 issues a year. What you take from it depends on where you are.
New to competitions
Students and first-time entrants: which competitions are open and what they ask for, explained plainly, with the stories of people who won their first one.
In Issue 01First entry, first prize: two fourth-year students who won with the first competition they entered.
Highlights for youEntering now
Architects and teams with a competition on the go: every deadline on one line, the prize funds and what juries rewarded, so you can plan your boards.
In Issue 0111 open competitions, and the published scores of 53 winning boards.
Highlights for youPast entrants and winners
Who won and why, how the winning boards scored, and the Buildner Medal, open only to winners of qualifying competitions.
In Issue 01Six winners read and interviewed, and the €50,000 Buildner Medal.
Highlights for youOrganisations
Schools, universities and practices: the results and the reasoning behind them, for studios and classes. Organisations planning a competition: how one runs and what it can cost.
In Issue 011,813 universities ranked, and four questions to start a competition.
Highlights for you
Out now
Issue 01.
What is inside.
44 pages on the latest season of competitions on architecturecompetitions.com: what opened, who won and why, and what comes next.
Contents
€7 to sign up and get your first issue right away. Then €7 each time a new issue is released (3-4 times per year).
Highlights of Issue 01
€50,000Buildner Medal 2027
What happened · Pages 3 to 5
The winners of the winners
Buildner's new Medal is open only to winners of qualifying competitions: no registration and nothing to pay. 9 of the 11 open competitions qualify.
Open now · Page 8
Every deadline on one line
The 11 competitions open on release day on one timeline: when to register, when to submit, when fees rise and which ones lead to the Medal.
Who won · Pages 16 to 27
Six winners, read and interviewed
Pearls in a desert sky, a looping water path, a house, rain on Roman tiles, a sauna and a cork stool, each told with its authors and its jury.
Images: Cloud of Pearl, The Loop Within, Everyday House, Xylophone, Linear Ritual and Helical, by their authors.
Who won · Pages 18 and 19
First entry, first prize
Two fourth-year students at Tel Aviv University won 1st Prize and the Buildner Student Award with the first competition they ever entered.
Image: The Loop Within, Tal Ben Barak and Salma Bsul.
Why they won · Pages 32 and 33
Anatomy of a winner
Pluvia, 1st Prize at Rome Rain Rooms, read board by board: one job for each board, and 8.8 out of 10 in Buildner's presentation review.
Image: Pluvia, Daniele Carlini, Il Prisma srl.
68%clarity of story, 9 or more
Why they won · Page 34
What 53 winning boards have in common
36 of 53 winning boards scored 9 or more out of 10 for clarity of story. Text and annotation scored lowest.
1,813universities with points
Who won · Pages 30 and 31
Schools that win
The universities with points in Buildner's ranking, how a school earns them, and number one year by year.
For organisations · Pages 40 and 41
Commissioning a competition
How organisations run competitions with Buildner, with prize budgets from €5,000 to €500,000, four questions to start and five case notes.
Image: Manila Bay Central Park Challenge, from its results page.
Inside Entry
The chapters
of Entry.
What an issue holds depends on the competitions it covers. The pages below are from Issue 01.
Chapter 1
Open competitions
The Buildner competitions open when an issue comes out, with details such as the brief, prize fund, fees, key dates and jury.
In Issue 01 11 competitions open on release day, every deadline on one line, and seven more told in brief.
Page 9. Unbuilt Award 2027. 
Page 11. Seven more competitions.
Chapter 2
Winners' interviews
Conversations with architects behind past winning entries: how they work, why they enter and what they would tell someone unsure whether to start.
In Issue 01 Six winners told with their authors, and 10 answers on why people enter competitions.
Page 24. Linear Ritual, Iceland Slow Sauna. 
Page 25. A sauna in four rooms.
Chapter 3
Knowledge base
Close readings of winning projects: what the jury rewarded, where a winner was weaker and, where available, the presentation scores, to help you look at your own boards with fresh eyes.
In Issue 01 Anatomy of a winner, board by board, and the published scores of 53 winning boards.
Page 33. Four boards, in reading order. 
Page 34. What 53 winning boards have in common.
Chapter 4
What is coming
Competitions on the way, with themes, prizes and dates where they are known, to help you plan ahead.
In Issue 01 13 results due between November 2026 and April 2027, and the road to the Buildner Medal.
Page 36. Results calendar. 
Page 38. The road to the Medal.
How it works
€7 an issue.
Your first one right away.
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TodayFirst issue
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NextSecond issue
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Buildner aims to publish 3-4 issues a year.
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Out now
Your first issue,
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Subscribe for €7 and your first issue reaches your email right away. Then €7 each time a new issue is released (3-4 times per year).
Questions
Before you
subscribe.
Already a subscriber?
Change your card, see your issues or cancel.
What do I get?
Entry as a PDF by email, built around the chapters above: the latest issue as soon as you subscribe, then each new issue on its release day. Buildner aims to publish 3-4 issues a year; what each issue holds depends on the competitions it covers.
What does it cost?
€7 an issue. You pay €7 for the latest issue when you subscribe, then €7 for each new issue, charged on the day it comes out. Nothing is charged between issues.
When do I get my first issue?
Right away. As soon as you have paid on Stripe's page, we email you the download link of the latest issue.
How does an issue reach me?
By email: a link to download the issue's PDF, right away for the latest issue and on the release day for each new one. Manage my subscription also lists your issues, with new download links.
What if a payment does not go through?
We email you straight away and try again over the next 30 days. Change your card in Manage my subscription, or pay from the link in the email, and the issue is sent as soon as it is paid. If it is still unpaid after 30 days, the subscription ends.
How do I change my card or cancel?
Choose Manage my subscription and enter your email: we send you a link to change your card or cancel. Cancel before a new issue comes out and you are not charged for it. Issues you have paid for stay yours.
I had a subscription before. Do I pay for the latest issue again?
No. If you already have the latest issue from an earlier subscription, subscribing again only saves your card, and we email you its download link again. You pay from the next new issue.
Can a school or a practice subscribe?
Yes, the same way. Stripe's page can take a company name and VAT number for the invoices.
Which competitions does it cover?
Competitions on Buildner: open ones, upcoming ones and recent results.
