The 2020 International Housing Design student competition has announced its winning entries. 

The HERE+NOW: A House for the 21st Century: 2020 Student Design Competition, led by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) in collaboration with Custom Residential Architects Network (AIA CRAN), organized an open call for housing designs that represent new "ideas of domesticity" for the 21st century.

According to the competition coordinators, "the jury selected five exceptional student projects that challenged students to envision a house for the HERE & NOW: informed by context, culture, and vernacular, but fully embracing 21st-century technology." With close to 300 project submissions and over 800 participants in the competition, it becomes clear the topic is of interest to today's students. Below are the winners of the competition as well as the jury's responses to each of the winning projects.

1st PLACE WINNER

Project: Lubec Narrows
Student: Joseph Leaming of Pratt Institute

Jury's Comments: "Lubec Narrows is a beautifully rendered design which has a realistic and clear vision. Sighting the home on the water’s edge creates a wonderful interaction with nature and an interpretation of local traditions. The house’s use of natural ventilation is established based on the compelling spatial organization. This is evident in the section details, building tectonics and use of a concrete thermal wall. Overall a fantastic student design."

2nd PLACE WINNER

Project: FLOAT: A 21st Century Floating Home Post Sea Level Rise
Student: Helena Lecocq of University of Louisiana – Lafayette

Jury's Comments: "FLOAT – A 21st Century Floating Home Post Sea Level Rise" is a creative project that is innovative in dealing with climate change and sea-level rise. The well-developed plans and diagrams show a sensitivity to material and detail. The design demonstrates a realistic approach of water recycling and building systems."

3rd PLACE WINNER

Project: ShareBnB: Re-imagining the Gift Economy and Suburbia
Student: Emily Hu of Syracuse University

Jury Comments: "ShareBnB: Re-imagining the Gift Economy and Suburbia is a unique project that proposes a big change in the housing typology to the typical single-family home. Through the impeccable renderings, there’s a sense of 'adding on' to create more dwelling units in communal spaces. The ideology of transforming a neighborhood is clear in the diagrams. The design also provides the notion of economic sustainability, bringing functions of collective spaces as a way to gift economy and improve financial stability for the people."

Honorable Mentions were awarded to Carlos Soto Castellanos and his project THE SKY HOUSE and Natalie Grimm and her project A Modern Home. To learn more about each project and the competition click here.