International Architecture Competition

Paris Affordable Housing Challenge

Affordable Housing Series #7

Results

Foreword

Competition organisers

Paris Affordable Housing Challenge

Official Partners

Paris Affordable Housing Challenge Paris Affordable Housing Challenge

As the average price for housing within central Paris crosses the threshold of €10,000/m², long-time residents and newcomers alike find themselves wondering how anyone can afford to own or rent within the City of Lights.

Paris is no stranger to housing shortages. The 20 arrondissements defined by the vehicular Périphérique ring road has protected itself with building codes that limit construction heights and density - a great success for maintaining urban and architectural identity, but also a constraint on the population's long-term housing demands. To counter this, large residential developments have been constructed in the surrounding banlieues. Many new projects are currently under construction, and several others are planned in the future to meet growing demand and in preparation for, among other things, the 2024 Paris Olympics. Paris also can lay claim to benefitting from a strong network of local and regional train systems that provide easy access to the city from towns located along its RER and TER lines. But the skyrocketing square meter prices for housing within Paris' large urban center are evidence enough that more must be done to maintain a balanced population of residents from all income levels.

This competition has been run in partnership with ARCHHIVE BOOKS as part of Bee Breeders' Global Housing Availability Challenge series. The series seeks unique ideas for cities around the world facing housing shortages, and the corresponding exacerbation of social and economic imbalances. The Paris Affordable Housing Challenge is tasking participants with designing a sustainable solution to Paris’ affordable housing problem. It was a conceptual call for ideas. Implementable, novel, and thought-provoking solutions were sought. No specific location was defined, as the competition sought ideas versatile enough to be adapted to multiple locations in or around Paris. Participants were asked to consider designs flexible enough to accommodate families, couples, single professionals, and mixed residence types.

Designs that responded to Paris uniquely were judged positively, in particular those that showed an advanced level of urban, social, or political analysis. What aspects of Paris' urban composition might be utilized to accommodate additional housing? The response was varied, with proposals tackling ideas for new housing types, others re-thinking the utilization of the existing housing stock, and many focused on identifying underutilized spaces within Paris for new construction.

Enter the next
competition edition!

ideas COMPETITION
Milan Affordable Housing Challenge
Affordable Housing Series #15

Design a concept for affordable housing in Milan

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 07
Jan 26
Apr 20
Register now

Paris Affordable Housing Challenge

Affordable Housing Series #7
1st Prize Winner +
BB STUDENT AWARD

Project name

Monumental Housing

Authors

Neno Videnovic

University

Southern california institute of architecture
+172 points Buildner University Rankings!

United States

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

What I find most beneficial about architecture vision competitions is the interchange of ideas. Not only do you get to exercise your way of thinking, you also get an insight into how other people approached the same problem.

Jury feedback summary

'Monumental Housing' focuses on the fundamental structure of Hausmann-designed Paris: landmark 'places' meant to serve as the key organizational elements of the city. Here, 12 housing blocks are designed to be dispersed throughout the city as a new form of cultural monument. Each block is to house a collection of new apartments. These are clad in a perforated metal panel that replaces the human scale of the apartment with a unitless pattern that tends toward the sculptural. The blocks are limited in their connections to the ground, to allow space for open public parks below. The project is reminiscent of Bernard Tschumi's famed competition-winning entry for Paris' Park de La Villette in the mid 1980's, in its application of a standardized sculptural element across the space of the city - a means for visual orientation and placemaking. The proposal is quirky without being gimmicky, and the judges applaud its boldness.

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

Urban Infill - 1037 New Housing Sites in Paris

Authors

Lourenço Vaz Pinto

University

Southern california institute of architecture
+92 points Buildner University Rankings!

Portugal

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

I believe participating in architecture vision competitions should be an integral part of architecture, it's an exercise in the most important topics that we face or will face as a society and thus should be the ones that get the most attention and work.

Jury feedback summary

According to the submission, titled "Urban Infill", it "mines the thousands of open spaces located throughout Paris in the shape of its urban courtyards to use as added affordable housing sites." The project identifies 1037 inter-block sites for the construction of nearly 2 million m² for residences. This corresponds to 81500 new micro-units that could house up to 135000 people in Paris. The massing of each site claims to respond to specific building distance, sunlight, and cross ventilation requirements. Both the urban analysis and the resulting building forms are enticing, and the back-yard lot construction is certainly aimed to be provocative. Whether the seductive crystalline forms represented in the drawings could be constructed affordably and profitably is another matter, likely requiring a further level of research. The project represents a well-thought response to the form and density of the typical Parisian block.

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

9.000 New Social Houses for Paris

Authors

Chiara Quintanal Rivacoba
Bianca Ludovica Palmieri

University

Politecnico di torino
+74 points Buildner University Rankings!

Italy

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

We believe that competitions are an opportunity to deal with architectural issues with which not all architects have the opportunity to face in their professional lives. It is an occasion to express our opinion and propose the best of our ideas, without limits to our creativity.

Jury feedback summary

This project proposes a modified system of development for 9000 logement sociaux, or social housing sites. According to this system, property rights are to be partially transferred by a property owner to a 'social owner', or property management entity. As a method of oversight, the process requires city hall to meet with both the legal owner and the social owner prior to the architect's submission of design documents to the council for approval. Projects are to contain socially-oriented community spaces as well as a for-profit commercial space, as a means to long-term profits that would incentivize social management or investment. The jury was supportive of this project, which analyzes and re-thinks city-specific economic and political drivers of projects. The entry intelligently adapts the popular graphic style of Paris city maps. The result is playful, positive, and convincing.

BB GREEN AWARD

Project name

La Ceinture Vivante - The Living Belt

Authors

Matt Sterne
Oscar Clarke
Ingrid Schwalm McEwan
Kate Schoonees

New Zealand

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

We encourage you to enter and also to challenge yourself, develop new skills and teamwork.

Honorable mentions

VIEWclose HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Project Name

Full steam ahead

Country

Canada

Project authors

Sebastien Labbe
Nicolas Delucinge

Project Name

GREEN HOUSE

Company

Squad

Country

France

Project authors

Yoan La Selva
Adrien La Selva
Damien Fraulob
Sisley Carnus

Project Name

Roofers

Country

United States

Project authors

Jaewon Lee
Suk Lee
Woowon Chung

Project Name

Paving the Palimpsest

Country

United States

Project authors

Mujung Ryan Chiu

Project Name

Parisian Landcapes

Country

Canada

Project authors

Noam Hazan

Project Name

THE VILLAGE

Country

France

Project authors

Aubéry De Bretteville
Sophie Ponthieu

Shortlisted projects

VIEWclose Shortlisted projects

United States

SCI-Arc, Southern California Institute of Architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
haozhou zeng

United States

SCI-Arc, Southern California Institute of Architecture

+172 points Buildner University Rankings!
neno videnovic

United States

SCI-Arc, Southern California Institute of Architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
navid simanian

United States

SCI-Arc, Southern California Institute of Architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
pei-shin (phoebe) ou-yang

United States

SCI-Arc, Southern California Institute of Architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
blake minster

Portugal

SCI-Arc, Southern California Institute of Architecture

+92 points Buildner University Rankings!
lourenço vaz pinto

United States

SCI-Arc, Southern California Institute of Architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
dutra brown

Russian Federation

Escher

evgenii koriukin
dmitry astrakhancev
anastasia korotaeva
anastasia kizima

Israel

fabio kahn
rafael kern
michel schoor

United States

zhengda hou
kuan-yi ho
dichen ding
hsin-han lee

United States

jaewon lee
suk lee
woowon chung

Germany

milos nikolic
kaushambi mate
alejandro cruz nacher

Italy

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

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
mario galterisi
gennaro finale
vittoria di giulio

United Kingdom

christina kavoura
ellie athanasiadou

United Kingdom

adonis algianakoglou
alexandros achniotis

Poland

Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (Politechnika Wrocławska)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
joanna kowalska

France

Squad

yoan la selva
adrien la selva
damien fraulob
sisley carnus

Czech Republic

jiri kugl
stepan kotous
natalie novakova

India

M a architects

sharad maithel
puneet dua
rameez raza gesawat

Italy

Polytechnic of Turin, Politecnico di Torino

+74 points Buildner University Rankings!
chiara quintanal rivacoba
bianca ludovica palmieri

Canada

sebastien labbe
nicolas delucinge

Canada

University of British Columbia

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
philippe le quellec
stephanie janeiro

Sweden

Equator stockholm ab

lars raattamaa
anna teglund
mia Åberg

Australia

Pwa

peter willett
cindy lin
sarah gan-brown
jess yue wang

Russian Federation

alexander zaytsev
nikita zaytsev
yulia olofinskaya

Belgium

UCLouvain (UCLouvain - Université catholique de Louvain)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
nicolas warrant
giulia devis

United States

University of Virginia

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
adam johnson
taro matsuno

New Zealand

matt sterne
oscar clarke
ingrid schwalm mcewan
kate schoonees

Bulgaria

UACEG , University of Architecture, Civil Eng. and Geodesy

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
anastas meshkov
zornitsa puleva
seydahmed myumyun
boyan dimitrov

South Korea

ENSAPM Paris-Malaquais

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
hoyeon hwang

Belgium

răzvan vingan
laura elena cana

United Kingdom

Manchester School of Architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
michael o'reilly
jingsi sun
yingying zhou

France

joanna loubly
olivier loubly
claire richeda
nuria gambin esteban

Slovakia

Vienna University of Technology , Technische Universität Wien, TU Wien

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
attila máthé

Italy

andrea sichi
sara orlando
beatrice paludi

Italy

Politecnico di Milano / Polytechnic University of Milan

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
alireza kamali
hamed forouzandeh shahraki

France

ana claudia correa diaz
bruno marot
julien gervais
pierre georgin

France

aubéry de bretteville
sophie ponthieu

United States

Bkv group

yasmin al-jafari
jonathan delcambre
lexie armand
thomas nguyen

Turkey

Kaf design & development

abdulrhman ajinah
ola almulla essa
nujood alobied
tarik ajinah
 

Open architecture competitions

  • Closest Deadline first
  • Project competitions first
    Selected winning projects have the potential to be constructed
  • Ideas competitions first
    Experimental competitions with the focus on pushing the boundaries of creativity
project COMPETITION
Sansusī Forest Food Court

Design a sustainable food court structure for the heart of a classical music festival

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jan 10
Feb 08
Apr 06
ideas COMPETITION
The Home of Shadows

Design a home with no artificial lighting

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 05
Jan 24
Apr 18
project COMPETITION
Portugal Elderly Home

Design a comfortable and accessible home for the elderly in Portugal

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 06
Jan 25
Apr 19
project COMPETITION
Portugal Olive Guest House

Design a guest house and olive oil tasting room located in Portugal

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 08
Jan 27
Apr 21
project COMPETITION
Yoga House in the Bog

Design a yoga guest house located within rich bog wildlife

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + CONSTRUCTION
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jan 11
Feb 08
Apr 26

Reccuring architecture competitions

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
ideas COMPETITION
Silent contest
For this competition, NO DESCRIPTION TEXT is allowed. The architecture ideas must be communicated strictly with visuals.
Museum of Emotions
Edition #3

Use architecture to create different emotional states

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Mar 17
May 19
Jul 21
ideas COMPETITION
Silent contest
For this competition, NO DESCRIPTION TEXT is allowed. The architecture ideas must be communicated strictly with visuals.
Architectural Visualization Award
Edition #2

Present your best work and submit your favorite architectural visualization

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Mar 23
May 25
Jul 27
Run repeatedly
Children's Hospice
Home for the Terminally ill / Edition #2

Design a safe and supportive space for children struggling with a terminal illness

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 06
Feb 08
Apr 06
Register now
Run repeatedly
Milan Affordable Housing Challenge
Affordable Housing Series #15

Design a concept for affordable housing in Milan

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Dec 07
Jan 26
Apr 20
Register now
Run repeatedly
Virtual Home
Edition #2

Shape the future of digital living environments

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
May 02
Jul 04
Sep 06
Register now
Run repeatedly
Office
Office Design Challenge / Edition #2

Reimagine the workplace of the future, and design the new way of working

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jan 03
Mar 01
May 04
Register now
Run repeatedly
Portable Reading Rooms
Edition #2

Design a portable reading room that encourages reading in any location

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + SCOLARSHIP
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Feb 13
Mar 23
May 15
Register now
Run repeatedly
Pavilion Of Humanity: First Contact
Edition #2

How would you represent the best that humanity has to offer through architecture?

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Mar 27
May 25
Jul 24
Register now

Creativity gym Short term competitions for you to exercise your creativity

T-SHIRT DRAWING COMPETITION
The Architect's T-shirt
Edition #18

Design THE architect's t-shirt!

Prize: 3,000 €
Eligibility: open to all

registration deadlines

Remind me
Feb 28
Mar 31
Apr 30
Register now
ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO COMPETITION
THE BUILDNER'S ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO COMPETITION
Edition #3

Submit your online portfolio!

Prize: 5,000 €
Eligibility: open to all

registration deadlines

Remind me
Apr 30
May 31
Jun 30
Register now

Please enter your email address to receive download link

Thank you!

The download link will be sent to your email shortly

please check the spam folder
in case you can not find it
OK

Competition results

MICROHOME

MICROHOME

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

Hong Kong Pixel Homes

Affordable Housing Series #2
To access competion downloads please enter your email address:
OK
To access competion downloads please enter your email address:
OK
This website uses cookies for enhancing the user experience and tracking usage statistics.
More information is available in our Privacy Policy.