Bee Breeders Architecture Competitions has announced a new competition to tackle housing affordability in Australia’s biggest and busiest metropolitan city Sydney. Organized in collaboration with the Sydney Build Expo, the Sydney Affordable Housing architecture competition asks participants to develop a pilot-phase concept for affordable housing within Sydney, which can be easily rolled out to increase capacity of housing stock, and is minimal in its use of land and materials.  

Revealed as having one of the lowest supplies of affordable house in the world, coming in second to Hong Kong, Sydney property remains unattainable for most of the young population. Working with limited resources participants are challenged to create solutions to make Sydney’s housing market more accessible, with the winning designs to be presented at the Sydney Build Expo 2018.

Debate rages across the country, as experts and analysts go back and forth over the idea of an affordable housing crisis in Australia. One area that all experts can agree on, however, is that Sydney is in a league of its own when it comes to property prices. Sydney comes in second to Hong Kong as having the least affordable housing in a survey of 10 major metropolitan markets.

The Guardian Australia reported figures from BIS Oxford economics showing that, as of December 2016, 42% of average disposable household income in New South Wales was being poured into monthly mortgage payments. This is on a median-priced house in Sydney, after the sizeable 25% deposit has already been paid.

As these figures have not significantly changed in over 25 years, the Sydney Affordable Housing Challenge - in collaboration with the Sydney Build Expo - is looking for innovative solutions that could end this crisis for good.

Sydney is Australia’s biggest and most vibrant metropolitan hub, but its astronomical price tag is restricting its population to those of a privileged background. Therefore, this is an open architecture competition, encouraging those new to the industry - as well as seasoned professionals - to address to question of how to create affordable homes with limited space and resources.

The jury panel will evaluate submitted designs and award further acclaim to those with sustainable practices for everything from construction materials and methods, to logistics and innovation. 

Competition Programme

Design a pilot-phase concept for affordable housing within Sydney, which can be easily rolled out to increase capacity of housing stock, and is minimal in its use of land and materials. No minimum size or amount of residential units per block is defined. The proposals should be flexible enough to adopt to different sizes for various inhabitant capacity requirements. 

Designs for the Sydney Affordable Housing Challenge should be able to adapt to various locations across the city. The designs should also be adaptable, allowing adjustments to be made in order to suit different residential capacity requirements.

Eligibility

Competition is open to all. No professional qualification is required. Design proposals can be developed individually or by teams (4 team members maximum).

Sydney Build Expo 2018 

By building on last years success, Sydney Build is back on March 15th & 16th with more content, more networking and more entertainment than ever before. Across the two days, the expo will see thousands of construction professionals, architects, developers, government representatives visit Royal Hall of Industries to meet with over 200 exhibitors showcasing the very latest products, solutions, and technology across the sector. 90 top level speakers from across the industry will take part in informative presentations and CPD accredited workshops, covering topics such as BIM & Digital Construction, Off-Site Construction, Sustainability, Skills, and the Future of Australia's Construction Industry.

Prizes

1st prize: US $3,000 / Presented in Sydney Build 2018, Publications Certificate of Achievement

2nd prize: US $1,500 / Presented in Sydney Build 2018, Publications Certificate of Achievement

3rd prize: US $500 / Presented in Sydney Build 2018, Publications, Certificate of Achievement

BB Student Award: US $500  (more details here) / Presented in Sydney Build 2018, Publications Certificate of Achievement

BB Green Award: US $500 (more details here) / Presented in Sydney Build 2018, Publications Certificate of Achievement

The competition will select 6 Honorable Mentions

Exhibition: The top 3 designs, as well as the "Student Award" and "Green Award" will be announced at the Sydney Build 2018 show on March 15th.

Publications: The winners will get international art and design media coverage and will be featured on the Bee Breeders website and social pages. 

Certificate: Bee Breeders will also acknowledge the outstanding performance of all winners and honourable mentions with Certificates of Achievement.

Jury panel is composed of Audrey McKee from Renzo Piano Building Workshop in France, Carlos M Guimarães – depA, correspondent of A10 magazine in Portugal, Daniel Jacobs from SHoP Architects, New York City, USA, Gemawang Swaribathoro from OMA, Hong Kong, John Paul Rysavy from SHoP Architects, New York City, USA; And-Either-Or Austin, Texas and Brooklyn, New York, USA. See the competition's full jury panel here.

Key dates for the competition:

Closing date for registration: 9 February, 2018

Closing date for project submission: 14 February, 2018 (11.59pm GMT)

Announcement of the winners: 16 March, 2018

Competition brief, photographs and 2D - 3D images of the site can be downloaded from the competition website. Contact Bee Breeders to receive special student rates for group registrations (discount applies for 3+ registrations from one university/school) and to receive further information and support for getting your students involved in architecture competitions. 

World Architecture Community is media partner for Bee Breeders Architecture Competitions. See Bee Breeders' other competitions here.

Top image courtesy of Bee Breeders

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