Foreword

In 2018 protesters took to the streets of Rome to rally against resident evictions. After years of housing shortages, rising rental prices, and unemployment, thousands of families and individuals were no longer able to meet their mortgage and rent payments, and many were being forced from their homes. This is just one event that exhibits how Rome, like several capital European cities, has simply become unaffordable.

For the Rome Collective Living Challenge, we’ve asked architects and designers to propose solutions for collective living in Rome.

Participants were tasked with designing a concept for affordable co-living. Instead of considering ways to construct thousands of new, individual apartments in Rome, this competition focused on housing solutions that might offer both affordability and community. We sought ideas that could potentially be implemented across Rome to increase housing stock. There was no minimum size required, and proposals were asked to be flexible enough to adapt to different locations and inhabitant requirements. Participants were free to choose and identify their own competition sites.

Several submitted proposals sought methods for increasing density within the existing generic building stock. Others targeted specific Roman sites such as the Aurelian Walls or the Tiber riverfront. Others still sought to rework parking lots and other low-density spaces seemingly present everywhere throughout Rome.

When judging the proposals, the jury asked two primary questions: Does the proposal introduce thoughtful or novel concepts for community living? And how does it respond specifically to Rome’s urban situation?

This competition is part of Bee Breeders’ Affordable Housing Crisis design series, which has over the past year introduced a number of proposals to address the global demand for urban housing. Some of these submissions and others have been included in the inaugural print publication by ARCHHIVE: Issue 1: What is Affordable Housing?

Bee Breeders would like to thank all designers who participated in this competition!

COMPETITION ORGANISERS
Rome 
Collective Living Challenge
Official partner
Rome 
Collective Living Challenge Rome 
Collective Living Challenge
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Los Angeles Affordable 
Housing Challenge

Design affordable housing solutions in Los Angeles

Affordable Housing Series #16 ideas COMPETITION

1st Prize Winner +
BB STUDENT AWARD

Project name

Vita del Muro

To participate in an architecture vision competition is an important step from the imaginative stage to the professional. When participating, one is pushed into thorough research, clear communication as well as questioning and refining the material produced.

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University Lund university
Authors Karin Frykholm, Lisa Fransson, Rron Bexheti,
Country Sweden
+178 points Buildner University Rankings

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

Anti-Isolato

These competitions give a voice to what is most needed in our built environment. It creates a platform upon which to develop new narratives in hand with provocative designs.

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Authors George Guida,
Country Italy

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

R[h]ome: diverse community living

I find that architecture vision competitions give participants more freedom to tackle social and architectural issues, while at the same time providing a platform for discussion around sensitive topics which architects and designers would otherwise not have the ability to discuss or argue. In a vision competition it's not about providing enough content to achieve an 'A+' on your report card, neither is it about meeting client demands, strict budgets and bureaucratic restrictions. It allows architects and designers the opportunity to research, experiment, create and discover, in an attempt to solve real problems in an 'out of the box' yet educated and inspired manner.

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Authors Philip Kolevsohn,
Country South Africa
+74 points Buildner University Rankings

BB GREEN AWARD

Project name

COOP - a construction system for city-actors

We participate in architecture competitions because we can explore creativity, create remarkable designs and study unusual themes. In this specific competition we were especially interested about the site, the city of Rome, a historical and cultural environment where Camilla and Rafaela had lived.

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Honorable Mentions

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Project name

Rome In Ruins

University Lund university
Authors Tara Fartash-Naini, Paul Weedle, Kajsa Henriksson,
Country Sweden
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
Project name

Living on the Lungotevere

University Lund university
Authors Isak Jannert, Anna McDermott, Gustav Svanberg,
Country Sweden
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
Project name

Domestic Equipment for a New Collectivity in Rome

Authors Jacob Comerci, Eli Braff Back
Country United States
Project name

Coliving Family Tree

Project name

Network Communities Rome

Project name

Forum Domus

Country United States

Shortlisted projects

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maja mawusi

Gdańsk university of technology

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

jolanda devalle

alison zuccaro

United States

Customized

agata popieluch

Politechnika wrocławska

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

nienke borgman

Netherlands

The Living Commons

changfeng chen

University of waterloo school of architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Canada

alessandro di egidio

martina di egidio

leila bochicchio

Italy

maria cheltsova-bebutova

anna vorobyova

yana kurilova

denis omelchenko

Moscow institute of architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Russian Federation

kelvin kong

shun ming king

Hong Kong

naomi hébert

ji won jun

shu guo

United States

andrea bosio

cristina caprioli

Italy

fatemeh bahari

soheil shahnazari

Sweden

Living on the Lungotevere

isak jannert

anna mcdermott

gustav svanberg

Sweden

Rome In Ruins

tara fartash-naini

paul weedle

kajsa henriksson

Sweden

justyna krokowska

chen yi lee

nicholas hartman

Sweden

Vita del Muro

karin frykholm

lisa fransson

rron bexheti

Sweden

yeong joon ko

jae kyeong moon

dong hyun limb

gwang hyeon park

South Korea

maria amado mannise

maria eizayaga

natália ayumi sato

taís de moraes alves

Uruguay

zheng yang

hansen sentosa

fan-kai lin

United States

kyungen kim

borum kim

jayeon chung

nha npark

Suh architects

South Korea

Youtopia

siyka georgieva

katia al chosmpan or al hussban

Italy

Living Vessel

xin chen

danlei yang

hsin-wei wang

China

dimitrije milic

aleksa asanin

visnja trudic

dusan kitanovic

Arhi.pro

Serbia

varalika raj singh

poojitha m p vadana

India

Domestic Equipment for a New Collectivity in Rome

jacob comerci

eli braff back

United States

sara mountford

eric anderson

United States

katie burrell

abigail vanderlek

elise wang

United States

Roman Archi Alphabet

nadezda vozzhaeva

uliana zhomnir

fedor shemyakin

Moscow architectural institute markhi

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Russian Federation

giacomo caputo

Germany

tomáš martiš

Czech Republic

Colorful intimacy

ekaterina lavrinenko

olga garanina

olesya opara

Moscow institute of architecture (state academy)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Russian Federation

URBAN HOUSE

magdalena baraniak

katarzyna pieprzyk

joanna stefańczyk

zuzanna jankowska

Poznan university of technology

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

Digital Cave

olga sizoy

elizaveta nikolskaya

Moscow architectural institute

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Russian Federation

Anti-Isolato

george guida

Italy

paulina lechowska

Wroclaw university of science and technology

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

[inside ROME]²

gabriel grothge faria

henry farkas

beatriz cressoni

carolina mescollotto moretti

Pontifícia universidade católica de campinas

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Brazil

R[h]ome: diverse community living

philip kolevsohn

South Africa

Network Communities Rome

oleksandr kolesnykov

anton zheleznov

ruslana lomakina

ivan seleshok

Ukraine

COOP - a construction system for city-actors

isabel magalhães

rafaela barcelos

ana marta lins

camilla rodrigues

Brazil

weronika gajda

maja wrzeszcz

marta przygoda

Poland

The (Un)divided City

alexandru octavian mitea

Architectural association school of architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Romania

laura carina kurz

jörn kehrer

Germany

shaun lee

kelly choi

jade tan

Australia

ruslan lukashchuk

Ukraine

eirini kanargieli

konstantinos konstantinidis

maria chatzikallia

Greece

erik vodenik

simon magerl

Slovenia

hao wu

qing xu

United States

Forum Domus

chang yuan max hsu

jeremy leonard

United States

Coliving Family Tree

daria studneva

julia studneva

vitali arabei

Belarusian national technical university

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
Belarus

bogdan bondarenko

alexander lazurenko

maryna biletska

costiantyn bondarenko

Ukraine

jo janssen

laura piovan

andi belulaj

maud van oerle

Netherlands
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