Introduction

COMPETITION ORGANISERS
Modular Home 
Design Challenge

This competition tasked participants with submitting innovative design proposals for a modular home that could be constructed in any form, or layout, in any location. The first annual Modular Home Design Challenge competition is part of Bee Breeders’ Small Scale Architecture Appreciation Movement showcasing small projects that contain big ideas, as well as its Affordable Housing series run in partnership with ARCHHIVE BOOKS. This competition was launched in tandem with the - Modular Architecture Essay Competition - winners from both events will be included in an upcoming print book on the topic of modular architecture.

Modular architecture is one of the most dynamic components of design, offering versatile solutions for efficient, sustainable spaces and building practices. Repeatable or flexible modules can yield customisable and well-designed solutions to projects without incurring excessive costs. Factory prefabrication, efficient use of materials, reduced transport requirements, and ease of site installation all have the potential to reduce the embodied energy of a project.

Bee Breeders worked with an international jury of innovative architects and modular design specialists: Ben van Berkel, founder and principal of UNStudio; Chris Precht, architect and co-founder of Studio Precht; Mathew Aitchison, CEO of Building 4.0 Cooperative Research Centre (CRC); Camino Alonso, Carlos Alonso and Ignacio Lechón, co-founders of Madrid-based ÁBATON Arquitectura; Sarah Broadstock, architect at London-based Studio Bark; Enrico De Lotto and George Kolliopoulos, co-founders of Milan-based Mandalaki and designers of the Monocabin Prefab project; Inés Olavarrieta, architect and designer at Madrid-based selgascano; Ivan Rupnik, architect, scholar, consultant, and Associate Professor of Architecture at Northeastern University College of Arts, Media and Design and founder of MOD X, a platform for international exchanges related to the volumetric modular industry, and Ewelina Woźniak-Szpakiewicz, Chief Executive Officer at DMDmodular Ltd, based in Poland. Bee Breeders received an excellent range of submissions from around the world, each testing its own modular techniques or studying potential forms and variations such modular designs might yield. Those selected by the jury were chosen for being especially responsive to their chosen environments, for their innovative use of materials, or for their constructability and potential for realisation.

Bee Breeders and its jury panel would like to thank all the designers that participated in this competition.

We sincerely thank our jury panel
for their time and expertise

Ben Van Berkel

UNStudio

Netherlands

Chris Precht

Co-Founder, Studio Precht

Austria

Ewelina Woźniak-Szpakiewicz

Chief Executive Officer at DMDmodular Ltd

Poland

Ivan Rupnik

Founder MOD X

USA

Inés Olavarrieta

Architect and designer at selgascano

Spain

George Kolliopoulos

Co-founder of Mandalaki

Italy

Enrico De Lotto

Co-founder of Mandalaki

Italy

Sarah Broadstock

Architect at Studio Bark

United Kingdom

Mathew Aitchison

Interim CEO of Building 4.0 Cooperative Research Centre (CRC)

Australia

Camino Alonso

Founder of ÁBATON Arquitectura

Spain

Carlos Alonso

Founder of ÁBATON Arquitectura

Spain

1st Prize Winner

Project name

Pop up - DIY

We view competitions as a means to challenge ourselves, our views, our ideas. One of the main goals is to develop trust as a team in pushing ourselves as far as possible in order to achieve our goals.

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Authors
Gabriel Chivu
Laura Mazâlu
Stefan Mircea
Thomas Herrera
Country
Romania

2nd Prize Winner +
BB STUDENT AWARD

Project name

Re-Imagining Makoko: Modular Floating Home

Architecture competitions allow one to share architectural designs with a broader audience while contributing to a larger discourse. The experience and process throughout empowers creative thinking and provides opportunities to learn from each other. Although it can be a challenge, it is a way to apply the knowledge we have acquired and let ourselves explore our interests. Lastly, it is always rewarding if you win a prize!

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University
Syracuse University
Authors
Jessica Michelle Rithika Anand
Tiffany Chen
Angelina Yihan Zhang
Country
United States
+146 points Buildner University Rankings

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

Standardization / Customization

The biggest reason for our participation is probably the fruitful learning experiences competitions are able to offer us. During the duration of this competition, we were not only able to improve our conceptual development and our representational/graphic sensibilities, but also our collective communicational skills and teamwork capabilities. Towards the end of the competition, there was a noticeable improvement in the coordination of our workloads and our ability to rely on each other’s strength.

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Authors
Jerry Zhang
Tory Tan
Country
Canada
+74 points Buildner University Rankings

BB GREEN AWARD

Project name

the family’s background

As we are at the very beginning of our architectural journey, we wanted to face a real competition task on our own. We want to provoke discussions on topics important to us in architecture and society. Thanks to competitions, we can reach a larger group of recipients.

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Authors
Julia Ciężar
Matylda Wolska
Alicja Bakalarska
Country
Poland
+76 points Buildner University Rankings

Honorable Mentions

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Project name

MHDC House

Authors
Federico Borges Pérez
Agustín Lagreca Herrmann
Country
Uruguay
Project name

Modewood

Authors
Marcjanna Wabińska
Eliza Tomczak
Patrycja Skawicka
Piotr Skorupiński
Country
Poland
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
Project name

A Manifesto on Home: Reflections on Freedom, Flexibility, and Sustainability in Life and Place

Authors
Gioia Montana Connell
Sam Golini
Eamon Roche
Country
United States
Project name

Home +

Authors
Ruo Shen
Yihan Zhou
Country
Germany
Project name

KAO - PUÊ

Authors
Chi-Chia Tsao
Zhi ray Wang
Cheng Yen Tsai
Hung Yu Chu
Country
Taiwan
Project name

SILVANUS

Authors
Yi Zhou
Yikai Chang
Tianshuo Liu
Haoxuan Liang
Country
Australia

Shortlisted projects

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MODU-FLEX

Mostafa Etman
Mohamed Samy
Yara rafat

Massar Integrated BIM & Project Management

Egypt

the family’s background

Julia Ciężar
Matylda Wolska
Alicja Bakalarska

Warsaw University of Technology

+76 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

The Expansion Anti-Mansion (TEAM)

Lauren Lam
Kyrie Graham
Aishah Alhady
Gracie Meek
United States

Bio-Block

Ben Quint-glick
Christian Smoke
United States

A Manifesto on Home: Reflections on Freedom, Flexibility, and Sustainability in Life and Place

Gioia Montana Connell
Sam Golini
Eamon Roche
United States

MHDC House

Federico Borges Pérez
Agustín Lagreca Herrmann
Uruguay

Concealed Cube

Olivia He
Xing Hua Lin
Xiaofeng Jiang
United States

Interstice

Xuecheng Cai

University at Buffalo, SUNY The State University of New York

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
United States

3D Printing House

Edona Murseli
Kosovo

ON TOP | a movable breathing parasite

Katarina Sesic

Technische Universität Wien

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Austria

Quad

Carlo Bughi

Archetypes Design

United Kingdom

VillaVOON

Guido Strohecker
Austria

Stackable Tower

Giovanni Cavaglion
Italy

3,6 SQUARE

Michał Daniszewski
Poland

Australian Modular House

Tony Jemmott

Conrad Gargett

Australia

SILVANUS

Yi Zhou
Yikai Chang
Tianshuo Liu
Haoxuan Liang
Australia

THE STANDARD

Tommy kyung-tae Nam
Soohyuk Choi
Jongbang Park
Heejin Cho
United States

Standardization / Customization

Jerry Zhang
Tory Tan

Carnegie Mellon University

+74 points Buildner University Rankings!
Canada

Eco Modular House

Misak Terzibasiyan

UArchitects

Netherlands

Panel House

Nicholas Horvath
Jean Dufresne
United States

MENARA KAYU

Adriana Salim
Yin ching Chan

University of California, Berkeley

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
United States

Salbalai

Cheaster marie lorono Seville
Marc joseph Espino

University of the Philippines Diliman

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Philippines

The New Coastline

Cheng-yang Huang
William Chandra
Yu-Hsi Lin
Taiwan

Utopia for an aging society

Fatma Alshamsi
United Arab Emirates

Home +

Ruo Shen
Yihan Zhou
Germany

Season house

Marina Ercole
Aldana Lorenzo
Argentina

C3 PLATFORM

Mohaimeen Islam
Bangladesh

KAO - PUÊ

Chi-Chia Tsao
Zhi ray Wang
Cheng Yen Tsai
Hung Yu Chu
Taiwan

HollerHaus

Sydney Sinclair
Marla Stephens
Ann Nguyen
United States

Pop up - DIY

Gabriel Chivu
Laura Mazâlu
Stefan Mircea
Thomas Herrera
Romania

Habitar

Alejandro Ricote
Diego Sierra
Miriam Engelmayer
Alejandro Cárdenas
Mexico

The Scantuary

Akash Raina
Regina Amirova
United States

ONE

Xiaomin Deng
China

The second life of shelf racks

Aleksandra Krawczyk
Jakub Bąbik
Monika Popkiewicz

Warsaw University of Technology

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

House-X

Marios Tsangaris
Marios Solomou
Cyprus

Modewood

Marcjanna Wabińska
Eliza Tomczak
Patrycja Skawicka
Piotr Skorupiński
Poland

Re-Imagining Makoko: Modular Floating Home

Jessica Michelle Rithika Anand
Tiffany Chen
Angelina Yihan Zhang
United States

Mestizo House

Santiago Montegranario
Andrés Rodríguez
Estefanía Cortés
Hanna Montegranario

Latitud23º

Colombia

the nested

Jonas Klemens
Elif siva Dinler
Germany

Shell Duo

Hannah Zhong
New Zealand