Introduction

COMPETITION ORGANISERS
Under
Bridge

Buildner is pleased to announce the results of the Underbridge international architecture competition, the 17th in a series of competitions focused on finding design solutions for affordable housing challenges in cities around the globe. Visit Buildner books to read more about our publications on affordable housing and other topics.

As cities expand, underutilized spaces beneath bridges remained dormant, overshadowed by their towering counterparts. This competition aimed to find ways of transforming these neglected areas into dynamic, thriving communities.

Participants were invited to select any underbridge site globally, considering factors such as accessibility, available amenities, and how the proposed solution would integrate with the existing community. The designs needed to showcase adaptability, ensuring they catered to various needs while remaining cost-effective and sustainable. Buildner and its jurors sought practical, scalable, and eco-conscious designs to revolutionize these overlooked spaces. The competition encouraged participants to think creatively and present innovative housing solutions that challenged conventional approaches. The underbridge spaces awaited transformative ideas to become vital parts of urban communities.

Buildner worked with an experienced panel of international jurors: Cas Esbach, Project Leader and Architect at MVRDV in Rotterdam, has contributed to projects such as Shenzhen Terraces and Valley in Amsterdam, and teaches at TU Delft; Philippe Fouche, Director and Architect at South Africa-based SAOTA, focuses on vernacular design and sustainability, with projects ranging from European villas to urban designs in West Africa, India, and Turkey; Avi Friedman, Professor of Architecture at McGill University and President of Avi Friedman Consultants, Inc., has written 28 books and is known for his work on affordable and sustainable residential environments; Samista Jugwanth, Associate and shareholder at Zutari, has over twelve years’ experience in engineering design, project management, and construction management in Africa, emphasizing human-centered infrastructure development; Luise Marter, collaborating with KWY studio in Lisbon, works on multidisciplinary projects and values collaboration and process-driven methodology in practice; Blake T. Smith, Associate and Senior Designer at BIG in Brooklyn, led the Google Bay View Campus project and focuses on 3D printed housing, teaching at NJIT and NYIT; Nicolas Sterling, Co-Founder and Director of Sterling Presser Architects and Engineers in Berlin, is an architect and structural engineer who has worked on innovative projects with leading firms like Zaha Hadid and Shigeru Ban; Elke Sterling-Presser, Co-Founder and Director of Sterling Presser Architects and Engineers in Berlin, is a licensed architect and teaches at the UdK in Berlin; Renyi Zhang, Senior Architect and Urban Designer with Perkins&Will, specializes in multi-scale strategy and urban design projects, including campus planning for UC Berkeley and Xinyang University; Andreas Tjeldflaat, Founder of Framlab in New York and Bergen, serves on the Real Estate Market advisory group for UNECE, and has taught at Columbia University and Cornell University.

Buildner and its jury panel extend its congratulations to the winning teams and thank each of the participants for their design submissions. The competition was a great success, and the submissions below offer many unique solutions aimed at a significant challenge cities face around the globe today.

We sincerely thank our jury panel
for their time and expertise

Cas Esbach

MVRDV

Netherlands

Philippe Fouche

Director and Architect, SAOTA

South Africa

Avi Friedman

Professor at McGill University

USA

Luise Marter

KWY studio

Portugal

Nicolas Sterling

Co Founder and Director, Sterling Presser Architects and Engineers

Germany

Elke Sterling-Presser

Co Founder and Director, Sterling Presser Architects and Engineers

Germany

Blake T. Smith

BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group

United States

Renyi Zhang

Perkins&Will

USA

Andreas Tjeldflaat

Founder, Framlab

Norway

Samista Jugwanth

Associate and shareholder

Zutari

Enter the next competition edition
Denver 
Single-Stair 
Housing Challenge

Design single staircase, multi-story residential housing in Denver

Affordable Housing Series 18th Edition ideas COMPETITION

1st Prize Winner +
Buildner Student Award

Project name

NEW RAFT

I believe that participating in architectural competitions can greatly help me broaden my thinking and allow me to design boldly while trying out new design methods. For example, I think that the functionality of a single building is limited, so I aim to solve complex problems through designing systems. The topics provided by Buildner are always innovative and challenging, which is why I want to use this architectural competition to practice my ideas and receive diverse feedback from around the world. This experience will be a great exercise for my professional skills in the future.

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  • 9/10 Linework
  • 9/10 Quality of drawings
  • 8/10 Balance of color
  • 8/10 Layout
  • 9/10 Hierarchy
  • 9/10 Annotation
  • 7/10 Text
  • 9/10 Clarity of story
  • 9/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10 Quality of overall presentation

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

The Hiveway

Competitions provide us with the freedom to explore and test ideas without the confines of particular project constraints. As a team, our focus is to participate in competitions with potential for community impact, such as the Under the Bridge challenge.

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Company
B+H Architects & the Surbana Jurong Architecture & Design Council of Excellence
Authors
Stephanie Julie Maignan
Qianhui Wang
Ogulnabat Jumayeva
Brian Tien
Country
Canada
  • 10/10 Linework
  • 10/10 Quality of drawings
  • 9/10 Balance of color
  • 9/10 Layout
  • 9/10 Hierarchy
  • 6/10 Annotation
  • 8/10 Text
  • 8/10 Clarity of story
  • 9/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10 Quality of overall presentation

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

[0,0,-1]

Unlike existing contests, BUILDNER addresses aspects of society that are not yet considered. This gives us many opportunities to think and has the power to change society. We also entered this contest to be part of such an initiative.

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Authors
Hoyeon La
Seo Junhyeong
Jung Hyun Ji
Seonghyun Jeong
Country
South Korea
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
  • 9/10 Linework
  • 9/10 Quality of drawings
  • 7/10 Balance of color
  • 7/10 Layout
  • 9/10 Hierarchy
  • 8/10 Annotation
  • 7/10 Text
  • 9/10 Clarity of story
  • 9/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10 Quality of overall presentation

Buildner Sustainability Award

Project name

LIVING UNDER A COMMON ROOF - Reinterpreted tube houses

I participate in architecture competitions to improve my design skills. Dealing with specific topics always provides new inspiration and enables me to continuously develop. Additionally, I enjoy seeing the diverse approaches that other participants take to solve the same challenges.

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  • 8/10 Linework
  • 8/10 Quality of drawings
  • 10/10 Balance of color
  • 8/10 Layout
  • 8/10 Hierarchy
  • 8/10 Annotation
  • 6/10 Text
  • 9/10 Clarity of story
  • 9/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10 Quality of overall presentation

Honorable Mentions

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Project name

Underline

Competitions often provide the opportunity to design for places and specific needs that may not ordinarily arise in a client brief. Competitions are a great way for architecture studios to challenge their thinking about architecture’s role and or contribution to society. To think big and to see ourselves as an agent for positive change. It is also an important exercise to test a firm’s ability to respond to a brief and compare their proposal to their peers.

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Author
Thierry Lacoste
Country
Australia
Project name

Reclaim, Redress, Rewild

We participate in architecture competitions because we are proud of our work. In school and post-graduation, we’ve designed projects defined by public service and community remediation. We feel this is the ultimate duty of the architect, beyond the niche and aesthetic. Herein, we want to share this work with our peers and inspire those with these creative skills to design generously.

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Authors
Dillon Michael Marlow
Luca Gerard Viverito
Country
United States
Project name

Water & horizontal, hanok

This aims to present more possibilities in architecture. It is also an opportunity for young architects to showcase their work to experienced professionals.

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Author
Hayoung Jung
Country
South Korea
Project name

UNDERLINE

Participating in architecture competitions allows us to challenge ourselves creatively, explore new ideas, and stay engaged with the latest trends and innovations in the field. It provides an opportunity to showcase our skills, collaborate with other professionals, and gain recognition for our work.

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Authors
Jiansong Yuan
Xiaotong Ni
Country
United States
Project name

PARASITE

Author
Alina Pinardi
Country
Switzerland
Project name

UNDERBRIDGE HOMES

Authors
Anqi Wang
Hao Zhou
Yue Liang
Ruijing Sun
Country
United States

Shortlisted projects

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The Hiveway

Stephanie Julie Maignan
Qianhui Wang
Ogulnabat Jumayeva
Brian Tien

B+H Architects & the Surbana Jurong Architecture & Design Council of Excellence

Canada

Social Infrastructure for Transient Communities

Reem Ayman Saeed Sayed Saeed
Omar Kamal Nagati
Omar Khaled Hassan Mohamed

CLUSTER

Egypt

Accordion House in Seoul

Jungmin Um
Nabin Kim

Sejong University, 세종대학교

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
South Korea

The Elizabeth Suture

Kennedy Vaughn Pfeifer
Angela E Evangelista

New Jersey Institute of Technology

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
United States

Onder een Brug - Delft

Tov Frencken

Delft University of Technology, TU Delft , Technical University Delft

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Netherlands

City Drawer

Pao-ni Yang
祥禾 楊

National United University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Taiwan

BridgeLink Living

Tae Seong Kim
South Korea

Best Rest Nest

Sohyun Park
Misung Jung
Chaeyeon Son
Jae Wan Jeong
South Korea

UNDERLINE

Jiansong Yuan
Xiaotong Ni
United States

Underline

Thierry Lacoste
Australia

Point B

Nickie Cheung
Rebecca Ann Baierwick
United States

UNDERBRIDGE - affordable living with a golden view

Paul Schuchmann
Henrik Bühler

The Trier University of Applied Sciences, Hochschule Trier

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Germany

[RE]-PRODUCTION

Chuan Liu
Sijie Ji
United States

BRIDGE RIDGE

Magdalena Dąbrowska

Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (Politechnika Wrocławska)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

PARASITE

Alina Pinardi
Switzerland

UNDERBRIDGE HOMES

Anqi Wang
Hao Zhou
Yue Liang
Ruijing Sun
United States

The First Settlement

Young Hoon Cho
Jihyeon Yun
Jaewon Kim
Canada

Water & horizontal, hanok

Hayoung Jung
South Korea

VAANSGRIHA

Veligatla Venkata Suresh

GITAM - Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
India

Mosaic

Calvin Liang
Canada

VIADUCT FOR LIVING

Radoslav Kmeco

Brno University of Technology (Vysoké učení technické v Brně)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Czech Republic

NEW RAFT

Yujun Cai

National University of Singapore

+172 points Buildner University Rankings!
China

The underbridge

Denisa Bezděková

Brno University of Technology (Vysoké učení technické v Brně)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Czech Republic

1.5 HUG

Alvaro Lavina Urbano
Sergio Abad Zorzo
Javier Marco Gomez

ETSAM: Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid (UPM)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Spain

Elevated Niches - Transfiguring the functional layers of communities

Eqo Leung
Anna Tonia De Vries
Philip John Chan Tong
Di Mu

GHD Ltd

New Zealand

THE MID-AIR COMPLEX

Ava Ranjbar
Sara Siyanati
Parmis Olyaeenezhad
Canada

Reclaim, Redress, Rewild

Dillon Michael Marlow
Luca Gerard Viverito
United States

Low Line

Bianzhe Wang
Jaehyung Ryu
Hyunjung An
Aiping Huan
France

LIVING UNDER A COMMON ROOF - Reinterpreted tube houses

Thu Nga Nadine Do

Vienna University of Technology , Technische Universität Wien, TU Wien

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
Austria

Transitional House

Chi Mei Mimi Leung
Yuen Ting Tsang
Chun Long Fok
Australia

Under-Flemington-Bridge

Bastian Amlie
Australia

Along The Promenade

Anna Elina Hyyryläinen
Heikki Ilmari Immonen
Kati Henrika Ranta-korpi

Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Finland

[0,0,-1]

Hoyeon La
Seo Junhyeong
Jung Hyun Ji
Seonghyun Jeong
South Korea

Community Connect Housing

Shane Parker Patience

Carleton University, Canada's Capital University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Canada

Under Bridge

Neal Joseph Angrisano
Joshua John Chandler
United States

Yunseoul

Seongsu Kim
Haemin Lee
Myeong Ji Kim

Kumoh National Institute of Technology

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
South Korea

Live Streaming

Jin Young Bin
Kim Minjeong
Juncheol Woo

Dankook University, DKU International - 단국대학교

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
South Korea

Hanging box

婧仪 侯

Shandong University of Art & Design

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
China

High Level Living

Rosina Hilda Helen Mclean
Louis Swift
United Kingdom

THE VORONOI UNDER BRIDGE

Jon David Fielding
Beduro Bae
Kin Kei Karina Hung

HETA architects

United Kingdom