Sustainable City Design — Atlântia STEM Olympiad

CATEGORY VISION

Category Vision and Scope

Rapid urbanization, population growth and the climate crisis make it imperative to urgently redesign traditional city architecture and infrastructure. The Sustainable City Design category aims to encourage technology-driven and holistic urban planning projects that increase quality of life while zeroing out cities' carbon footprints. Participants are expected to develop realistic and scalable projects that optimize building energy consumption, make transportation networks smart, integrate green spaces with urban life, maximize resource efficiency, and serve as foundations for future smart city ecosystems.

FOCUS AREAS

Thematic Focus Areas

Energy-Efficient Buildings and Green Architecture

Net-zero energy buildings that generate their own energy; next-generation sustainable insulation materials that revolutionize thermal insulation; smart building management systems (BMS) and AI-powered energy/water optimization; vertical forests, roof gardens and urban building facades that can harvest rainwater.

Smart Transportation and Mobility Systems

AI-based signalization and smart intersection management systems that reduce traffic congestion; electric and autonomous public transportation integrations; seamless integration of micromobility (bicycle, e-scooter) networks into urban infrastructure; innovative route optimization solutions that minimize carbon emissions in logistics and cargo distribution.

Eco-Friendly Urban Planning and Infrastructure

Wind corridors and green infrastructure design that reduce urban heat island effects; highly accessible settlement plans suitable for the '15-Minute City' concept; smart waste collection and underground logistics networks; resilient sponge city infrastructure engineering that withstands disasters and climate shocks.

RULES

Participation Rules

RULE 01

Architectural and Engineering Integration

Designs must not consist solely of visual concepts, but must carry parameters compliant with civil, mechanical and electrical engineering principles, and zoning and urban planning standards.

RULE 02

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Data Analytics

The use of GIS tools in the planning phase of projects, analysis of urban density, topography and meteorological data, and their inclusion in the report is expected.

RULE 03

Scalability and Socio-Economic Compatibility

The cost analysis, implementation timeline and social impact of proposed urban transformation or new city models must be supported by rational data.

Rules Booklet

SCORING

Evaluation Criteria

Criterion	Points
Urban Vision and Design Originality	25
Architectural / Engineering Technical Accuracy	25
Sustainability and Environmental Impact	20
Applicability and Scalability	20
Presentation and Layout / Simulation Quality	10
Total	100

PROCESS

Competition Process

Stage 1

Preliminary — Report and Concept Review

The project's architectural reports, GIS analyses and sustainability matrices are reviewed by the jury. Projects that do not comply with fundamental engineering principles or do not meet sustainability criteria are eliminated.

Stage 2

Final Presentation and Layout Defense

Finalist teams present their work including 3D render designs, urban simulation videos or building prototype models to the expert jury panel and defend their projects in a technical Q&A session.