Building Envelope Design Competition
Manitoba needs buildings that perform better in a changing climate — and building envelopes are where that begins.
Introduction
The 2026 Building Envelope Design Competition invites students and professionals to explore what future-ready, cold climate envelope design can look like for multi-unit residential buildings (MURB) in Manitoba.
Participants will design a Tier 3, NECB 2020–compliant envelope assembly for a theoretical MURB, demonstrating how emerging performance standards can be achieved without sacrificing architectural intent, occupant comfort, or real-world constructability.
The competition exists to accelerate design and technical capacity within the architecture, engineering, construction, and building science community; support readiness for evolving building and energy codes; encourage innovative, integrated envelope design; and showcase practical solutions suited to Manitoba’s climate.
As Manitoba prepares for higher-performance building standards, establishing practical and climate-appropriate envelope solutions will be key to successful code adoption and industry readiness.
TECHNICAL & MODELING REQUIREMENTS
Entrants will design the building envelope for a theoretical multi-unit residential building (MURB) located in Manitoba.
Submissions must focus on the fourth-floor apartment, including:
- exterior wall assemblies
- roof assemblies
- windows and balcony doors
- balcony details
- interface details
Entries must target Tier 3 performance under the NECB 2020 performance path for a cold-climate multi-unit residential building in Manitoba. Participants will design the envelope for the fourth-floor apartment, including walls, roofs, windows, and balcony assemblies.
Whole-building energy modeling is not required. Thermal performance and thermal bridging may be demonstrated using manufacturer data and approved calculation tools. Full technical details are provided in the Competition Brief.
Submissions must include:
- drawings of the building envelope
- assembly and detail information
- a short design rationale
- bill of materials
- poster boards for showcase
Full instructions, scales, templates, and calculation guidance are provided in the Competition Brief.
Evaluation Criteria
Submissions will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Thermal performance
- Daylight and views
- Climate resiliency
- Future proofing
- Aesthetics
- Local materials
PRIZES & RECOGNITION
Cash prizes will be awarded in both the Professional and Student streams:
$5,000
First Prize
Student and Professional Streams for all Prizes
$2,500 & $1,000
Second and Third Prize
Designs to be Submitted by March
Winning submissions will be:
- Announced during the SBM Awards Gala in March 2026 in Winnipeg
- Constructed as envelope assemblies for additional testing by BETAC at RRC Polytech
- Celebrated across social media
- Showcased online through Sustainable Building Manitoba’s website
- Shared with government, industry and academia
Testing by BETAC adds an applied research component that allows winning designs to be evaluated beyond drawings, enabling real-world learning regarding constructability and cold climate performance.
Register for the Competition
Please fill out the below form to complete your Registration
Timeline
Wednesday, January 14th
Registration Opens
Monday, February 9th
Registration Closing Date
Monday, February 23rd
Q&A Deadline
In order to guarantee equal opportunities to all competition participants. No new questions will be answered after this deadline.
Monday, March 2nd
Closing Date for Submissions
Wednesday, March 23rd
Competition Awards Evening
Doors open at 5:00pm, Awards at 6:30pm
Spring/Summer 2026
Winning Submissions to be Built by BETAC
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
