Reimagining Civic Centers as Spaces for the People

The design challenge invites participants to place the city or municipal hall at the center of civic life. Aspiring architects may revitalize an existing local town hall or propose a new civic site. The objective is to transform these institutional hubs into welcoming civic centers that support efficient governance while fostering cultural expression, everyday social interaction, and local economic vitality.
The civic center should become a place where citizens can transact, gather, learn, celebrate, and rest—where everyday life and civic responsibility naturally converge around the hall as the community’s source.
Key Design Targets:
• Make government approachable — Replace cold formality with spaces that embody dignity, openness, and welcome.
• Integrate civic life with daily routines — Blur the boundaries between public services and everyday community life.
• Celebrate local identity — Express the character of a place through local materials, craftsmanship, heritage, and culture.
• Ensure adaptability and sustainability — Design flexible, resilient spaces that respond to present needs while supporting future growth and change.

ELIGIBILITY & ENTRY PARAMETERS

The competition is open to all bona fide 3rd and 4th-year Architecture students currently enrolled in any CHED-accredited and recognized college or university in the Philippines. Only one (1) entry per student or group is allowed.

• Individual Entries: Must be a single 3rd or 4th-year enrolled architecture student who does not belong to any other group submission.

• Group Entries: Maximum of three (3) members per group. Members can be a combination of 3rd and 4th year levels, provided all members are enrolled in the exact same college or university.

Target Site Location Criteria

Proposals must be situated within the Philippines under one of two options:

• Revitalization: Reimagining and transforming an existing City Hall or Municipal Hall site into a vibrant civic center aligned with the ILAYA theme.

• New Development: Proposing a completely new site within any Philippine city or municipality, explicitly demonstrating its responsiveness to local context and community needs.

Technical Space Requirements

• Minimum Building Floor Area: 5,000 sq.m.

• Maximum Lot Area Allocation: 20,000 sq.m.

Note: The allocation must respect the maximum lot boundary while ensuring sufficient space for perimeter landscaping, open plazas, pedestrian/vehicular circulation, and complete parking facilities (for cars, buses,jeepneys, and motorcycles) satisfying the National Building Code (NBC) of the Philippines.

REQUIRED SCOPE & PROGRAM COMPONENTS

Proposals must address the City Hall or Municipal Hall building along with its immediate site surroundings. The required spatial programming includes:

A. Governance Core

• Administrative Hall: A centralized public hub housing the Mayor’s Office, Council Hall, and core administrative departments under an accessible framework.
• One-Stop Civic Service Hall: An integrated transaction center for efficient public permits, licensing,registrations, and general inquiries.

B. Public Realm & Cultural Spaces

• Open-Air Civic Plaza: A highly flexible public footprint intended for cultural performances, festivals, official ceremonies, seasonal markets, and everyday recreation.
• Monumental Centerpiece: A landmark installation or iconic focal point symbolizing regional heritage and local identity.
• Public Library & Heritage Gallery: Spaces dedicated to education, local historical archives, and contemporary artistic expressions.
• Multipurpose Hall: A modular venue hosting community assemblies, public programs, and social gatherings.
• Children’s Play Area / Pocket Parks: Safe, family-friendly pockets integrated into the public realm.

C. Supporting Infrastructure

• Pedestrian Amenities: Continuous covered walkways, shaded seating configurations, and barrier-free connections to public transit links.
• Flexible Green Infrastructure: Climate-responsive landscaping serving double-duty as everyday active parks and emergency evacuation staging areas.
• Health & Social Services Annex: A regional support facility providing accessible healthcare, senior citizen services, PWD-friendly support, and barangay-level civic programs.

SUBMISSION DELIVERABLES & TECHNICAL FORMATS

All competition assets must be prepared digitally and uploaded exclusively through the official ArchiNEXT online submission portal or designated Google Forms link as announced on the official channels. Incomplete or corrupted files will result in immediate disqualification.

Design Plates (Maximum of 4 Plates)

• Format: A3 size paper, uniform Portrait or Landscape orientation, saved as a single or combined highquality .pdf or .jpeg.
• Plate 1 & 2 Content: Project Title, Specific Site Location, Vicinity Map, Site Development Plan (SDP), Lot Plan, and Hero Aerial Perspectives.
• Plate 3 & 4 Content: Detailed Floor Plans, Longitudinal and Transverse Sections, Architectural Elevations,Key Interior/Exterior Spot details, and technical callouts.
• Anonymity Rule: Student names and institutional affiliations must only appear on the back side of physical sheets or within hidden digital metadata fields where requested. No identifying marks should be visible on the front face of the design layout. (this part only should be in the plates itself since its no longer printed)

Design Narrative & Concept Document

• Format: Exactly 300 to 400 words, presented on an A4 size document in .pdf or .docx format.
• Site Context Appendix: A separate attached page featuring clear “Before” photographic documentation of the selected urban/municipal site.

Administrative Application Requirements

The following supporting materials must be compiled into clean .pdf formats:

• Completed ArchiNEXT 2027 Official Entry Form.
• Official Endorsement Letter on institutional school letterhead, signed exclusively by the Architecture College Dean or Department Chairperson.
• Valid School ID or official current Semester Registration Form.
• Recent 2×2 colored ID photograph.

Submission Deadline

All submissions shall be submitted via Google Forms to be provided via social media and email channels. The deadline shall start from September 1 to December 31, 2026.

Late submissions, incomplete packages, or unreadable/corrupted files will not be admitted past this strictly enforced date.

The jury will evaluate each proposal based on its overall design quality, responsiveness to the competition theme, technical feasibility, and ability to create meaningful civic spaces that serve both government and the community. Entries should demonstrate a thoughtful balance between innovation, functionality, sustainability, cultural identity, and clarity of design intent.

Creativity and Innovation (25%)
• Originality and strength of the overall design concept.
• Innovative architectural solutions that reimagine the civic center as a welcoming public space.
• Creative integration of materials, technologies, and sustainable design strategies.
• Strong visual identity and harmonious integration with the site’s context.

Planning, Functionality, and Spatial Organization (20%)
• Clear and efficient planning, circulation, and accessibility.
• Logical zoning of governance, civic, and community functions.
• Flexible spaces that respond to present needs and future growth.
• Seamless connectivity and user experience throughout the civic center.

Community, Cultural Integration, and Sustainability (20%)
• Meaningful expression of local identity, culture, and heritage.
• Inclusive public spaces that encourage civic participation and social interaction.
• Climate-responsive, environmentally sustainable, and resilient design strategies.
• Appropriate use of materials and landscape that enhance long-term performance.

Functionality and Practicality (15%)
• Effective support for government services and everyday community activities.
• Efficient use of space, operational functionality, and user comfort.
• Adaptability, maintainability, and long-term usability of the proposal.

Constructability and Feasibility (10%)
• Realistic and practical design solutions.
• Appropriate construction methods, materials, and implementation strategies.
• Feasibility within reasonable technical and economic considerations.

Concept and Design Communication (10%)
• Clear presentation of the design vision and concept.
• Strong alignment with the competition theme.
• Effective communication through drawings, diagrams, renderings, and narrative.
• Cohesive storytelling that conveys the proposal’s civic value and design intent.

Progressive Screening Stages
• Initial Screening: The ArchiNEXT Team anonymizes all files, issues official Entry Numbers, and filters out basic clerical failures. Qualified files proceed to the initial jury panel.
• Pre-screening: The first batch of judges reviews and scores the pool. The highest-scoring submissions compose the official “Magic Number”, advancing to final stages.
• Final Screening & Ranking: The jury evaluates the “Magic Number” entries to distill the definitive Ten (10) Finalists and special award recipients. Finalists are notified non-sequentially.
• Live Deliberation & Defense: The Top 3 entrants must prepare a professional presentation before a live panel, followed by a standalone Q&A block. Scores are reset to zero at this stage; the live performance fully determines the ultimate Top 1, 2, and 3 ranking order.