Annual International Architecture Competition

MICROHOME

Small living, huge impact! Edition #4

Results

Foreword

Competition organisers

MICROHOME

MICROHOME is the fourth edition of an annual architecture competition launched as part of Buildner’s Small-Scale Architecture series and in partnership with ARCHHIVE BOOKS publications. As the affordable housing crisis continues to expand to cities around the globe, and as natural resources dwindle in the face of climate and economic crises, the competition seeks replicable ideas for living small, to better serve our changing world.

The MICROHOME competition series challenges participants to submit designs for an off-grid, modular structure to accommodate a hypothetical young professional couple. The only project requirement is that the total floor does not exceed 25 m². Participants are encouraged to rethink spatial organization and incorporate unique aesthetics, new technologies, and innovative materials. Projects can be set on any site, of any size, anywhere in the world.

Buildner collaborated with an international jury that included: Sevince Bayrak, architect, writer, and co-founder of SO?, an Istanbul-based studio working on architecture and urbanism; Anne Cecilie Haug, the director of staffing, senior architect, and member of the research and innovation team at Snøhetta; Thomas Heyer, lead designer of Cover Technologies, whos company mission is to make living in a thoughtfully designed and well-built home a reality for everyone; Sheri Koones, author of Bigger Than Tiny and other books focused on small-scale housing projects and prefabrication; Francesca Perani, founder of Bergamo, Italy-based Francesca Perani Enterprise, and co-founder of activist project RebelArchitette; Carlo Ratti, director of the research initiative MIT Senseable City Lab, and founder of CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati; Patrik Schumacher, company director at Zaha Hadid Architects; and Christina Seilern, founder of London-based creative practice Studio Seilern Architects.

Buildner and its jury team thank each of the designers who submitted ideas to this competition, from cities around the globe.

Enter the next
competition edition!

ideas COMPETITION
MICROHOME
Small living, huge impact! Edition #6

Design a new concept of small-scale home

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + PUBLICATION IN MAGAZINE
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Feb 16
Apr 18
Jun 16
Register now

MICROHOME

Small living, huge impact! Edition #4
1st Prize Winner +
AAPPAREL SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Project name

Nomad

Authors

Şeyma Çimen

Turkey

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

Architecture is a process of exploration for me.While being inspired by fields such as art, history, philosophy, sociology and culture, architecture continues to contribute these fields. 


Jury feedback summary

Nomad is a proposal for microhousing designed for seasonal agricultural workers in Turkey, where workers often shelter in tents on rural sites which are, according to the designer, unsafe, unhealthy and open to environmental threats. Nomad makes use of plywood, pine and polycarbonate to offer a two-unit customizable prototype that is part design and part administrative, recommending that the government impose less taxes on employers who provide such housing to workers. The jury writes: “The proposal addresses a social problem with a smart sustainable approach. This plan is very relevant and necessary with so many agricultural workers currently having poor living conditions. The excellent diagrams take into consideration environmental issues of energy and water collection in areas where this might otherwise not be available. The proposal has the potential to solve a real problem - seasonal workers' housing which really requires a compact, tiny and affordable solution. It opens up a discussion to utilize and functionalize the tiny house dream,  to offer micro solutions that extend beyond a typical housing prototype or leisure space.”

 

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

Solar Glass House

Authors

Antoine Chauvin
Jean d'Ursel

France

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

Competitions are a good way to train as a team and explore new ideas. They are also an opportunity to share your work to a larger community.

Jury feedback summary

The Solar Glass House is a free space occupied by punctual, diverse, routine or unexpected uses. It uses a passive solar principle - the Trombe process - combining the greenhouse effect with thermal inertia to reduce energy needs. It also proposes solutions for natural ventilation, use of photovoltaics, and a solar water heater. The jury writes: “The proposal is simple, elegant, and relatively easy to construct. The conceptual approach is strong and original. The overall narrative, graphics and spaces are powerful and inspiring - the project steps away from the typical microhome concept of modular, starting-from-scratch solutions to open up a discussion about how microhome can be merged with existing structures. Though a great idea to make use of thermal mass, this glass house would not apply to colder climates.”

 

3rd Prize Winner +
ARCHHIVE STUDENT AWARD

Project name

Urban Shelter

Authors

Zhi Zheng

University

Syracuse university
+122 points Buildner University Rankings!

United States

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

To find out these answers I mentioned above, architects need to challenge themselves, to experiment new strategies. Architecture competitions provide a platform for architects like me to show their understanding of these questions and discuss the durability of these experiments. That’s something practical architecture can never have.

Jury feedback summary

Urban Shelter is designed to be a compressible and easy-to-transport home for a city’s underutilized spaces. The prefabricated ‘infill’ microhome is divided into three parts: a living space, a pocket space, and an MEP space. It is wrapped in a shell with a plastic interior lining and exterior stainless steel, with a gap at the center for moisture collection that serves the unit’s equipment. According to the jury: “In many cities there are several locations where these urban shelters could be placed, and would provide for needed housing in close proximity with urban downtowns.” The jury commends the clear and well-labeled diagrams which explain well the intended systems and design.

Honorable mentions

VIEWclose HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Project Name

Vatra home

Company

Archimatika

Country

Ukraine

Project authors

Valeriia Sema
Dmytro Yahodin
Olga Kovalchuk
Maryna Machulina

Project Name

Hydro

Country

Brazil

Project authors

Daniella Leal
Paloma Maximiliano

Project Name

Césure

Country

France

Project authors

Chloé Bourget
Gabriela Neyroud
Jonathan Tordjman
Antoine Foucault

Project Name

Pocket Home

Country

United Kingdom

Project authors

Michael Rees
Jemima Ashton-Harris
Barbara Witczak
Tom Kerr-Bell

Project Name

Glass Dome

Country

United States

Project authors

Yuting Zhang

Project Name

SYMBIOSIS NEST.

Country

Greece

Project authors

Nikos Sokorelis
Mary Giannaka

Shortlisted projects

VIEWclose Shortlisted projects

China

Donghua University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
kelly yau

Australia

damien lees

United States

Syracuse University

+122 points Buildner University Rankings!
zhi zheng

United Kingdom

irene ilunga

South Korea

Sejong University, 세종대학교

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
byeonghyeon kim
subin cha
seohee han

Switzerland

jurij bardelli

Ukraine

Archimatika

valeriia sema
dmytro yahodin
olga kovalchuk
maryna machulina

Italy

raffaele merone

Turkey

Şeyma Çimen

Brazil

daniella leal
paloma maximiliano

Singapore

nicholas ooi

Germany

sebastian orner
christoph zacharski

Chile

claudio c. araya

Canada

University of Ottawa

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
amir moradi

Uruguay

Universidad ORT Uruguay (Campus Center)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
camila silvera
giuliana panizza
alba garcía

Portugal

catarina rodrigues
ana ferreira
maria azevedo

France

félix roudier

United States

yuting zhang

Germany

teymur osmanov
lala iskandarli
naila safarli

Mexico

victor ebergenyi kelly
patricio manzo diaz

United States

Khaled abou taam architects & atelier

khaled abou taam

Indonesia

osrithalita gabriela
abimantra pradhana
jasmine pranasiwi

United Kingdom

michael rees
jemima ashton-harris
barbara witczak
tom kerr-bell

Canada

University of Waterloo

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
dixon leung
xiaoqi sang
yutao mei
tristan kovacs

Sweden

ludvig netré

France

anne der haroutiounian
selin delamare
imen bel hadj yahia
juliette selingue

France

chloé bourget
gabriela neyroud
jonathan tordjman
antoine foucault

Sweden

chiara lombardi

Greece

nikos sokorelis
mary giannaka

Italy

edoardo marini
francesca loreti

United States

samia kayyali
carla bonilla

Brazil

UNB - University of Brasília (Universidade de Brasília)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
luca augusto
ana clara cavalcante
gustavo zorzeto
ana paula gomes

Denmark

Royal Danish Academy, Det Kongelige Akademi

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
yusuma ponnsmith
kitsupphat na lampang
ye tong

France

antoine chauvin
jean d'ursel

Mexico

aristarco samuel torres
mariana tostado

Taiwan

kai-chi chen
hsing-yu ou
yung-hsiang yang
ee-ching eugenie chiew

Israel

nir feferberg
libat eden
yuval yadlin

China

University of Sydney

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
ansley huang

France

quoc huy trinh

United States

nicolo guida
 

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MICROHOME
Small living, huge impact! Edition #6

Design a new concept of small-scale home

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + PUBLICATION IN MAGAZINE
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Feb 16
Apr 18
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Competition results

MICROHOME

MICROHOME

Small living, huge impact! Edition #4
Hong Kong 
Pixel Homes

Hong Kong Pixel Homes

Affordable Housing Series #2
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