dewan award for architecture 2026
AGRITECTURAL VILLAGE
A new model for rural living in Badyiat Al-Samawa in Iraq
Overview
Call For Entries
Dewan Award invites participants to propose an ‘AgriTectural Village’ — a new and replicable model for integrated rural living in Badiyat Al-Samawa, where agriculture, settlement, and landscape are conceived as a single, interdependent system.
Al-Samawa
The city of Al-Samawa, in Al-Muthanna Governorate, lies within southern Mesopotamia, a region widely recognised as one of the principal centres in the early development of human civilisation. This broader landscape witnessed the emergence of some of the world’s earliest urban settlements, alongside foundational advances in agriculture, irrigation, administration, and written communication.
Vision
The Vision for the AgriTectural Village begins with the well-being of the people who will live there. It seeks the renewal of rural life in Iraq’s arid and climate-stressed regions not through productivity alone, but through a settlement that supports quality of life, social cohesion, and environmental resilience in equal measure.
Design Challenge
Participants should approach the village not as a collection of separate components to be designed in isolation, but as an integrated system in which every decision — from the masterplan to the individual dwelling — reflects and reinforces the project’s overall vision.
Design Scope
1. The Village Masterplan
2. Architectural Prototypes
2.1. Farmhouse
2.2. One Village Core Building
The Prizes
Dewan Award for Architecture awards a total of $10,000 in cash prizes, three fully funded invitations for the Top 3 winners, and invitations for Honourable Mentions and finalists to attend the award ceremony. Winners receive medals, certificates, and a publication for the Top 10 recognised entries.
Detailed Competition Brief
Access the complete competition brief, including site information, design requirements, submission guidelines, and evaluation criteria. Everything you need to begin your proposal is included.
Information Package
Download the complete competition information package. These materials provide the technical foundation necessary for an accurate understanding of Al-samawa and for developing a rigorous design response
