Architecture at Zero 2023 is a design competition for decarbonization, equity and resilience, open to students and professionals worldwide. It serves to engage the fields of architecture, design, engineering and planning in the pursuit of sustainable design.

The Architecture at Zero 2023 competition challenge is to design an agriculture center, connecting the history of California’s first Black town, to its present aspiration to become a destination for sustainable agriculture and Black history. Graduate students and professionals will also design housing for farm students on the site. Key aspects of this project include responding to the challenges of equity and resilience through the design solution.

Entries are judged on the presentation submission including the material highlighting the resilience and equity aspects of the submission.  A Technical Review Panel will convene to consider the decarbonization strategies of each entry. This Technical Evaluation is then provided to the Jury.  The Technical Evaluation is not the sole criterion on which entries will be judged but acts as a complement to the overall project design evaluation.

Entries are weighed individually, not in competition with others. Jury decisions will be based solely on the materials submitted. Criteria include quality of design, resolution of the program or idea, innovation, thoughtfulness, and technique.