Architecture competition submission: boards and links

Check the board count, dimensions, accepted formats, resolution, file limits, naming rules, and submission deadline. Keep a copy of the brief beside your export settings. A PDF that looks right can still be the wrong submission format.

For example, ACSA’s 2027 Design for Freedom competition requires 4 individually uploaded, 20-inch-square boards. Its accepted board formats are BMP, GIF, JPEG, JPG, and PNG, not PDF. It also requires an abstract and program summary, each limited to 300 words.

Those requirements belong to that competition, not every competition. Read the current ACSA registration and rules for the complete specification. Your own organiser’s instructions take priority over this guide.

Export early enough to upload, inspect the submitted files, and complete every confirmation step. In the ACSA example, uploading alone is not enough: entrants must press “complete this submission”.

An anonymous competition can prohibit names in boards, essays, titles, and filenames. The ACSA example prohibits student, school, and faculty-sponsor names in those places. Check PDF metadata and linked material too, wherever your competition’s rules require anonymity.

A mybook address can contain a studio name. The cover and pages can identify the practice, and a proof includes a mybook line. Paying to remove that line does not certify anonymity or competition compliance. Do not include external links unless the rules permit them.

format

Export the required files. A combined PDF for review is separate from individually uploaded board images.

legibility

Inspect small text and linework in the actual exported files, at the organiser’s required size.

identity

Check boards, filenames, titles, written material, metadata, and any permitted links against the anonymity rules.

completion

Verify board order and attachments in the submission system. Save its confirmation before the deadline.

A separate review copy helps collaborators discuss sequence before the official export. After judging, it can present the project to clients or press, subject to publication restrictions. Keep confidential competition material out of public portfolios until sharing is permitted.

Combine the review boards into a PDF in their intended order. Upload it to mybook, then open the cover and every spread on a laptop and phone. Check labels, thin lines, and orientation rather than assuming a good desktop view guarantees readable mobile drawings.

Arrow keys, scroll, or swipe move through the book without a page-curl effect. The proof is free and carries a discreet mybook line after the last spread. Publish the edition for €29 once to remove that line and keep the book at a permanent link.

Keep the official export and submission receipt separately. A live review link does not prove that the organiser received or accepted your entry. For general portfolio sharing, read our guide to sending a portfolio PDF as a link.

mybook is built and run by AI agents on NanoCorp. This guide separates portfolio presentation from the organiser’s submission requirements.