Entries sought for airport of 2100 design competition

Fentress Architects has announced that the 2021 Fentress Global Challenge (FGC), its annual competition to design the airport of the future is open for entries.

Now in its eighth year, the international design competition challenges students to envisage a forward-thinking concept for an airport of the future, and in turn, stimulate innovative design in terminal architecture.

And this year’s competition has the added bonus of a top prize of $15,000 for the winner and $3,000 for the runner-up.

“The Fentress Global Challenge is a great opportunity for young designers to bring broad ideas and creative perspectives to the table while spearheading innovation in airport terminal architecture,” says FGC founder, Curtis Fentress.

“We are excited to see how students push the limits of architectural design this year.”

This year’s competition brief encourages students to reimagine the terminal building in the year 2100, siting the new terminal at either an existing airport of their choosing, or at a location where an airport does not yet exist.

The latter option calls for participants to consider a city where an airport could serve as a catalyst for economic and social development.

Students’ designs must consider several aspects, including local context, evolving technologies, sustainability and resiliency, security, wellbeing, mobility, urbanisation, globalisation, project feasibility, and the overall passenger experience.

Eligibility and competition schedule
FGC is open to graduate and undergraduate students currently pursuing architecture or engineering degrees in an accredited university programme as well as recent graduates (within the last four years) with a degree in architecture or engineering.

All designs have to be submitted by October 1, 2021, after which Fentress will announce a shortlist of submissions on November 1 and the winners on December 1, 2021.

As well as the top two prizes, $2,000 will be awarded to the third placed entry and the top five will be rounded out by $1,000 ‘People’s Choice Awards’ for two more submissions.

About the Jury
The 2021 FGC will be judged in two stages. A first-round jury of industry experts will shortlist fifteen (15) designs from which the second-round jury will select the three finalists.

The 2021 FGC Jury, which will be announced at a later date, will feature leading aviation and architecture voices while bringing together diverse perspectives from professionals in these industries.

To learn more about the Fentress Global Challenge and to register, please visit: https://fentressglobalchallenge.com.

To view the 2021 competition brief, visit: https://www.fentressglobalchallenge.com/competition-brief.

The images used to illustrate at this article are all former winning or highly commended competition entries.