International Architecture Ideas Competition

Vancouver Affordable
Housing Challenge

Affordable Housing Series #13

Results

Foreword

Competition organisers

Vancouver  Affordable 
Housing Challenge

Buildner is pleased to present the results to the Vancouver Affordable Housing Challenge!

This competition is part of Buildner’s Affordable Housing series, in partnership with ARCHHIVE BOOKS, showcasing projects that invent new means for driving down housing prices. Designers were tasked with proposing a flexible, innovative, pilot-phase concept for affordable housing within Greater Vancouver. Winning projects will be featured in ARCHHIVE BOOKS’ second edition of its publication, What is Affordable Housing?

Buildner’s Affordable Housing design series posits that there is no one right answer to making housing affordable. Today, a host of new ideas and platforms are enabling people to own or purchase homes. These creative methods include everything from community co-living facilities, to 3D-printed homes, stackable modular homes and new forms of transit-oriented development.

In addition to rising interest rates and a limited housing stock putting pressure on Vancouver’s housing market, the city is also restricted by zoning laws that render most types of housing - other than single- family detached homes - impossible to construct in many regions of the city. These issues, as well as many more political and economic factors, contribute to Vancouver’s mounting housing challenges. This competition tasked participants with proposing design-related solutions to the city’s housing crisis. They were encouraged to submit flexible solutions to accommodate a range of unit sizes including families, single professionals, and couples. There was no set competition site or scale, and participants were encouraged to be as creative as possible. The jury sought projects that challenge typical ideas of housing, design, and the community at large, while at the same time maintaining a practical element that could potentially see these designs realised.

Buildner collaborated with a regional and international interdisciplinary jury panel. The full panel included: Marianne Amodio, Principal of Vancouver-based MA+HG, a registered Architect with the Architectural Institute of British Columbia, Chair of The City of Vancouver's Creative Advisory Panel for Housing Innovation, and a member of the City of Vancouver Mayor's Advisory Committees for Housing; Nicky Bruun- Meyer, a Toronto-based Architect and a Co-Founder and Co-Publisher of The Site Magazine, a leading independent journal of contemporary architecture, landscape, urbanism, and design in Canada; Avi Friedman, a professor of architecture at McGill University Peter Guo- hua Fu School of Architecture, and president of Avi Friedman Consultants, Inc., a design firm with a focus on affordable and sustainable residential environments; Bryan He, an Intern Architect with Gair Williamson Architects, with experience in small to medium size residential, commercial and institutional projects in Vancouver; Melissa Higgs, Principal of Vancouver-based HCMA Architecture + Design, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, and an Adjunct at UBC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture; Tom Schroeder, a senior architect with Patkau Architects and adjunct faculty member at the University of British Columbia; and Surabhi Shakkarwar, an Urban Planner and Intern Architect with Boniface Oleksiuk Politano Architects focusing on the design and delivery of complex residential mixed-use projects in Metro Vancouver.

Buildner and its jury panel thank all individuals and teams that submitted proposals.

Enter the next
competition edition!

ideas COMPETITION
Los Angeles Affordable Housing Challenge
Affordable Housing Series #16

Design affordable housing solutions in Los Angeles

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 07
Sep 07
Nov 01
Register now

Vancouver Affordable
Housing Challenge

Affordable Housing Series #13
1st Prize Winner

Project name

Laneway Village

Authors

Xian chris Li
Elitsa Vutova
Nadthachai Kongkhajornkidsuk

United States

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

We participate in architecture competitions to improve our design knowledge and to challenge our ways of thinking. Through the speculative lens in which we propose solutions to a competition prompt, we often discover new ways of practicing that we tend to oversee. Combining this with exposure to real world project delivery, we’ve always learnt something new that we carry with us into future pursuits.

Jury feedback summary

Laneway Village seeks to advance Vancouver’s Laneway Housing Program through an integrated approach to create a cohesive new form of cohousing community. It claims to offer an adaptable framework to a “sustainable, equitable, and feasible” urban densification plan. The jury commented: “A smart expansion of an already existing and approved policy. This is a realistic proposal that amplifies the conversion of backlanes as streets, adding vitality to underused areas that have been attributed only for the use of vehicles. It demonstrates an affordable, scalable, and adaptable way to densify the underutilised and ubiquitous laneways all over the City of Vancouver and beyond. The flexible mixing of communal and commercial programs as well as dwelling programs shows a promising way to make the existing single-family zoned neighbourhoods more livable and accessible through the proposed community land trust financing model with local timber construction methods. It offers a viable approach to densifying and moving towards a more cooperative and communal approach to living. The scale is liveable, the design options and the concept is well described both in written content and in the beautiful drawings provided. The proposal is graphically engaging, clean and bright with a simple and clear solution. The drawings demonstrate compelling places where diverse communities can flourish.”

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

Living Trails

Authors

Christopher Doray
Piotr Pasierbinski
Yekta Tehrani
Lukas Vajda

Canada

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

My first ten years as an architectural apprentice was spent in a leading architectural practice in Singapore, where in the 80s and 90s, every urban renewal project was an international architectural competition. These transformative years instilled in me that the best design solutions are often achieved and celebrated in the competitive realm. Over the years, I taught myself that participation in competitions was not always to win but to learn and equip oneself better in resolving design solutions, where the real-world agencies can never provide such opportune.

Jury feedback summary

Living Trails offers a solution for porosity and accessibility. While it focuses on a specific site in Vancouver, it offers a prototype that breaks from traditional housing schemes. The jury writes: “The proposal focuses on spaces between buildings and beautifully addresses the integration of various units types for people of all ages and family structures. This entry demonstrates an affordable and scalable housing model that is sensitive to land and site context that promotes high quality living environments both indoors and outdoors, while giving proportionate emphasis to housing infrastructure, social infrastructure, and the ecosystem as a whole, in a building/landscape form that is physically accessible and healthy for communal and multi- generational dwelling. The premise of re-thinking the housing block pattern and breaking apart what is typically a large footprint into a series of smaller but connected houses offers an interesting new typology that provides a great connection to the land and a resulting openness to light and air. It situates the buildings into the landscape, ensuring activity with residents, locals, and tourists using the paths and trails. The design creates a vibrant street level, helping to integrate the building into the community, rather than separate and stigmatise. It transforms a transitional industrial site into a highly desirable and habitable community using a classic planning strategy with beautiful scale, proportion and siting. The modular and flexible scale of interior and exterior spaces builds a community of inclusion and diversity. Additional attention to accessibility to transportation and services is needed.”

3rd Prize Winner +
AAPPAREL SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Project name

tall trees, tall houses

Authors

Martin Chow

Canada

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

I usually don't participate in competitions, but the topic of solving affordable housing (simultaneously with the problem of sprawl) is near and dear to me as someone who values nature's role in cities, and wishes for everyone to be able to live with dignity and comfort. Affordability shouldn't be about living with less, but rather offering good value by reducing scarcity in an environmentally responsible manner.

Jury feedback summary

Tall Trees, Tall Houses is a design provocation exploiting the spatial potential of Vancouver’s forested landscape to mitigate the impacts of increased density. The jury writes :”A well-presented project with thought given to practical strategies for reducing the cost of new housing in Vancouver. This proposal shows an excellent understanding of the regional context. It is a daring intervention directed straight into the heart of Vancouver’s most exclusionary zoning. This submission could easily be designed to passive house standards and meet high environmental standards, and it has potential for significant success in densifying the single family neighbourhoods, another factor in its ability to achieve environmental impact. The careful inclusion of shared amenity spaces within each block of housing also offers the opportunity for social connectivity. This is a superb evolution of the multi-family dwelling that brings diversity, density and inclusion to a single family neighbourhood, while respecting the scale and character of the existing community. Six- story wood construction is already a reality in British Columbia, and the next step is to address the safety concerns regarding a singular set of stairs in a multi-family dwelling.” The jury also noted that the elimination of trees is not necessary to bolster the strength of this proposal, and suggests that this does distract from the striking premise: “The accentuation of the integration of trees into the architectural form itself as shown in the renderings would create a more holistic solution.”

ARCHHIVE STUDENT AWARD

Project name

Crossroads

Authors

Mariia Pykhacheva
Olesia Ivleva
Alika Appaeva
Ekaterina Klyusova

University

Moscow institute of architecture - marhi , московский архитектурный институт - мархи
+78 points Buildner University Rankings!

Czech Republic

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

During our 3rd year at the university we realized the urgent need to broaden our horizons and indulge into larger projects that tackle the needs of the society as a whole rather than those of individuals, and formed a team to participate in international competitions. Most notably, unlike conventional practices, this experience gives space for creativity and experimental ideas to emerge, which is crucial in such a volatile field of work as architecture.

Honorable mentions

VIEWclose HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Project Name

Living Waterways

Country

United States

Project authors

Evan Williams
David Phan
Rodolfo Escamilla

Project Name

The Vancouver Valley

Country

Netherlands

Project authors

Arjan Hebly
Sitong Luo

Project Name

Less Parking More Housing

Country

Indonesia

Project authors

Andre Halim

Project Name

Habitat-360

Company

Conran & partners

Country

United Kingdom

Project authors

Conran & partners

Project Name

A NEW TOGETHERNESS

Company

Chris doray studio

Country

Canada

Project authors

Christopher Doray
Piotr Pasierbiński
Nahal Jafari
Gina Zhang

Project Name

laneway specials

Country

United States

Project authors

Chang yuan max Hsu

Shortlisted projects

VIEWclose Shortlisted projects

Canada

Chris doray studio

christopher doray
piotr pasierbiński
nahal jafari
gina zhang

Canada

University of Calgary

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
jordan bussiere

Canada

University of Calgary

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
sarah cosentino

Canada

University of Calgary

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
joshua clarke

United States

eunkyoung kim
hyunchang cho

South Korea

hong jib kim

Germany

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

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
timofey poplavskiy
georgy lyaleko

Poland

Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (Politechnika Wrocławska)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
sebastian kawalec
dominika bezulska
adam struski

Canada

zaiheng liang
lan wang

India

suraj kadam
anubhav malhotra

China

University of Pécs

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
yu gong

Netherlands

arjan hebly
sitong luo

United States

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
bochuan zheng
xiao yang

Philippines

Ateneo de Davao University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
zorell sibugan rivas
hannah grace gulayan laguna

Japan

Maeda corporation

kento usami

Netherlands

jeroen derksen
david windt
fija van der laan

Japan

Maeda corporation

yumi akimoto

Czech Republic

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

+78 points Buildner University Rankings!
mariia pykhacheva
olesia ivleva
alika appaeva
ekaterina klyusova

United Kingdom

Conran & partners

conran & partners

Georgia

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

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
elizaveta tsanava
serofim shilnikov
tatiana kafanova
anastasia savelyeva

United States

xian chris li
elitsa vutova
nadthachai kongkhajornkidsuk

Indonesia

andre halim

South Korea

Inha Technical College, 인하공업전문대학

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
mungyo lee

South Korea

Inha Technical College, 인하공업전문대학

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
seo young bae

South Korea

Inha Technical College, 인하공업전문대학

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
sangwoo kim

South Korea

Inha Technical College, 인하공업전문대학

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
hyeyeon kwon

Romania

Via University College

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
valeria alexei

Poland

Poznan University of Technology , Politechnika Poznańska

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
abdullah abdullah

Australia

The University of Melbourne

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
tianyao song

Canada

martin chow

China

Tianjin University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
xincheng luo

United States

chang yuan max hsu

Belarus

Belarusian National Technical University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
uladzislau kastsiukevich

South Korea

Dongguk University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
hyosik kim
youngjun lee
hyeju cho

Canada

Toronto Metropolitan University - TMU

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
jessica iozzo

Netherlands

Uarchitects

misak terzibasiyan
shadi hashemian

United States

evan williams
david phan
rodolfo escamilla

Canada

mora manzouri
faezeh khodakhah
azin rezaei
masumeh rahimi

Canada

christopher doray
piotr pasierbinski
yekta tehrani
lukas vajda

Angola

aquitofel mananga
 

Open architecture competitions

  • Closest Deadline first
  • Project competitions first
    Selected winning projects have the potential to be constructed
  • Ideas competitions first
    Experimental competitions with the focus on pushing the boundaries of creativity
ideas COMPETITION
The Architect's Chair
Edition #1

Take a seat and make a statement!

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 06
Sep 06
Nov 01
ideas COMPETITION
Beyond Isolation: Senior Housing
Senior living. Edition#2

Reimagine senior living spaces

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 08
Sep 08
Nov 02
project COMPETITION
The Legendary Highway 14 Tower
South Dakota, USA

Design an iconic tower for De Smet, South Dakota, USA

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + POTENTIAL TO BE REALISED
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 09
Sep 12
Nov 03
project COMPETITION
Iceland Beer Spa

Design a beer spa in Iceland's captivating landscape

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + POTENTIAL TO BE REALISED
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 14
Sep 14
Nov 08

Reccuring architecture competitions

ideas COMPETITION
Silent contest
For this competition, NO DESCRIPTION TEXT is allowed. The architecture ideas must be communicated strictly with visuals.
The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial
Edition #3

Design a memorial that speaks to the cause of ending all nuclear weapons programs

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 26
Sep 03
Nov 05
ideas COMPETITION
Workplace Reimagined
Edition #3

Redefine the future of workspaces

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Sep 14
Nov 16
Jan 18
ideas COMPETITION
Silent contest
For this competition, NO DESCRIPTION TEXT is allowed. The architecture ideas must be communicated strictly with visuals.
Museum of Emotions
Edition #4

Use architecture to create different emotional states

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Sep 27
Nov 28
Jan 30
Run repeatedly
Los Angeles Affordable Housing Challenge
Affordable Housing Series #16

Design affordable housing solutions in Los Angeles

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 07
Sep 07
Nov 01
Register now

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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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