CartesianForms: Architecture Reimagined
A Global AI Design Competition by FORMAS, Powered by OpenAI, PAACADEMY and Parametric Architecture
Register Now:
https://paacademy.com/competit…
Competition Overview:
Architecture is never created in isolation. Every place carries conditions that precede the architect: landscape, climate, buildings, infrastructure, materials, communities, histories, cultural identities, and patterns of occupation.
CartesianForms: Architecture Reimagined asks participants to explore one central question:
What should architecture carry forward?
Participants are invited to select their own 50 × 50 metre site anywhere in the world and propose an architectural intervention for it.
The site may contain an existing building, structure, ruin, public space, infrastructure, or other built condition, or it may be selected for the particular environmental, urban, social, or cultural conditions it presents.
The building type and program are open.
Participants decide what their chosen site needs and what architecture should emerge from it.
The competition is structured around three ideas:
INHERIT → ALTER → PASS ON
First, understand what already exists and identify what matters. Then, intervene: introduce, adapt, extend, transform, reinterpret, or build in response to those conditions.
Finally, consider how the architecture itself might continue to change as it is inherited by another generation.
The objective is not simply to produce a spectacular final image. We want to see architectural thinking, experimentation, iteration, and decision-making.
AI should become part of that design process, not a replacement for architectural authorship.
FORMAS serves as the shared environment through which participants can explore ideas, organize their design development, document iterations, and communicate the evolution of their proposal.
The Design Challenge
Choose 50 × 50 metres of the world.
Each participant or team must identify a 50 × 50 m site anywhere in the world as the territory for their proposal. There is no prescribed location and no prescribed building type.
Your site might be urban or rural, occupied or abandoned, natural or constructed, dense or remote. It could contain an existing building, infrastructure, ruins, landscape, public space, or another condition worth investigating.
What matters is that the site provides enough context to generate a meaningful architectural response. Participants must clearly identify their chosen 50 × 50 m area and demonstrate how the proposal responds to its specific conditions.
The project should ask:
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What already exists here?
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What deserves to be carried forward?
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What does this place need now?
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What should be preserved, altered, removed, introduced, or reconsidered?
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How does the architecture respond to the environmental, social, cultural, spatial, and material conditions of the site?
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And what possibilities does it leave for another generation?
If an existing building or structure is selected, the proposal should engage meaningfully with it rather than simply redesigning its façade or visually restyling it.
If the selected site does not contain a significant existing building, the participant should demonstrate what is being inherited from the site itself: its landscape, climate, urban fabric, ecology, infrastructure, community, history, or other relevant conditions.
The relationship between site and architecture must be visible and explained in the final submission.
01. INHERIT
Understand what already exists.
Before designing, participants should investigate their chosen 50 × 50 m site.
The purpose of this stage is not simply to collect reference images. Participants should develop an architectural reading of the existing condition and identify the qualities that will influence their intervention.
This may include spatial organization, structural systems, material character, environmental conditions, cultural significance, patterns of occupation, circulation, historical layers, or relationships with the surrounding city and landscape.
Participants should clearly identify:
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What should be preserved?
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What should be questioned?
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What has architectural or cultural value?
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What constraints create opportunities?
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What aspects of the existing condition could become the foundation for a new architecture?
The submission should make this thinking visible.
The jury should be able to understand what the participant inherited before seeing what they changed.
02. ALTER
Transform it for the present.
The second stage is the primary architectural intervention. Participants should develop an architectural proposal within and in response to their selected 50 × 50 m site.
The program and building type are open.
Participants are expected to determine what intervention is appropriate for the site rather than respond to a predetermined typology.
Transformation can happen in many ways. A proposal might introduce a new building or program, adapt an existing structure, reorganize circulation, create new public space, extend existing architecture, address environmental conditions, rethink construction systems, or radically reinterpret how the site is occupied.
There is no required architectural style.
We are interested in the quality and intelligence of the architectural response and in how clearly the project grows from the conditions of its chosen site.
Participants are encouraged to explore multiple alternatives rather than immediately committing to one solution.
This is where AI and computational design can become particularly valuable: generating possibilities, testing alternatives, comparing spatial strategies, exploring materials, developing geometries, analyzing relationships, and questioning assumptions.
However, the participant remains the author.Â
The jury should be able to understand why one direction was selected over another.
03. PASS ON
Design something capable of changing again.
Architecture Reimagined should not end with the participant’s intervention.
The final stage asks participants to imagine what happens next.
How might the project adapt in 10, 25, or 50 years?
Which parts of the intervention are permanent?
Which parts are intentionally temporary?
Could spaces change the program?
Could structures expand or contract?
Could materials be reused?
Could another architect intervene without destroying the project’s essential qualities?
Participants do not need to design an entirely separate futuristic project. Instead, they should demonstrate how adaptability has been embedded into the architecture they are proposing today.
This creates the complete lineage:
SITE / EXISTING → INTERVENTION → FUTURE
The final proposal should therefore be understood not as an architectural endpoint, but as one generation within a longer architectural story.
What We Are Looking For
CartesianForms: Architecture Reimagined is fundamentally an architecture and design competition.
AI is an important part of the competition, but the strongest project will not simply be the project that uses the most AI tools or produces the most photorealistic imagery.
We are looking for proposals where technology enables stronger architectural thinking.
Successful projects should demonstrate:
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A compelling architectural idea.
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A clear response to the chosen 50 × 50 m site.
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Spatial and programmatic intelligence.
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Meaningful engagement with existing conditions.
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Thoughtful transformation.
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A convincing relationship between inheritance, intervention, and future adaptation.
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A visible design process rather than only a finished result.
Show us the questions you asked.
Show us alternatives.
Show us unsuccessful directions.
Show us how the project changed.
Show us where AI contributed.
And most importantly, show us where you made the architectural decisions.
A beautiful final image may attract attention, but it should be supported by architecture that can be understood spatially through plans, sections, diagrams, models, 3D representations, or other appropriate architectural media.
AI, FORMAS & Design Process
FORMAS should become the central workspace through which the project’s development is documented and communicated.
Participants may work within their preferred design ecosystem and incorporate sketches, drawings, photographs, CAD files, Rhino or other 3D models, renders, physical models, AI-generated imagery, diagrams, video, and other relevant media.
These materials can then become part of the project’s development inside FORMAS.
The intention is not to prescribe one universal AI workflow.
Different architects think differently, and the competition should reflect that diversity.
FORMAS provides a shared environment in which the jury can follow the evolution of the proposal, from understanding the chosen site, through experimentation and alternative directions, to the final architectural intervention.
The process is part of the project.
Every registered project receives one complimentary FORMAS PRO seat for November. Participants who want to start earlier, add members, or continue after November can access FORMAS PRO with a 40% competition discount redeemable until December 31, 2026. Eligible students can also apply for FORMAS Campus pricing using a university email.
Suggested Project Workflow
Participants can approach the competition through the following sequence:
01. Select
Choose a 50 × 50 m site, architecture, or structure with meaningful potential for transformation.
02. Research
Understand its architecture, context, history, users, opportunities, and limitations.
03. Define
Identify what should be inherited and establish the central architectural question your project will address.
04. Explore
Develop multiple possible interventions using FORMAS alongside your preferred design and AI tools.
05. Test
Evaluate ideas spatially through plans, sections, models, diagrams, 3D studies, or simulations.
06. Develop
Select the strongest direction and transform it into a coherent architectural proposal.
07. Pass On
Demonstrate how the architecture could accommodate another generation of change.
08. Communicate
Create a clear narrative showing the complete journey:
Site / Existing Condition → Analysis → Alternatives → Intervention → Future Adaptation
Competition Categories
The competition features two categories, Professional and Student, which will be evaluated separately.
Professional
Open to architects, designers, studios, researchers, and other professionals working within architecture and the built environment.
Participants may enter individually or as a team of 2–5 members. The full name, email address, and phone number of every team member must be provided during registration to ensure accurate participant records, communication, and prize distribution.
Student
Open to currently enrolled students in architecture, design, urbanism, landscape architecture, and related disciplines.
Participants may enter individually or as a team of 2–5 members. The full name, email address, and phone number of every team member must be provided during registration to ensure accurate participant records, communication, and prize distribution.
The competition is open worldwide to participants aged 18 or older.
Submission Expectations
The final submission should communicate both the architectural outcome and the design process.
You must submit
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A FORMAS AI Board documenting the design process and final proposal.
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A 3D and spatial representation using Cartesian 3D.
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3–5 final architectural visualizations.
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A concise written narrative explaining the story behind the project.
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Hero images in 4:5, 9:16, and 16:9 formats.
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Short videos of approximately 12 seconds in 4:5, 9:16, and 16:9 formats.
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A site diagram identifying the selected 50 × 50 m area and explaining the proposal’s response to its context.
Supporting Materials
These are optional but strongly encouraged:
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Concept and transformation diagrams.
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Site and existing-condition analysis.
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Hand-drawn or digital sketches.
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Additional 3D models.
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Key iterations and alternative directions.
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Relevant architectural plans.
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Relevant sections and elevations.
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Diagrams explaining future adaptation.
Evaluation Criteria
1. Architectural & Spatial Intelligence: 30%
Quality of the architectural idea, spatial organization, program, functionality, material thinking, and overall design resolution.
2. Design Process & AI Workflow: 25%
How effectively FORMAS, AI, computational methods, and other design tools contribute to exploration and decision-making. The jury should be able to follow the evolution of the project rather than seeing only a final result.
3. Continuity & Transformation: 20%
How intelligently the proposal engages with what already exists and establishes a meaningful relationship between inheritance, intervention, and future adaptation.
4. Communication & Narrative: 15%
Clarity and quality of drawings, diagrams, visualizations, written narrative, and overall presentation.
5. Context & Design Rigour: 10%
Understanding of the selected site’s environmental, social, cultural, structural, or urban conditions and the credibility of the architectural response.
Awards Structure
The competition currently represents more than $120,000 in prizes and participant benefits, combining OpenAI sponsorship, FORMAS access and prizes, cash awards, and PAACADEMY Pro memberships. Â
Professional
1st Place
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$1,500 FORMAS cash prize
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$18,000 OpenAI credits
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3 × 6-month OpenAI Pro Lite
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Up to 5 FORMAS PRO seats for 3 months
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PAACADEMY Pro membership for each member
2nd Place
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$1,000 FORMAS cash prize
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$14,000 OpenAI credits
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3 × 6-month OpenAI Pro Lite
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Up to 5 FORMAS PRO seats for 3 months
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PAACADEMY Pro membership for each member
3rd Place
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$750 FORMAS cash prize
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$10,000 OpenAI credits
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3 × 6-month OpenAI Pro Lite
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PAACADEMY Pro membership for each member
4th–10th Recognized Projects
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2 × 6-month OpenAI Pro Lite per entry
Student
1st Place
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$1,000 FORMAS cash prize
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3 × 6-month OpenAI Pro Lite
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Up to 5 FORMAS PRO seats for 3 months
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PAACADEMY Pro membership
2nd Place
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$500 FORMAS cash prize
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3 × 6-month OpenAI Pro Lite
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Up to 5 FORMAS PRO seats for 3 months
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PAACADEMY Pro membership
3rd Place
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$250 FORMAS cash prize
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3 × 6-month OpenAI Pro Lite
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PAACADEMY Pro membership
4th–10th Recognized Projects
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2 × 6-month OpenAI Pro Lite per entry
Honorable Mentions
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Honorable Mentions 3+3
Six additional projects (3 from each category) will receive an Honorable Mention, with one OpenAI Pro Lite seat for six months per selected entry.
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Most Popular Choice × 3
Three projects will receive the Most Popular Choice Award, recognizing outstanding public engagement during the competition.
Participants are encouraged to share their design process and project throughout the competition, not only after submission. They could share posts, reels, news, stories and updates and tag FORMAS.AI, PAACADEMY, OpenAI, and Parametric Architecture, using #CartesianForms #FORMAS and #PAACADEMY.Â
Register Now:
https://paacademy.com/competit…
Timeline:
Competition Launch: September 25, 2026
Early-Bird Registration: September 25 – October 20
Regular Registration: October 21 – November 15
Late Registration: November 16 – December 6
5-Hour FORMAS Workshop: November 22
Registration Closes: December 6, 23:59 UTC
Final Submission Deadline: December 13, 23:59 UTC
PA + FORMAS Eligibility / Initial Review: December 13–15
Jury Review: December 16–19
Jury Comments / Final Scoring: December 20–21
Final Verification: December 22
Winners Announced: December 23, 2026