An award for graduating students

Archicad Thesis of the Year

Are you a student about to graduate? Nordic BIM Finland Oy runs the Archicad Thesis of the Year competition, open to students in built-environment fields studying full time at Finnish universities and universities of applied sciences.

The award is handed out next in late 2027.

Graduating in late 2026 but didn't enter the 2026 round? You can still take part in 2027, as long as you graduate between 2 September 2026 and 1 September 2027. Entries are open now.

Enter your thesis

Enter your finished thesis for the 2026 award. If you worked with a partner or as a group, please ask the other authors before you enter. You can enter up to 1 September 2026.

Thesis requirements

In an Archicad thesis, the student or group uses Archicad as part of the design. The work can cover building and structural design, modelling, or interior and space planning.

Theses where Archicad has been used as a central tool can enter. The work can be an independent project or part of a wider cross-disciplinary collaboration. Work that brings new angles or develops ways of working in design and delivery is especially welcome.

7 PETI pohja 1_500 web
Outi Honkanen - päärakennus

Criteria and weightings

Entries are scored against five criteria, each worth 20%.

  • Information content and organisation, and model content (20%)
  • Use of cross-disciplinary collaboration and its content, such as LCA, MEP, structural and teamwork (20%)
  • Building-permit suitability and compatibility (20%)
  • Visualisation and sales material produced in the work (20%)
  • Innovation (20%)

2025 winners

Thesis: Psychologically Accessible Safehouse for Suicidal People
Read more about Sofia
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First place

The jury on the 2025 winner. An accomplished work, architectural and striking in its formal language.

Special praise for how completely the Archicad model was used, both to shape an individual form and to produce the presentation material. The sections and curved forms were handled with real skill. The significance and personal nature of the subject came through in a finished, considered whole.

1 PETI sisäpiha some web

Terms and entry

  • The application for the 2026 round has ended
  • Entries for the 2027 round are open now
  • Your thesis is finished and you graduate between 2 September 2026 and 1 September 2027
  • The author or group must have the right to hand the Archicad model used in the thesis to Nordic BIM Group for judging
  • You can enter your work only once
  • The thesis is made with the latest Archicad version, alone or as a group
  • A student or full licence can be used, depending on how the content is used afterwards
  • Nordic BIM Group may use screenshots from the Archicad model in marketing, with author credit
  • You can enter your finished thesis up to 1 September 2027
  • We reserve the right to run the competition only if there are enough entries
  • We do not accept entries by email. We only handle entries submitted through the form during the entry period
  • The next round is open 2 September 2027 to 1 September 2028
Archicad Thesis of the Year

How the rounds run

  1. Fill in the form on this page carefully.
  2. After the entry period closes, we review the entries.
  3. We tell every entrant whether their thesis goes through.
  4. For those selected, we ask for the Archicad model used in the thesis for review in autumn.
  5. Winner selection: September to October
  6. Announcement and prize-giving: October to November
  7. Winners published on this page by the end of November

Awards

  • First place: 2,000 € gift card
  • Second to third places: honourable mentions

Questions about entering: edu.fi@nordicbim.com

Enter your Archicad thesis

Entries for the 2027 round close on 1 September 2027. First place takes a 2,000 € gift card. Enter the work you already built.

Enter your thesis