Living Steel Announced the Winners of the 2nd International Architecture Competition for Sustainable Housing in Brussels, Belgium this week.
The competition challenged entrants to design efficient and innovative housing solutions using steel construction to meet the demands of a burgeoning global shortage. The Competition required entrants to submit housing designs for one of three locations: Brazil, China and the United Kingdom.
For Brazil
the winner is Andrade Morettin Arquitetos Associados Ltda from Brazil.
For China
the winner is David Knafo Tagit Klimor, Architects And Town Planners from Israel.
For the United Kingdom
the winner is Cartwright Pickard Architects from UK.
Each one of the winners will be awarded a prize of ˆ50,000 and a contract to develop their projects for construction with a demonstration building in each country location. A list of fifteen architecture firms will be awarded as well with a prize of ˆ10,000 each. The winners were elected by an independent jury chaired by renowned architect Andrew Ogorzalek and approved by the International Union of Architects (UIA). Jury embers included Glenn Murcutt, James Berry, Andrew Ogorzalek, Cui Kai, Jaime Lerner (UIA), Roberto Loeb, and Nicholas de Monchaux (UIA).
The Living Steel International Competition for Sustainable Housing was launched to develop innovative approaches to meet sustainable housing needs. That need for new housing with steel solutions to respond to the unique cultural and social requirements of a given location rovoked over 1100 entrants from 88 countries.
“This Competition sets forth a specific oposition that we wanted architects to think about,” said Anand Sen, Living Steel Steering Group Chair. “Each short-listed firm provided their most creative work, addressing issues like energy conservation, rain water capture, and efficiencies in heating and cooling. Steel is the right material for meeting this housing shortage, particularly in that it facilitates speed of construction and design flexibility, to provide durable and comfortable living space. "
According to the UN, the planet’s population will grow to the level of around eight billion people over the next 25 years. It is estimated that by 2030, there will be a need for 40% more housing and basic infrastructure services than existed in 2005. To meet this need, more than four thousand housing units will need to be constructed every hour, for the next 25 years.
Speaking for the jury, Chair Andrew Ogorzalek commented on the highlights of each winning design that influenced its selection by the jury. “For the Brazil entry by Andrade Morettin Arquitetos Associados Ltda, the jury was impressed and encouraged by the simplicity and elegance of the scheme and its appropriateness to the culture and place,” said Ogorzalek. “It showed a good use of the proposed steel structure to create a flexible, open lightweight
character.
“The winning design for China by David Knafo Tagit Klimor was appreciated by the jury for introducing valuable greenhouse space as
an integral part of the high-rise, high density development, adapting traditional models of communal space to a high-rise topology. The Jury felt the scheme could provide an exemplar building demonstration as to how traditional sustainable communities could be created within a high density urban environment. And the scheme is taking full advantage of the rational steel frame structure, providing an open plan for
flexible use of the space,” said Ogorzalek.
“The jury appreciated UK winning firm Cartwright Pickard Architects’s concentrated effort to design a comprehensive family of suitable
dwellings using offsite modular construction,” commented Ogorzalek. “The jury looks forward to a collaborative development process among
the architect, developer and steel fabricators, with this design being the vehicle to both meet the needs of the UK market and advance
the proposed modular strategy.”
Living Steel members and staff have been working in local demonstration teams to secure land for the construction, as well as establish relationships with real estate developers. In Brazil, the winning design will be part of a development located in the city of Recife. China’s winning design will be constructed in a development located in Han Yang, Wuhan City, and the United Kingdom construction will take place in the Thames Gateway area. The winning designs will be celebrated at local events in each city in September and October 2007 (dates to be announced). Groundbreaking and construction is
planned for 2008.
The Competition was developed with the guidance of the International Union of Architects (UIA) and consequently follows the provisions of the International Recommendations for Competitions in Architecture and Urban Planning adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 27 November 1978.
Read more on:
www.livingsteel.org/new-competition
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