Introduction

COMPETITION ORGANISERS
Beyond Isolation: 
Senior Housing

Buildner is excited to announce the results of its Beyond Isolation: Senior Housing International competition. 

This architecture ideas competition focused on alleviating the isolation experienced by aging populations the world over. The brief was built on the premise that, as individuals grow older, they often face increased physical and social inactivity that can negatively impact physical and mental health. Living alone or in isolation can exacerbate these issues, with higher risks for accidents, depression, and difficulty accessing essential services.

The competition aimed to reconnect seniors with their communities by inviting participants to conceive innovative housing strategies to actively reintegrate elderly residents back into their social fabrics. Buildner and its jury sought designs that provide high-quality housing as well as incorporate features enabling seniors to engage with their surroundings in meaningful ways.

Participants were given the freedom to select a site of their choice. The brief encouraged participants to explore housing integrated with additional programs such as retail shops, activities, and hubs for exchange. Buildner collaborated with a fantastic international jury: Flora Lee is Associate Partner leading the Los Angeles office of MAD Architects; Ondřej Chybík is a co-founder of the Czech firm CHYBIK + KRISTOF; Alan Dunlop of Alan Dunlop Architects is an architect with a portfolio of award winning buildings including the internationally renowned Hazelwood School for children and young people who are dual sensory impaired: blind and deaf; Avi Friedman is a professor of architecture at McGill University, Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture and president of Avi Friedman Consultants, a design firm with a focus on affordable and sustainable residential environments; Dr Nirit Pilosof is an architect and researcher exploring the intersection of Healthcare, Technology, and Architecture, and the Head of Research in Innovation and Transformation at Sheba Medical Centre in Israel, and a Faculty Member at the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University; Susanne Siepl-Coates was a member of the architecture faculty at Kansas State University for over thirty years, where her teaching focused on the exploration of the relationships between the built environment, human health, and well-being; Guillem Carrera Rey is an architect who runs the Terragona, Spain-based studio Guillem Carrera Arquitecte and works in the fields of architecture, urban planning, landscape design, interior design, restoration and rehabilitation; and Adam Snow Frampton, AIA, is an architect and a Principal at Only If and a Design Critic at Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) and the Fall 2023 Gensler Visiting Critic at Cornell University AAP.

Buildner and its jury panel would like to thank all participants for their work and to congratulate the winners and shortlisted participants for their outstanding ideas.

We sincerely thank our jury panel
for their time and expertise

Flora Lee

Associate Partner, MAD Architects

USA

Guillem Carrera Rey

Guillem Carrera Arquitecte

Spain

Ondřej Chybík

CHYBIK + KRISTOF

Czech Republic

Alan Dunlop

Architect, Alan Dunlop Architects

UK

Adam Snow Frampton

Only If

USA

Avi Friedman

Professor at McGill University

USA

Dr Nirit Pilosof

Head of Research in Innovation and Transformation at Sheba Medical Centre

Israel

Maria Alessandra Segantini

founding partner and director of C+S Architects

Italy

Susanne Siepl-Coates

Professor Dipl. Ing. Emerita of Architecture at Kansas State University

USA

Steven Wright

Principal at Perkins Eastman

USA

1st Prize Winner

Project name

La Vie; Shared living room

We take part in architecture competitions because they're a chance to unleash our creativity, learn from others, and possibly win exciting projects. It's a way for us to grow personally and professionally while sharing our passion for design with the world.

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Authors
Nasim Mollazadeh Sorkhabi
Niki Haddad Razavi
Negin Shokry
Sara Davari
Country
Germany
  • 9/10 Linework
  • 10/10 Quality of drawings
  • 10/10 Balance of color
  • 9/10 Layout
  • 9/10 Hierarchy
  • 7/10 Annotation
  • 8/10 Text
  • 9/10 Clarity of story
  • 9/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10 Quality of overall presentation

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

THRESHOLD FOR HAPPINESS

Participation in ideation contests represents a valuable opportunity for us due to the creative freedom they offer and our ongoing interest in research. We chose this competition for its potential to explore new ways of living and enhancing the quality of life for older adults, a group often ignored in society. Additionally, as young architects starting our professional careers, it can be a great opportunity to showcase our philosophy, potential, and reflections on architecture to the world.

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Authors
Carmen De Martin Hernandez
Adrian Gutierrez Hato
Teresa Dorado Jimenez
Manuel Merino Fernandez-Andes
Country
Spain
  • 9/10 Linework
  • 10/10 Quality of drawings
  • 10/10 Balance of color
  • 9/10 Layout
  • 9/10 Hierarchy
  • 7/10 Annotation
  • 8/10 Text
  • 9/10 Clarity of story
  • 9/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10 Quality of overall presentation

3rd Prize Winner +
Buildner Student Award

Project name

Re-Sanatorium

In our opinion, architecture competitions provide a wonderful opportunity to challenge ourselves by engaging in unconventional projects around the world. We thoroughly enjoy exploring different cultures, and architecture competitions serve as a means to do just that.

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Authors
Karolina Maria Rorat
Ewa Helena Maniak
Zofia Zuzanna Zwijacz
Country
Poland
+122 points Buildner University Rankings
  • 9/10 Linework
  • 10/10 Quality of drawings
  • 10/10 Balance of color
  • 9/10 Layout
  • 9/10 Hierarchy
  • 7/10 Annotation
  • 8/10 Text
  • 9/10 Clarity of story
  • 9/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10 Quality of overall presentation

Buildner Sustainability Award

Project name

Tatami Castle

Architecture competitions provide us with a way to experiment with our ideas that are not limited like in the professional field, and not directed like in school. It essentially is a platform for creative freedom within the set rules given by the brief.

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Authors
Koh Noguchi
Jintatsu Asada
Tung Hua Chen
Country
United Kingdom
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
  • 9/10 Linework
  • 10/10 Quality of drawings
  • 10/10 Balance of color
  • 9/10 Layout
  • 9/10 Hierarchy
  • 7/10 Annotation
  • 8/10 Text
  • 9/10 Clarity of story
  • 9/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10 Quality of overall presentation

Honorable mentions

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Project name

Maxi-Maze

I participate in architecture competitions to give freedom to my imagination and creativity, and also to experiment with new ideas, forms and technologies. Furthermore, as a young architect, competitions are a way for me to improve my graphic design and communication skills, as well as gain greater visibility on a professional level.

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Author
Alarico Ruffino
Country
Italy
Project name

New Danchi: Isolated Aging in a Multigenerational Community

Competitions like this allow us to join the conversation on pressing global issues and explore if and how architecture can contribute. They can remove certain barriers to being innovative and radical when approaching solutions. I also enjoy reflecting on and learning from the variety of perspectives on these different design prompts.

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Author
Erik Jinmatsu Roberson
Country
United States
Project name

Aging Together: Seniors at the Heart of Urban Renewal

We believe that participating in architecture competitions can develop our perception of spaces and sensitize to the issues of modern world. Moreover we think that contact with people from all around the world can enrich our design experiences.

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Authors
Klaudia Kochanowska
Krystian Grzegorz Kubat
Aleksandra Adamska
Zofia Anna Gancarczyk
Country
Poland
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
Project name

Senior's Housing

We believe that competitions are the most democratic exercises in architecture. They are the most honest way to highlight the need for good architectural projects to address the demands of a constantly changing world. Moreover, we think they challenge us, take us out of our comfort zone, and make us more creative.

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Authors
Thiago Biazus Danieleski
Juliana Tojal
Gustavo Azzolini
Country
Brazil
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
Project name

Custodians of the Castle

Competitions give the opportunity to test ideas uncontained from real world constraints. New concepts can be experimented which broaden our research and offer critiques or opportunities for implementation in our own future projects.

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Authors
Yat Long Aaron Fan
Chantelle Reme Margaret Lennard
Samantha Jennifer Powell
Christopher George Adams
Country
United Kingdom
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
Project name

Two courtyards

Participation in architectural competitions allows one to better ones skills and acquire new knowledge, as well as expand ones perspective and gain unique, precious experience. There is a great value in observation and connecting with other human beings, that is done in a very particular way during such competitions. They allow for deeper analysis and understanding of other approaches and work ethics. They also enable dialogs with people from various cultures and with different background. The amount of resilience and dedication that is required to successfully design architectural competition project is a good training and test of ones abilities and stress mitigation techniques, which are not particularly necessary during usual university level coursework. They light up passion and commitment, and often remind one of why they chose this path in the first place. This particular competition encompasses architecture, science, sociology and philosophy and since we're always looking for new, exciting challenges, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to fulfill my intellectual and spiritual desires.

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Shortlisted projects

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Community of Craft

Sophie Page
United Kingdom

Through the Membrane

On Kiu Anku Cheung
Leia Anne J Wilson
United Kingdom

WOVEN

Jennifer Lynn Preston
United States

Two courtyards

MichaŁ WacŁaw Pietrusiewicz
Krzysztof MichaŁ Afeltowicz

West Pomeranian University of Technology, Zachodniopomorski Uniwersytet Technologiczny w Szczecinie, ZUT)

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

Bridging Generations

Marco Basotti
Simone Totino
Italy

Senior's Housing

Thiago Biazus Danieleski
Juliana Tojal
Gustavo Azzolini

Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
Brazil

Beyond Courtyards

Sangyeon Lee
Chankeun Park
Byunghyun Lee
Yoonseo Cho
South Korea

PILLARS FOREST

Antonio Jacopo Laurenza
Ludovica Mauri
Valentina Mojoli

Politecnico di Milano / Polytechnic University of Milan

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Italy

Maxi-Maze

Alarico Ruffino
Italy

Intergenerational Spiral

Olle Johnsson
Sweden

LieGRID

Luca Faroldi
Matteo Cucchiani
Alberto Mora

Politecnico di Milano / Polytechnic University of Milan

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Italy

Rethink Aging

Iro Maria Karountzou
Greece

Aging Together: Seniors at the Heart of Urban Renewal

Klaudia Kochanowska
Krystian Grzegorz Kubat
Aleksandra Adamska
Zofia Anna Gancarczyk

Warsaw University of Technology , Politechnika Warszawska

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

The Pyramid

Menno Joop Johan Smit
Netherlands

Better together

Natalia DembiŃska

Lodz University of Technology

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

Open heart

Zofia Zuchowicz
Tomasz Andrzej Bogusz
MaŁgorzata Izabela Kolasa

HAG Human Architecture Group

Poland

Rooted

Kok Shu Herng
Joshua Teh Tze Hey
Wiktor Mateusz Krzystolik
United Kingdom

Custodians of the Castle

Yat Long Aaron Fan
Chantelle Reme Margaret Lennard
Samantha Jennifer Powell
Christopher George Adams
United Kingdom

Co-living Continuum

Catherine Mary Cl Holme
Natalie Olivia Raine
Richard Scott Woodcock
Simon Lewington
United Kingdom

CA' STLE IN VENICE

Diana Tortolato
Francesco Zavoli
Sara Bellati
Davide Betti

Politecnico di Milano / Polytechnic University of Milan

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Italy

Re-Sanatorium

Karolina Maria Rorat
Ewa Helena Maniak
Zofia Zuzanna Zwijacz

Warsaw University of Technology , Politechnika Warszawska

+122 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

Serenity Haven Residences

Dang Minh Khoi

University College of Northern Denmark (UCN) , Professionshøjskolen UCN

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
France

La Vie; Shared living room

Nasim Mollazadeh Sorkhabi
Niki Haddad Razavi
Negin Shokry
Sara Davari
Germany

Cromwell House

Keith James Evans
Amy Leanne F Blencoe
James Oliver Salman
Aston Richardson Oakes
United Kingdom

Architecture for Social Inclusion

Toni Michael Nicklas
Pit Pannewitz
Lukas Otten
Lucca Andreas Epple

Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura - UPV / EHU, University of the Basque Country

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Spain

co-incident village

Mateusz Adam Skalski
Julia Wiktoria Lupa
Julia Kutera
Blanka Alicja MikŁasz
Poland

Ageless Village

Aleksandra Monika Mieszaniec
Marta Ewa BuŁawa
Urszula Jędrzejak
Poland

Successful Ageing in West Footscray

Zishan Gao
Jianing Hu
Gerald Low
Australia

Sunset Homes

Xingyuan Zhu
Wei Qiu

KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Sweden

THRESHOLD FOR HAPPINESS

Carmen De Martin Hernandez
Adrian Gutierrez Hato
Teresa Dorado Jimenez
Manuel Merino Fernandez-Andes
Spain

New Danchi: Isolated Aging in a Multigenerational Community

Erik Jinmatsu Roberson
United States

Un giardino sul mare

Matteo Calcagno
Irene Gnocchi
Italy

ETERNA PRIMAVERA

Lucas Knust
Álvaro NicolÁs Brauchi Venegas
Maximiliano Olivares
Thomas Wanckel
Chile

Senior City Village

Khulan Batsaikhan
United States

GRAFTED HOUSE

Xuanzhi Zhang

Parsons School of Design | The New School

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
United States

A surrounding World

Paolo Umberto Montesanto
Germany

Tatami Castle

Koh Noguchi
Jintatsu Asada
Tung Hua Chen

Architectural Association School of Architecture

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
United Kingdom

Crossroads

Jeremy James Iannucci
United States

Crossing the Gulf of Age

Yicheng Wang
United States

HAVRE DE PIERRE

Chloe Leportier
Tom Nestor Claude Courtois
France