European Architecture Competition for Students 2025 – Enter now!

As part of Chemnitz’s year as the European Capital of Culture in 2025, the city is looking for ideas to revitalise part of its city centre. The previously very poorly utilised area is located behind the Karl Marx Monument and the government office complex on Brückenstraße (known as the “Parteifalte”). The organisers of the architecture competition are looking for visionary concepts from European students that appeal to the diverse Chemnitz population and revitalise the city centre. The submission deadline for the “CHEMNITZ INSIDE: UPGRADE + CONNECT” competition is 31 July 2025.

The area behind the “Parteifalte” is currently predominantly used as a car park. Previous plans to transform the site into a purely administrative quarter never came to fruition, and by their very nature would not have contributed to the revitalisation of the city centre.

“The aim must be to fill this place with life and transform it into an area that links Brühl, Theaterplatz and the city centre”, explain the organisers at the Saxony Chamber of Architects, who are supported by the City of Chemnitz and Baukultur für Chemnitz e. V.

They want the people of Chemnitz to benefit from the added value this area could offer, and for them to gain an attractive location for cultural and sporting activities. The centrepiece could be a new multifunctional hall with uses including a new home for the Niners basketball team.

Launched in mid-March, the student architecture competition gives participants not only the opportunity to make a lasting impact on this year’s European Capital of Culture, but also to showcase their skills to a wide audience.European students of architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning are invited to share their visions for the area behind the “Parteifalte”. The submissions can be created either as part of a university semester project or separately from their degree work. Works submitted by the 31 July 2025 deadline will then be presented to and evaluated by an expert panel.

Read more: https://baukultur-chemnitz.de/europaeischer-architektenwettbewerb-fuer-studierende

The award ceremony will take place on 27 September 2025 alongside the Light Our Vision festival, with the works displayed to visitors as light art in the competition area.

People’s Choice Award
It’s not only the expert panel that gets to choose their favourites. The people of Chemnitz do too! All the submitted works will be exhibited to the public in the week leading up to the award ceremony. Visitors will be able to vote for their favourite, with the most popular concept winning the People’s Choice Award.

If you have any questions about the project, please get in touch
Baukultur für Chemnitz e. V. | Dipl.-Ing. Mario Friedrich, Freelance Architect BDA |
Project Management and Coordination | Augustusburger Straße 43 | 09111 Chemnitz
competition@baukultur-chemnitz.de | www.baukultur-chemnitz.de

Full press release: