International Architecture Competition

Rome
Collective Living Challenge

Affordable Housing Series #6

Results

Foreword

Competition organisers

Rome 
Collective Living Challenge

Official Partners

Rome 
Collective Living Challenge Rome 
Collective Living Challenge

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!

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

Rome
Collective Living Challenge

Affordable Housing Series #6
1st Prize Winner +
BB STUDENT AWARD

Project name

Vita del Muro

Authors

Karin Frykholm
Lisa Fransson
Rron Bexheti

University

Lund university
+178 points Buildner University Rankings!

Sweden

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

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.

Jury feedback summary

“Vito del Muro - Co-inhabiting the Aurelian Wall” targets Rome’s 19km-long, 3rd-century defensive fortification as a generator of future housing stock for the city. The project focuses on demonstrating that the wall has not only resilience, but also serves to be permanently useful for Rome’s greater good. The submission offers a simply-constructed unit design that might be implemented along the intact portions of the historic structure. Adapting to the linear form of the wall, residential units are placed side-by-side and connected by a communal living space. The jury wonders, however, how many units can the intact portions of the wall feasibly support, and is this enough to begin to solve Rome’s housing crisis?

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

Anti-Isolato

Authors

George Guida

Italy

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

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.

Jury feedback summary

“Anti-Isolato” details a method for transforming a typical residential Roman street block, which it claims to be an insular courtyard enclosed by a perimeter of residential buildings. The design proposes opening this inner court to the city street by removing one of the block’s sides and, furthermore, by introducing a number of collective programs within the block. The project presents a case study of historical Roman social housing projects and extracts the lessons learned from their failures. To overcome the isolated nature of these constructions, the ‘new’ block is populated with collective working spaces and collective living units linked to a perimeter atrium open to the courtyard. These collective spaces are balanced by private residential units that face the streets. The jury found the drawings and ideas to be excellent and clear. The jury also asks: By using the strategies shown here, can existing blocks also be transformed in a more sensitive way, rather than through significant reconstruction?

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

R[h]ome: diverse community living

Authors

Philip Kolevsohn

University

Politecnico di milano
+74 points Buildner University Rankings!

South Africa

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

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.

Jury feedback summary

“R(h)ome" converts an existing structure into an alternate form of housing to demonstrate the importance of adaptation over new construction in such a historic city. The proposal states: “To build something new in the center of Rome is virtually impossible, yet the large amount of underutilized spaces, especially in religious complexes, offers new potential for creative adaptation in the struggle to provide the diverse housing needs of a contemporary city.” The project converts the historic guesthouse of the 14th-century Chiesa e Monastero di Santa Brigida into a 21st-century co-living facility. Through a number of sensitive design considerations, the existing floor layout is adapted to a variety of different residential unit types, shared outdoor spaces, and a communal coffee shop, dining area, and kitchen. The jury would love to see this project expanded to include a range of different Roman sites.

BB GREEN AWARD

Project name

COOP - a construction system for city-actors

Authors

Isabel Magalhães
Rafaela Barcelos
Ana Marta Lins
Camilla Rodrigues

Brazil

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

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.

Honorable mentions

VIEWclose HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Project Name

Rome In Ruins

University

Lund university
+72 points Buildner University Rankings!

Country

Sweden

Project authors

Tara Fartash-Naini
Paul Weedle
Kajsa Henriksson

Project Name

Living on the Lungotevere

University

Lund university
+72 points Buildner University Rankings!

Country

Sweden

Project authors

Isak Jannert
Anna McDermott
Gustav Svanberg

Project Name

Domestic Equipment for a New Collectivity in Rome

Country

United States

Project authors

Jacob Comerci
Eli Braff Back

Project Name

Coliving Family Tree

University

Belarusian national technical university
+72 points Buildner University Rankings!

Country

Belarus

Project authors

Daria Studneva
Julia Studneva
Vitali Arabei

Project Name

Network Communities Rome

Country

Ukraine

Project authors

Oleksandr Kolesnykov
Anton Zheleznov
Ruslana Lomakina
Ivan Seleshok

Project Name

Forum Domus

Country

United States

Project authors

Chang Yuan Max Hsu
Jeremy Leonard

Shortlisted projects

VIEWclose Shortlisted projects

Poland

Gdańsk University of Technology (Politechnika Gdańska)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
maja mawusi

United States

jolanda devalle
alison zuccaro

Poland

Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (Politechnika Wrocławska)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
agata popieluch

Canada

University of Waterloo

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
changfeng chen

Italy

alessandro di egidio
martina di egidio
leila bochicchio

Russian Federation

Moscow Institute of architecture - MARHI , Московский архитектурный институт - МАРХИ

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
maria cheltsova-bebutova
anna vorobyova
yana kurilova
denis omelchenko

United States

naomi hébert
ji won jun
shu guo

Sweden

Faculty of Engineering, LTH , Lund University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
fatemeh bahari
soheil shahnazari

Sweden

Faculty of Engineering, LTH , Lund University

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
isak jannert
anna mcdermott
gustav svanberg

Sweden

Faculty of Engineering, LTH , Lund University

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
tara fartash-naini
paul weedle
kajsa henriksson

Sweden

Faculty of Engineering, LTH , Lund University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
justyna krokowska
chen yi lee
nicholas hartman

Sweden

Faculty of Engineering, LTH , Lund University

+178 points Buildner University Rankings!
karin frykholm
lisa fransson
rron bexheti

South Korea

Hongik University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
yeong joon ko
jae kyeong moon
dong hyun limb
gwang hyeon park

Uruguay

maria amado mannise
maria eizayaga
natália ayumi sato
taís de moraes alves

United States

Iowa State University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
zheng yang
hansen sentosa
fan-kai lin

South Korea

Suh architects

kyungen kim
borum kim
jayeon chung
nha npark

Italy

Politecnico di Milano / Polytechnic University of Milan

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
siyka georgieva
katia al chosmpan or al hussban

China

Pratt Institute

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
xin chen
danlei yang
hsin-wei wang

Serbia

Arhi.pro

dimitrije milic
aleksa asanin
visnja trudic
dusan kitanovic

India

varalika raj singh
poojitha m p vadana

United States

jacob comerci
eli braff back

United States

Kean University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
sara mountford
eric anderson

United States

katie burrell
abigail vanderlek
elise wang

Russian Federation

Moscow Institute of architecture - MARHI , Московский архитектурный институт - МАРХИ

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
nadezda vozzhaeva
uliana zhomnir
fedor shemyakin

Russian Federation

Moscow Institute of architecture - MARHI , Московский архитектурный институт - МАРХИ

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
ekaterina lavrinenko
olga garanina
olesya opara

Poland

Poznan University of Technology , Politechnika Poznańska

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
magdalena baraniak
katarzyna pieprzyk
joanna stefańczyk
zuzanna jankowska

Russian Federation

Moscow Institute of architecture - MARHI , Московский архитектурный институт - МАРХИ

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
olga sizoy
elizaveta nikolskaya

Poland

Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (Politechnika Wrocławska)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
paulina lechowska

Brazil

Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas, PUC-Campinas

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
gabriel grothge faria
henry farkas
beatriz cressoni
carolina mescollotto moretti

South Africa

Politecnico di Milano / Polytechnic University of Milan

+74 points Buildner University Rankings!
philip kolevsohn

Ukraine

oleksandr kolesnykov
anton zheleznov
ruslana lomakina
ivan seleshok

Brazil

isabel magalhães
rafaela barcelos
ana marta lins
camilla rodrigues

Poland

weronika gajda
maja wrzeszcz
marta przygoda

Romania

Architectural Association School of Architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
alexandru octavian mitea

Germany

laura carina kurz
jörn kehrer

Australia

shaun lee
kelly choi
jade tan

Greece

eirini kanargieli
konstantinos konstantinidis
maria chatzikallia

United States

chang yuan max hsu
jeremy leonard

Belarus

Belarusian National Technical University

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
daria studneva
julia studneva
vitali arabei

Ukraine

bogdan bondarenko
alexander lazurenko
maryna biletska
costiantyn bondarenko

Netherlands

jo janssen
laura piovan
andi belulaj
maud van oerle
 

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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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