Rising from Ashes
Dezeen Competitions: TerraViva’s latest competition calls for architects and designers to create a place of worship in Altadena, California.
Proposals should intend to replace ruins caused by wildfires in January 2025, which destroyed over 9,000 buildings, including homes, schools, offices and places of worship.
This competition is now closed
Organiser: Terraviva
Competition: Rising from Ashes
Judges:
- Martina Rosati, lead architect, Zaha Hadid Architects
- Nicolás Campodonico, architect
- Amanda Iglesias, architect, curator and liturgical consultant
- Jordi Espinet, architect and creative director
- Ingo Krapf, interior architect and product designer
- Laura Mucciolo, architect, La Sapienza University
- Rean Yan Zhuo, architect and founder, Arkee Studio
- Amparo Dominguez Soler, founder, Open House Valencia
Submission deadline: 8 December 2025
Winner announcement: 19 January 2026
Prizes: the first prize is $7,000, the second prize is $2,000 and the third prize is $1,000. There are also five golden mentions that will receive a coupon for free a TerraViva membership and ten honourable mentions that will receive a coupon for a free competition. Thirty finalists will be published on TerraViva’s channels
Competition overview
Nestled at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Los Angeles, Altadena is a community with a strong identity between the urban and the wild.
In January 2025, Altadena witnessed one of the most devastating natural disasters in California’s recent history. A wildfire of extreme behaviour − fuelled by hurricane-force winds and prolonged drought − burned through more than 14,000 acres of land.
Within hours, flames reached the residential areas at the base of the mountains, destroying over 9,000 buildings, including homes, schools, offices and fourteen places of worship.
Rising from Ashes challenges designers to envision a new place of worship for 400 people, where the mystical meets the social and the liturgical engages with the everyday.
Participants are invited to focus with the utmost attention on the theme of environmental resilience, taking into serious consideration within their project the risks of future extreme weather events.
Eligibility and judging criteria
Designs must sensitively integrate into the surrounding natural environment. Projects that express a special sensitivity towards the programme and quality architectural solutions will be highly appreciated.
The jury will evaluate all the proposals according to the following principles:
- Originality of the concept
- Integration with the context
- Creative interpretation of the programme
- Sensitive use of materials and textures
- Structural and spatial innovation
- Climate resilience strategies
- Graphic representation
How to enter
Participants are required to submit two A1 panels and a brief text describing the project.
For more information visit the competition’s website.
Submission deadlines
The submission deadline is 8 December 2025 and winners will be announced on 19 January 2026.
About Terraviva
TerraViva is a platform dedicated to the organisation of international architecture and design competitions.
The organisation connects talented designers around the world with partners and stakeholders looking for high-quality projects to rehabilitate a building, redesign an urban plot, or transform an entire district.
In addition to the organisation’s focus on architecture, it also works on graphic design contests, providing the ideal platform for international creatives to showcase their visual communication skills and contribute to innovative projects.
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