Annual International Architecture Competition

MICROHOME

Small living, huge impact! Edition #6

Results

Foreword

Competition organisers

MICROHOME

MICROHOME is the sixth 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 25m². 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, an architect, writer and co-founder of SO?, an Istanbul-based studio working on architecture and urbanism; Sarah Broadstock is an architect at London-based Studio Bark; Anne Cecilie Haug, the director of staffing, senior architect, and member of the research and innovation team at Snøhetta; Gavin Hale-Brown, Principal of London-based Henley Hale-Brown, which recently received the Neave Brown Award for social housing; Norihisa Kawashima, founder and principal of Nori Architects in Japan; Francesca Perani, founder of Bergamo, Italy-based Francesca Perani Enterprise, and co-founder of activist project RebelArchitette; Todd Saunders, founder of Saunders Architecture located in Bergen, Norway; Patrik Schumacher, company director at Zaha Hadid Architects; and Lei Zheng, associate at Zaha Hadid Architects.

Buildner and its jury panel congratulate the winners and thank each of the participating teams for submitting proposals.

1st Prize Winner +
Buildner Student Award

Project name

Building Bridges

Authors

Malte Terboven
Luca Ligotti
Luisa Herzog
Lukas Kunze

University

The trier university of applied sciences, hochschule trier
+172 points Buildner University Rankings!

Germany

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

Our group enjoys working on interesting projects and developing new ideas together. In our opinion, participating in architectural competitions provides an invaluable platform for anyone seeking to push their creative boundaries and showcase their skills in a competitive environment. It offers an opportunity to compete with individuals from around the world and draw inspiration from their achievements. In architectural competitions, being good is not sufficient; one must exert maximum effort to succeed. Competitions stimulate individuals to think outside the box and experiment with new approaches.

Jury feedback summary

Building Bridges is a MICROHOME planned for construction along a refugee migration route. ‘Bridges’ of connected cabins are created over time as multiple homes are built adjacent to one another. The project is aspirational in its ambition to function as a means for community building, in a space that is environmentally harsh, culturally mixed and transient. The proposed construction is a modular system of recycled materials fully transportable in a single truck.

Francesca Perani / Buildner guest jury founder of Francesca Perani Enterprise Italy
The design encompasses not only a multi-module self-sufficiency system tailored to assist vulnerable residents in need of evacuation routes but also establishes an architectural framework where mutual assistance plays a pivotal role in rebuilding new lives.
Gavin Hale-Brown / Buildner guest jury Principal of London-based Henley Hale-Brown United Kingdom
An interesting concept, though lacking detail, it would need to be more fully worked through to meet the brief requirements. It would be very difficult to implement this single solution in multiple locations across the globe.
Anne Cecilie Haug / Buildner guest jury Senior Architect, Snøhetta Norway
The project shows flexibility when it comes to site adaption and the number of units, and it represents a solution to a very difficult task. The use of waste materials to build it could also solve other challenges. The focus on safe outdoor spaces and compact living, vivid renderings and explanatory graphics stood out.

Buildner's architectural communication techniques review

Have a presentation for us to review? Order your review here!
  • 9/10
    Linework
  • 10/10
    Quality of drawings
  • 10/10
    Balance of color
  • 9/10
    Layout
  • 9/10
    Hierarchy
  • 8/10
    Annotation
  • 8/10
    Text
  • 10/10
    Clarity of story
  • 10/10
    Clarity of diagrams
  • 10/10
    Quality of overall presentation

Buildner's commentary and recommendations

The project makes use of vivid photographic renderings alongside simple diagrams and line drawings. Its ability to clearly and immediately communicate design intent is applauded. Its capacity on a single sheet to include both a global mapping as well as a carbon assessment for incorporated materials elevates the project beyond a simple conceptual scheme to a relevant technical proposal. It is recommended from a graphic perspective that the author make use of more varied line weights in the drawings and diagrams, however. As submitted the drawings do not have much visual variation and therefore lack hierarchy and lose force in their ability to convey information. In fact, many of the lines are so light that some of the information becomes lost on the white background of the presentation.

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

MIKROSERAMBI

Authors

Isaac Lee
Melinda Kumala
Eu Juin Toh
Caleb Lew

Singapore

Jury feedback summary

Mikroserambi is a proposal for a self-sustaining refitting of a typical home within slums in the Asia-Pacific region. The submission focuses on a slum in Jakarta. It consists of a two-floor home scheme that places an open living area on the ground floor open to the community as a shared space, above which is programmed a private bedroom with garden. Rainwater filtration for drinking and bathing water, rooftop of cells and the home garden all offer opportunities for a self-sustaining and clean off-grid MICROHOME.

Patrik Schumacher / Buildner guest jury Director of Zaha Hadid Architects UK
The proposal challenges the conventional notion of individual housing and promotes a more communal, sustainable and healthy urban lifestyle. It explores the possibilities of co-housing, and co-living.
Norihisa Kawashima / Buildner guest jury Founder and Principal of Nori Architects Japan
It is excellent that by taking advantage of the characteristics of the existing stock of slums in Jakarta and renovating them, it is shown that we can not only make attractive microhomes, but also make the city more attractive with their aggregation.
Francesca Perani / Buildner guest jury founder of Francesca Perani Enterprise Italy
I admire the comprehensive approach of the design, focusing on creating a unit that addresses community needs rather than solely catering to individual families.
3rd Prize Winner

Project name

Gathering House

Authors

Łukasz Danilczuk
Zuzanna Derska
Urszula Jędrzejak

University

Warsaw university of technology , politechnika warszawska
+72 points Buildner University Rankings!

Poland

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

Because of the architectural competitions we can challenge ourselves against various approaches to designing. They also give us an opportunity to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and real world practice. Overall this creates an exciting environment for us to experiment in and explore unconventional ideas which we really enjoy.

Jury feedback summary

Gathering House focuses on bridging social gaps that exist in large Polish communities. The proposal draws from Polish customs as well as responds to what the author poses as inherent challenges within urban Polish city blocks which contain over-scaled central courtyards that have a tendency to promote isolation. The submission offers an opportunity to infill these empty spaces with small-scale homes and community gardens, which could yield: higher density living, access to nature, and community programs for closer social integration.

Todd Saunders / Buildner guest jury founder of Saunders Architecture Norway
The concept stands out for various strengths, such as bridging the gap between young and elderly people. The design skillfully implements the changing seasons. It would have been good to see a floor plan of the attic.
Sevince Bayrak, architect / Buildner guest jury architect, writer and co-founder of SO? Turkey
Tradition interpreted in a contemporary way. However, can there really be so much space for herbs and plants in such a tiny interior?
Norihisa Kawashima / Buildner guest jury Founder and Principal of Nori Architects Japan
The plan with the 1:1 ratio of interior to semi-exterior is an attractive new microhome typology and a highly feasible plan with many applicable locations.

Buildner's architectural communication techniques review

Have a presentation for us to review? Order your review here!
  • 9/10
    Linework
  • 10/10
    Quality of drawings
  • 9/10
    Balance of color
  • 9/10
    Layout
  • 9/10
    Hierarchy
  • 8/10
    Annotation
  • 9/10
    Text
  • 10/10
    Clarity of story
  • 9/10
    Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10
    Quality of overall presentation

Buildner's commentary and recommendations

This project is excellent in its use of quiet and delicate imagery which offers a clear glimpse into the author’s design aspirations for this specific urban situation in Poland. The presented visuals are clear, as is the organized block layout. The primary criticism for this presentation is its lack of strong lines, elements of color or bold texts to ‘ground’ the layout and therefore provide hierarchy and direction for a viewer. Like a newspaper or magazine, presentation boards can be aided by variations in annotation and visual focal points to guide a reader across the page and, hence, tell a story in a linear and curated way.

Buildner Sustainability Award

Project name

Cocotl Home

Authors

Karina Schwartzman
Karen Poulain
Paola Williams
Diego Sierra

Mexico

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

Participating in contests entails constant activity and the cultivation of thoughts, designs, and the pursuit of new possibilities. Attempting to solve design challenges through contests accelerates the thought process and allows for greater creativity.

Jury feedback summary

Cocotl Home is a proposal for a couple living on the coconut plantations of warm and humid southern Mexico. Responding to the climatic and geographical conditions, with a focus on bioclimatic and sustainable construction, the design implements earth mixtures with coconut fibers as well as aerated coconut chipboard panels. Other ‘green’ features include a coconut orchard, vegetable garden, hen house, compost heap, bio digester and rainwater storage cistern.

Sarah Broadstock / Buildner guest jury Architect at Studio Bark United Kingdom
The use of such a wide range of natural materials which are biodegradable and low-embodied carbon stood out, as did the number of sustainable strategies that had been incorporated.
Sevince Bayrak, architect / Buildner guest jury architect, writer and co-founder of SO? Turkey
The detail of life imagined is impressive. The tiny house really fits its inhabitants. But it is so custom-made that I cannot imagine it applied to anyone other than Doris & Samuel.
Norihisa Kawashima / Buildner guest jury Founder and Principal of Nori Architects Japan
It is an advanced and excellent proposal that not only realizes a comfortable environment by using locally available natural materials, but also tries to design the circulation of resources and nutrients.

Buildner's architectural communication techniques review

Have a presentation for us to review? Order your review here!
  • 8/10
    Linework
  • 8/10
    Quality of drawings
  • 9/10
    Balance of color
  • 7/10
    Layout
  • 9/10
    Hierarchy
  • 8/10
    Annotation
  • 7/10
    Text
  • 9/10
    Clarity of story
  • 8/10
    Clarity of diagrams
  • 8/10
    Quality of overall presentation

Buildner's commentary and recommendations

The story and design solution are specific and consistent. The submission is laudable for its technical diagramming and its focus on materiality. The presentation would benefit, however, from reduced text and less density in its layout. Given its focus on relationships to the environment, the project would also benefit from including additional information as to the layout and orientation of the building to take advantage of, for example, prevailing winds, sun path, rainfall data and other environmental factors that may convince a jury that this design is adequately responding to the unique site conditions .

Honorable mentions

VIEWclose HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Project Name

SSoudou

Country

France

Project authors

Emmanuel Batchily

Project Name

BIOPHILIC HOME

Country

Uruguay

Project authors

Carolina Palombo
María Belén Orona
Shahira Ale

Project Name

Yurt 2.0

University

The university of melbourne
+72 points Buildner University Rankings!

Country

Australia

Project authors

Gerald Low
Chen Yixin
Chen Ziqian

Project Name

Pocket House

Country

United States

Project authors

Caleb White
Emily Gruendel

Project Name

Parasite House

Country

Ecuador

Project authors

Xavier Duque
María Mercedes Reinoso
Nicolás Viteri

Project Name

Beekeeper's House

University

Etsam: escuela técnica superior de arquitectura de madrid (upm)
+72 points Buildner University Rankings!

Country

Spain

Project authors

Shuhao Wang
Jian Gao

Shortlisted projects

VIEWclose Shortlisted projects

Brazil

Centro Universitário Belas Artes , Fine Arts - Unit 3

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
camila miwa arai
aline nakamura
luisa caminha

Netherlands

vlad chabai

Germany

The Trier University of Applied Sciences, Hochschule Trier

+172 points Buildner University Rankings!
malte terboven
luca ligotti
luisa herzog
lukas kunze

China

Partyfriendship

pengcheng hu

United States

jamie kleine

United States

jessica hardin

Cambodia

Tianjin University

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
sam bunlong

France

emmanuel batchily

Canada

University of Waterloo

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
isaac duong
ben cheah

Greece

philippos photiadis
andi belulaj
alex chatzigiannis
vicky papaliakou

Poland

Poznan University of Technology , Politechnika Poznańska

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
klaudia szczecińska

Colombia

Universidad de los Andes – Colombia

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
santiago caballero barrios
valentina castillo herrán
mateo cardona díaz
paula andrea ayala barajas

Canada

University of British Columbia

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
john mitchell
jasper chen
joyce wu
brian chang

Mexico

karina schwartzman
karen poulain
paola williams
diego sierra

Thailand

Quad&co co.,ltd.

apichai jarurattanakua
chaiyaphot thankhem
patdhadon pengphet
gumpon suwanprinya

Brazil

Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, The Mackenzie Presbyterian University

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
pedro gontijo

Ecuador

xavier duque
maría mercedes reinoso
nicolás viteri

Sweden

malin persson

Germany

sascha blocksdorf

Peru

jessica garcia huachez
andrea bautista machado
juan arroyo labán

United States

University of Colorado Denver

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
efklides tzimapitis
ian sitilides

Poland

Warsaw University of Technology , Politechnika Warszawska

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
Łukasz danilczuk
zuzanna derska
urszula jędrzejak

Singapore

isaac lee
melinda kumala
eu juin toh
caleb lew

United States

Amalgam studio

ben albury
juan felipe castellanos
nicole tian

Australia

The University of Melbourne

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
gerald low
chen yixin
chen ziqian

Germany

Technical University of Kaiserslautern , Technische Universität Kaiserslautern

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
natalie hinkel
jonas schuh
leander abstein

United Kingdom

ben ingle
ross robertson

South Korea

Sejong University, 세종대학교

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
jaeseung shin

Italy

University of Naples Federico II, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
annalisa valentino
rosaria iacovone

Switzerland

Accademia di Architettura, Accademia di architettura di Mendrisio

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
alin mutu

United States

caleb white
emily gruendel

New Zealand

richard foreman
emily nguyen

Spain

ETSAM: Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid (UPM)

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
shuhao wang
jian gao

United States

david hu
kevin cheung

United Kingdom

University of Edinburgh

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
tin wo tsa
tessa tsui
tega ejovwo-digba
rajni nessa

Italy

luca ciravegna

China

University of Pennsylvania

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
zhen lei

United States

Formed architecture

robert tranter

France

hugo chartier
 

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Prize: MONETARY AWARD
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Prize: MONETARY AWARD + POTENTIAL TO BE REALISED
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Edition #3

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Edition #3

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Prize: MONETARY AWARD
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registration deadlines

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For this competition, NO DESCRIPTION TEXT is allowed. The architecture ideas must be communicated strictly with visuals.
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Edition #4

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Prize: MONETARY AWARD
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registration deadlines

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Design affordable housing solutions in Los Angeles

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

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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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