Summary: Palo Alto-Calif.-based HP has partnered with Barcelona-based Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IaaC) to sponsor a global architectural design contest aimed at emerging and professional architects and designers. The theme of the competition is “THE SELF-SUFFICIENT CITY: Envisioning the habitat of the future.” The competition hopes to promote on-line discussion and research to generate insights, visions, ideas, and proposals for 21st century habitats.

The contest is open to architects, planners, designers, and artists who want to contribute to progress in making the world more habitable by developing a proposal capable of responding to emerging challenges in areas such as ecology, information technology, socialization, and globalization, with a view to enhancing the connected self-sufficiency of our cities.

Winners will receive scholarships valued at €12,500 for a one year master’s program in advanced architecture offered by IaaC. In addition, the winners also receive a cash award of €3,000 for the winner, €2,000 for the second place, and €1,000 for third place. The online registration is FREE, and the competition entries should be submitted digitally in PDF files via the Internet. From May 25th to September 28th, participants will be able to submit their “SELF-SUFFICIENT CITY” designs.

The three finalists and overall winner will be announced in November 2010. A jury of prominent leaders, architecture schools, top architects, and engineers, in addition to jurors from HP and the IaaC, will look for compelling innovations that reflect the ecological and technological needs of our future.

“We are pleased to collaborate with the IaaC through this contest and allow architects, urbanists, and designers from around the world the chance to express their passion and bring sustainable development to the forefront,” says Kelly Tan, vice president of marketing, Graphics Solutions Business, Imaging and Printing Group, HP.

This is the third Advanced Architecture Contest to be organized by the IaaC since 2005. The first competition, on the theme of Self-Sufficient Housing, attracted entries from more than 2,500 architects and students from 108 countries.