M I C RO

H O U SI N G 201 9
Architecture Competition

$ 4000 usd
Total Prize

To register log on to
vzcompetitions.volzero.com

c 2019 Volume Zero ; Rights Reserved

 Introduction

Since the beginning of time, a HOME has continued to be

an entity that is intimate to all living beings on the planet.
Apart from being a physical shelter for humans and their
daily lives, a home forms a distinct, intimate connection
with its users.

Today, across the globe, we are experiencing a rise in

densely populated urban areas, along with a lack of land
resources to provide sufficient housing for the masses.
This phenomenon has given rise to a new movement of
Micro-Housing; one that commands the idea of simple but
inventive living in today’s urban areas. The concept of
these revolutionary homes focusses primarily on the inno-
vation of maximum functional area in a minimum footprint,
thus redefining the perception of sustainability in urban
dwellings.

With the idea of Micro-Housing, designers are now

coming up with various, inventive solutions to solve the
persistent issue of ‘space crunch’ in cities to provide the
imperative requirement of ideal housing to as many
people as possible.
 Opportunity

People today are facing financial and environmental concerns along with
the aspiration to improve their standard of living and have more freedom in
today’s given urban scenario. This has led them to follow modest and effi-
cient ways of living. The world now, with development in technology and
smart living concepts, is looking at innovative design ideas to create resi-
dential spaces that offer suburban serenity and urban energy while optimiz-
ing the functionality of the habitable areas.

The users looking for residences today know the value of space and want
sustainable, safe and functional homes. We now have a golden opportunity
to bring innovative, unconventional design concepts for creating resource-
ful spaces complete with the personal touch of homeliness to the otherwise
conservative world of residential architecture

We invite designers around the world, belonging to various factions, to

create inventive, experimental architectural solutions which would surprise
today’s housing market and call for a sense of living based on community
spirit. Arranged in self-contained, integrated communities, the residential
units would be representative of innovation and creativity in the modularity
of spaces.

It’s time to design novel residential communities that reflect the ideology
of ‘less is more’.

“It is hard to argue that housing is not a fundamental human need.

Decent, affordable housing should be a basic right for everybody in
this country. The reason is simple: without stable shelter, everything
else falls apart.” -
Mathew Desmond
American Sociologist
Challenge

The participants are to design a prototype of a micro-housing

unit that reflects the personal needs and culture of the residen-
tial community chosen. A suitable aggregation of these
micro-housing units should be done in an urban context, mirror-
ing the communal needs of the group of users.

A total of 100 users should be considered for the design. Partic-

ipants are to choose a site relevant to the topic, in the urban
context.

The design has to serve as an upgrade to the standard of living

of the users. While being very functional in nature, it should also
be aesthetically pleasing.

The built-up area of each residential unit should not exceed 350
sq.ft. and should house up to 4 individuals. The unit should be a
prototype, making the optimum use of space, and it needs to
be explained in detail.

The designed units should cater to the individual’s

personal needs (rest, bath, cook, and work) and
community requirements (interact). As per their
preferance, the participants are free to add more
spaces required in their designs.

The design of the micro-housing residential complex

should also provide solutions for circulation such as
staircases, passages, etc.
Site
Selection
The partcipants are to choose
a site in an Urban context.

With the urban population

constantly on the rise along
with an increase in high densi-
ty metropolitan areas, there is
an immediate need to
address the housing crisis in
these locations.

Many urban cities like Tokyo,

Hong Kong, New York, Mum-
bai,etc,are coming up with
innovative solutions to solve
this problem. The participants
are free to select their own
site.

5
Submission
The entrants must complete the online registrations and the submission must
include, (but are not limited to) the following required drawings.

Building / Site sections which illustrate key Three dimensional representations explaining
aspects and major spatial or programmatic the design, perspectives and montages which
elements. display the character of the project.

Floor plans to show the interior spatial Elevations demonstrating qualities such as
arrangements and program. material, texture, and colour.

Large scale drawing that illustrates All drawings should be presented at a scale
innovative details or integrated aspects of appropriate for the design solution and
design. include a graphic scale for reference.

Format
A single A1 sheet must be submitted in JPEG format (150 DPI Resolution),
file size not exceeding 5 MB

The file must be marked with your unique The sheet must not include ANY INFOR-
identification number, presented clearly in MATION (Name, Organisation, School,
the top right corner on the A1 sheet. etc.) that may give away your identity.

All text must be in English, with a MAXI- All dimension should be in imperial or
MUM of 200 WORDS for project explaina- metric unit
tion with a readable font size (to be provid-
ed on the A1 sheet.

Any other submission other than the above

SHEET FORMAT mentioned format would not be accepted.

UNIQUE CODE

6
A1
841 x 594 (mm)
 Schedule

18 22 22
June 2019 August 2019 September 2019
Competitions Early Queries
Starts Registration Ends Deadline

27 04 27
September 2019 October 2019 November 2019
Regular Submission Annoucement
Registration Ends Deadline of Winners

Registration

Early Registrations 18 Jun - 22 Aug Regular Registrations 23 Aug - 27 Sept

Participants from India : INR 1800 +18% tax Participants from India : INR 2400 + 18% Tax
Participants from other countries : Participants from other countries :
USD 70 + 18% Tax USD 85+ 18%

7
Judging Criteria

Concept Innovation:
The participants have to design an innovative housing module and complex and
make them exceptional, as compared to the conventional housing buildings
today.

Site Selection:
The participants are to select a site in an Urban Context for their design. The
entries will be evaluated on the basis of the site justification given.

Spatial Design:
The entries will be judged on the basis of creativity displayed in the spatial
design and configuration of spaces.

Modularity:
The efficiency and fucntionality of a single housing module and same with
respect to the entire community complex.

8
Awards

$ 4000 usd
1st 2nd 3rd

$ 2000 $ 1200 $ 800

usd usd usd

Prize Prize Prize

Certificate of achievement Certificate of achievement Certificate of achievement

Winners Publication & Website Exhibition

The winning designs will be published on Volume Zero Magazine website our international
media partner’s websites. The winning team will also have an interview published.

9
?
FAQ
Q: How does a team receive their
team unique code?
All the participants will only receive
the team unique code on comple-
tion of registration process. You
will recevice the UIC on your regis-
tered email address.
Q: What is the limit or cap on the
number of team members and can
anyone participate individually?
A team can have up to three mem-
bers and cannot exceed this
number. The participants who
desire to participate individually can
do so by filling and submitting the
details for only the team leader on
the registration form.
Q: What should the participants
do in case the payments are not
available in our country?
We request the participants to
send us the queries on
questions@volzero.com to get
an alternate payment method.
We would send you all the
possible payment methods.
Q: What are the modes of submis-
sions? What should be the submis-
sion file size?
The participants are requested
to submit their work on one A1 sheet
in JPEG file format in 150 DPI resolu-
tions.The file size should not exceed
more than 5MB.
Q: Where all do the participants need
to use their UIC ?
All the participants would be using their
team code on the top right corner of
their sheets, as the name of their sub-
mission and wherever requested by the
organizer. This code will be their only
identification for the process related
with this competition.
Q: What is the nature of the competition
and is it open for all?
Micro Housing 2019 Architecture Com-
petition is an open ideas design competi-
tion. The competition is open to
students and professionals from all walks
can join the competition.
Q: What does the participant do when
they don’t get a unique identification
code after the payment is made?
In case of such a problem we request
you to send us your payment receipt to
questions@volzero.com with the
“Unique Identification Code” as subject
matter.
Q: Will participants receive certificates
for participation in the competition?
Yes all the participants would receive a
certificate for participation.
Rules & Regulations
English is to be used as the language of
communication for all drawings.

The deadline for submissions is 11:59 PM IST 0th

04th October 2019. Submissions after this dead-
line will not be considered.

The identity of the participants needs to be

anonymous. The registration number is the only
form of identification for the entries.

The registration fee is non-refundable.

The participants should not contact the jury

under any circumstances.

All participants must accept the rules and regu-

lations of the competition.

The participants may face disqualification if any

of the rules are not followed.

Volume Zero reserves the right to modify the

schedule of the competition.

Terms and Conditions

We invite everyone, irrespective of their professions or qualifications, to
join the competition and present their ideas. Participants are free to
submit multiple entries but each entry needs to be registered separately.

Alongside individual entries, team entries are also allowed. A team can
have a maximum of three participants. Interdisciplinary teams are also
welcome to join.

After your registration has been approved, you will be sent a

unique identification number for your team / entry which will be
necessary to submit your proposal. If you haven’t received a
confirmation within two business days, please contact us at
questions@volzero.com or our Facebook profile.
 Challenge
Key Words
Urban
Space
Metropolitan
Optimization
Metro
Housing
Module
People
User
Community
Planning
Design
All the best !
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Unleash your Creativity !

c 2019 Volume Zero ; Rights Reserved