The International Solar Alliance (ISA), in collaboration with GRIHA Council, has launched the ISA-iSUN Design Challenge: Energising the Frontline – Architecture for SIDS Resilience, an international student competition inviting architecture and engineering institutions worldwide to develop innovative, solar-powered and climate-responsive design solutions for Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
The challenge focuses on three island nations—Mauritius, the Maldives and Fiji—and invites participants to develop resort proposals for real and hypothetical sites. The competition aims to integrate solar energy into architectural design from the earliest stages of planning, encouraging solutions that respond to the environmental, climatic and resource constraints of island destinations.
Participants are expected to incorporate passive design strategies, resource efficiency and climate resilience into their proposals. The objective is to develop scalable and replicable design approaches that can support more sustainable tourism infrastructure while responding to the specific challenges faced by small island communities.
The competition is hosted by the International Solar Alliance and executed by GRIHA Council, with support from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Awards and Submission Deadline
The challenge offers cash awards for winning entries at each of the three sites. The first-place winner will receive US$5,000, the first runner-up US$2,000, and the second runner-up US$1,000. Across all three sites, the competition features nine awards with a total prize pool of US$24,000. Submissions will be evaluated anonymously by an international jury.
There is no registration fee, making the competition accessible to participating architecture and engineering institutions worldwide.
The Phase 1 submission deadline is 15 November 2026, at 11:59 PM Indian Standard Time (IST).
Registration and Design Brief
Architecture and engineering students and institutions interested in participating can review the competition requirements, explore the design brief and register through the official website.
- Competition website and registration: https://isa-isun.grihaindia.org/
- Design brief: https://isa-isun.grihaindia.org/design-brief
- International jury: https://isa-isun.grihaindia.org/jury
The ISA-iSUN Design Challenge offers students an opportunity to explore the intersection of architecture, renewable energy, sustainable tourism and climate adaptation. By addressing the distinct conditions of Mauritius, the Maldives and Fiji, the competition encourages design thinking that could contribute to more resilient and resource-efficient island environments.
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