Introduction
Buildner is pleased to announce the results of its Portugal Elderly Home Competition!
This event tasked participants with designing a retirement home on a sloping site in central Portugal to house 60 residents and ten support staff. The brief outlined a program which included features such as a small library, a gathering room, a chapel, a kitchen, and a dining room, as well as a private area that could function as a nurse's room and therapy room for psychological support. The competition was designed to seed innovative ideas for housing an aging population.
Buildner collaborated with a regional and international jury boasting a broad range of experiences: Ricardo Gomes is partner of Portugal-based KWY.studio; Samuel Gonçalves is the founder of SUMMARY, an architectural practice based in Porto, Portugal which was selected as the 2020 “The Emerging Architect of the Year” by Dezeen readers; Tiago Krusse is a professional journalist with more than 22 years of experience writing about design, architecture and art, and is manager of a digital media group that holds the publications Design Magazine, Design Magazine Brasil and architectura MAGAZINE; Marta Frazão and Inês Vicente are partners at Atelier Data, a Lisbon-based office; Tudor Radulescu is Partner and Co-founder of KANVA, a Montreal-based multidisciplinary architectural firm whose work is at the forefront of thinking, imagining, drawing and constructing collective space; Catarina Ribeiro is a co-founder of merooficina, a Porto-based office; Lera Samovich is an architect at Fala Atelier in Porto, Portugal; and Robert van Kats is an architect and partner at bkvv architecten, an architectural practice based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Buildner and its jury panel would like to thank each of the participants from around the world that submitted ideas to this event.
1st Prize Winner +
Client Favorite
Client Favorite
Casa das Oliveiras
One brief, multiple answers. Competitions broaden our views, revealing the multitude of approaches that can be taken to address the same question, thus transforming it into a powerful learning experience.
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Portugal
Jury feedback summary
Casa das Oliveiras is a subtle proposal designed to integrate with its context. It features a single-story entrance at street level, aligned with the scale of the existing neighborhood, behind which a tiered development is embedded within the hillside and topped with olive trees. The project is planned about a central open courtyard surrounded by residential units and, at its ground floor, directly connected to common amenity spaces. An autumnal red textured envelope gives the project a clear identity while also allowing it to appear in continuity with its natural setting.
The project creates two strong faces - a memorable street facade and an elegant terraced facade towards the landscape. The courtyard in between is the heart of the building and a luscious common space for the community.
Ricardo Gomes / Buildner guest jury
Partner, KWY.studio, Portugal
The project stands out for the way it communicated, both for its clear and well-structured information and its objective graphics. The circulation flow through the building has positive aspects related to mobility and to the maintenance of the different spaces by floors.
Tiago Krusse / Buildner guest jury
Design Magazine, Portugal
The project offers a seductive sequence of public spaces, both exterior and interior. One could easily imagine how these courtyards, terraces, rooftops and hallways could be occupied. Such rigid elevations are perhaps too serious for a proposal that is so light and engaging. The building could get more open and inviting, bringing coherence to the entire project.
Lera Samovich / Buildner guest jury
Fala Atelier, Portugal
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThis is an excellent example of a clear, effective four-panel competition submission. The layout is simple, in many ways reflective of the project’s design. The boards are organized using a primary full-span image and the mostly-white boards are anchored by the strong red facade components which appear throughout the renderings and sections. The presentation would benefit from two additional items. The first is basic annotation and labeling to describe the intent and spaces of each of the renderings on the final board. The second is an enlarged detail to describe the construction of either the facade or the planted roof, to solidify this project as a serious architectural proposition.
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10/10 Linework
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10/10 Quality of drawings
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10/10 Balance of color
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9/10 Layout
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10/10 Hierarchy
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9/10 Annotation
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9/10 Text
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9/10 Clarity of story
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10/10 Clarity of diagrams
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10/10 Quality of overall presentation
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2nd Prize Winner
Jardim do Sobreiro
Architecture competitions provide an opportunity for Atelier L’Abri to explore new ideas, foster innovation, and showcase the workshop's creative capabilities and expertise.
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Canada
Jury feedback summary
Jardim do Sobreiro is described as a ‘garden of cork oak trees,” and a “haven that meets the physical needs of residents while promoting an active lifestyle.” The building uses passive principles to minimize solar heat gain, and benefits from a sustainably sourced cork facade, considered solar mass and natural airflows. The building is broken into two wings, and set perpendicular to the hillside to frame a large terraced garden at its center, programmed to support a market, cafe and park for its elderly residents.
This project captures the essence of the brief. It is thought provoking, unique and very well resolved. As with the overall quality of the project, this project softly puts sustainability questions at the forefront of the proposal. Local circular economy became an active participant in the project.
Tudor Radulescu / Buildner guest jury
Partner and Co-founder of KANVA, Canada
The proposal shows an overall awareness of the communication with the main street and local surroundings, relation with the terrain and its morphology, adequacy of the proposal and its organization with the program required.
Inês Vicente / Buildner guest jury
Partners at Atelier Data, Portugal
An interesting move to position the build program in two blocks and to create a semi public terraced garden. The two blocks, however, are a bit 'heavy'.
Robert van Kats / Buildner guest jury
bkvv architecten, Netherlands
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThe submission is clear and organized. Split into two halves vertically the boards are consistently laid out with some variation to lend a reader dynamism and interest. The renderings are beautifully balanced in color and work well with supporting, crisp line drawings that make use of a range of line weights to differentiate the project’s overall form from the landscape and the interior layouts. The submission would benefit from a detailed sectional drawing to describe the buildup of the cork facade on the primary structure. It would also benefit from reducing the length of the introductory text or dividing this text into more manageable bites across all four boards. While the story is clear, it would help that each of the main points in the description be supported by adjacent drawings.
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10/10 Linework
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10/10 Quality of drawings
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10/10 Balance of color
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10/10 Layout
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10/10 Hierarchy
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8/10 Annotation
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8/10 Text
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9/10 Clarity of story
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10/10 Clarity of diagrams
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10/10 Quality of overall presentation
3rd Prize Winner
The Terrace
We join the competition for the reason that it provides us with a platform to inspire our passion and create works freely. Architects often face multiple restrictions in their routine work due to various reasons. However, in this competition, we can delve deeper into current social issues and problems, giving more attention to the context of our designs. By enhancing our design philosophy and updating traditional design styles, we strive to pursue optimal solutions.
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China
Jury feedback summary
The Terrace is an M-shaped building that steps according to the site’s sloping topography, providing an outdoor set of pedestrian streets for residents atop a mix of private and public elemental units that are strung together to comprise the angled forms. At the angled intersections of each leg of the building are outdoor gardens, and residents are provided ample connections to the site physically and views to the surroundings.
The volume is fragmented in several pieces, which are adapted to the natural topography and distribute the functions in a precise and hierarchical way.
Samuel Gonçalves / Buildner guest jury
Founder, SUMMARY, Portugal
The apparent simplicity of the proposal, along with its morphology, spatial fluidity, and proportion, sets the project apart from the others. The clear presentation aids in quickly understanding the general idea of the proposal and facilitates a thorough and detailed analysis.
Catarina Ribeiro / Buildner guest jury
Founder of Merooficina, Portugal
A solution that envisions a single gesture to solve the difficult terrain of the plot, creating different and stimulating solutions and spaces throughout the project. It explores properly the relation with the view and sun exposition, and its morphology provides great privacy to each accommodation without losing the feeling of total openness towards the views.
Inês Vicente / Buildner guest jury
Partners at Atelier Data, Portugal
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThe project benefits from its use of a limited number of large, outstanding visuals. Both rendered images and drawings communicate design intent and leave little room for confusion. A single-image introductory board is followed by three sheets based on a clear and variable grid. While plans are well annotated, the rendered images and section would benefit from basic information such as materiality, dimensions, structural grid and labeled spaces. The final section in particular appears incomplete for its lack of annotation, though it clearly describes the building form as it relates to the site. A larger-scale sectional or plan detail would also help to complete this presentation.
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9/10 Linework
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9/10 Quality of drawings
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10/10 Balance of color
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9/10 Layout
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10/10 Hierarchy
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7/10 Annotation
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8/10 Text
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9/10 Clarity of story
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10/10 Clarity of diagrams
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9/10 Quality of overall presentation
BUILDNER STUDENT AWARD
Elderly oasis
We appreciate the fact that competitions contribute to the creation of new and high-quality projects. For the client, this means having access to multiple answers for a specific brief, which enhances the quality of the final design by validating it through various solutions. Simultaneously, we embrace competition as it stimulates our interest in the perspectives of other architects and the diversity of ideas. It is highly positive that architectural competitions are gaining prominence these days and encompass a wide range of interesting briefs at different scales.
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Jury feedback summary
Elderly Oasis has been designed to consider the senior home as a modern, civic place. Emphasis is placed on communication with the outside world. It consists of simple volumes relative to and readable according to their function. The main principle is to create a collection of spaces for communal activity and socializing, focused on a central courtyard terrace. The materials are spartan and pure: wood, polycarbonate, metal mesh, white plaster, concrete. The aesthetic is industrial and minimal, inviting and visually light.
The urban strategy is clear and clever. Instead of a big mass the proposal explores a set of different volumes (according to their function) arranged in an embedded platform that links the west to the east side. The space in between volumes results in a communal space for socialization.
Marta Frazão / Buildner guest jury
Partners at Atelier Data, Portugal
The proposal supports its strengths on the greater use and creation of public space around the built volumes. The ability of bringing the street into the program helps the edification to integrate more easily with the surroundings.
Inês Vicente / Buildner guest jury
Partners at Atelier Data, Portugal
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThe project is stellar in its ability to communicate its form, program, use and aesthetic. Beautiful line drawings, renderings and photos of a crystal clear model work together to offer an easily legible and sophisticated design proposal. The presentation does not lack much, but a constructive detail or enlarged section of a unit or the envelope would be helpful to more fully understand the project construction and make it convincing to both a client and a juror.
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10/10 Linework
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10/10 Quality of drawings
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10/10 Balance of color
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10/10 Layout
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10/10 Hierarchy
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8/10 Annotation
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9/10 Text
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9/10 Clarity of story
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10/10 Clarity of diagrams
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10/10 Quality of overall presentation
BUILDNER SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
Embrace
Competition projects serve as the perfect laboratory for us to imagine and test new ideas, serving various purposes. For the organizer/initiator of the competition, we strive to present a different, unique, yet always fitting and realistic idea to address the challenges of the design brief. For a broader audience, we aim to create inviting, understandable, and compelling design proposals that facilitate discussions on specific socially relevant subjects. Personally, competitions provide us with a method to push ourselves further, expand our knowledge as a design team, and specialize in a particular area within architecture. In this case, the focus is on elderly housing and the relationship and impact of the built environment on a person's well-being through eco-friendly design.
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Jury feedback summary
Embrace is designed to function like a small village with a central community heart, where residents might forge new personal bonds and meet others through spontaneous interactions. The project has many sustainable features which stood out from other submissions: the use of a cross laminated timber (CLT) structure for lower embodied energy, a healthy interior environment and enhanced flexibility and modularity;, green roofs to increase thermal mass and lower heat gain; a heat exchanger to lower energy costs; and even an integrated smart electric car hub for its elderly residents to encourage mobility.
Sometimes OK is better than WOW. That's the case for this project. A very quiet and anonymous object responds to the demanded functions in a very clear manner. The project not only integrates several technologies, but also uses modular solutions, promoting cleaner and efficient building methods, through a pragmatic and serious approach.
Samuel Gonçalves / Buildner guest jury
Founder, SUMMARY, Portugal
The project receives the recommendation mainly for the way it presents and highlights the qualities and efficiency of the structure's construction and design. These aspects are important for indoor air quality and concerns for durability, adaptability and sustainability.
Tiago Krusse / Buildner guest jury
Design Magazine, Portugal
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThe project intelligently mixes rendered imagery with an appropriate amount of digestible text, clear annotation and thoughtful diagrams. The visuals are extraordinary and beautiful. The three general sectional drawings would benefit from additional lin work to provide hierarchy and depth and, as with all the projects commented on above, a construction-level detail to describe the project buildup would solidify the author’s design intent and clarify the project’s ability to be realized.
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8/10 Linework
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10/10 Quality of drawings
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10/10 Balance of color
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9/10 Layout
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10/10 Hierarchy
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10/10 Annotation
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10/10 Text
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9/10 Clarity of story
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10/10 Clarity of diagrams
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10/10 Quality of overall presentation
Honorable Mentions
Shortlisted projects
"Arches of Tranquility: Elderly Residence Project"
University of Oregon
+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
United States EXPANSIVE LANDSCAPE
Circulos da Vida
TOGETHER
Casa Povo
Town-Homes: Structuring the Social and Solitary
HOLM OAK COMMUNITY
Elderly oasis
ATRIUM
Braided Homes
The Shape of Home
Avô
Embrace
PINHA
Jardim do Sobreiro
Portuguese home for the elderly
Our Little Farm
Terrace
The Terrace
Saudade
Now and together
Vida na Colina
O Pavilhão
Casa do planalto
SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSE
sensitivity to needs. eldery home in Portugal
portugal elderly home...a little village
Trinitas
Home of New Horizons
Active ageing
Elderly Home Portugal
Patium "Elderly retirement"
Andorinha de Areia
The local park
Casa De Jardim
Returning Home
Mosaics of Daily Life
Casa das Oliveiras
WHITE BLOCKS
deference
