It may not be your first instinct when entering a building to consider how it makes you feel, yet architecture has always had a profound impact on human emotions. Different spaces are designed to evoke different responses: offices can make us feel energised and productive, art galleries thoughtful and curious, and museums calm and intrigued. These spaces are far more than mere structures—they shape experience.
Now in its 8th edition, the Museum of Emotions competition continues this annual series by challenging participants to use architecture as a tool for emotional expression. Designers are asked to create a museum consisting of two distinct halls that evoke contrasting emotional states—one inducing negative emotions and the other positive.
Participants are free to choose which emotions their designs provoke, whether fear, anger, anxiety, love, happiness, laughter, or others. The aim of the Museum of Emotions is to explore how architecture alone can generate emotional responses through spatial scale, sequence and movement, colour, lighting, and materiality.
As an ideas competition, participants may select any site—real or imaginary—as well as define the size of their proposal.
Museum of Emotions is one of Buildner’s silent competitions, requiring participants to communicate their ideas without the use of text. All concepts and design intentions must be conveyed exclusively through visual representation.
PRIZES
3 winning proposals, 1 special award recipient and 6 honourable mentions will be selected. Buildner will award a total of 10,000 € in prize money to competition winners as follows:
1st Prize - 5,000 €
2nd Prize - 3,000 €
3rd Prize - 1,000 €
+ 6 honourable mentions
Buildner Student Award - 1,000 €
COMPETITION SCHEDULE
Early Bird Registration: December 16 – February 25
Advance Registration: February 26 – April 23
Last Minute Registration: April 24 – June 18
Final registration deadline: June 18, 2026
Closing date for submission: July 20, 2026 (23:59 LONDON TIME)
Announcement of the winners: September 29, 2026
More: https://architecturecompetitions.com/museumofemotions8/
