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 respectable housing to as many people as possible. The world now, with development in technology and smart living concepts, is looking at innovative design ideas to create residential spaces that offer suburban serenity and urban energy while optimizing the functionality of the habitable areas.
Challenge
The participants are to design a prototype of a micro-housing unit that reflects the personal needs and culture of the residential community chosen. A suitable aggregation of these micro-housing units should be done in an urban context, mirroring the communal needs of the group of users. A total of 100 users should be considered for the design. Participants are to choose a site relevant to the topic, in the urban context. The built-up area of each residential unit should not exceed 350 sq.ft.and should house up to 4 individuals.
Images Courtesy of Volume Zero
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 personal needs (rest, bath, cook, and work) and community requirements (interact). As per their discretion, 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. These units should also be stacked in a manner to create clusters that can address various issues in the metropolitan city. Source and images Courtesy of Volume Zero.
Awards
Prizes of total USD 4000, broken down as follows:
1st Prize: USD 2000 + Certificate + Publication
2nd Prize: USD 1200 + Certificate + Publication
3rd Prize: USD 800 + Certificate + Publication
10 Honourable mentions: Certificates
Images Courtesy of Volume Zero 
Images Courtesy of Volume Zero
Schedule
Early bird registration: 18th June 2019 to 22nd August 2019
Standard registration: 23rd August 2019 to 21st September 2019
Last day for queries 27th September 2019
Closing date for Submissions: 4th October 2019
Announcement of winners: 27th November 2019
Registration
Early Bird Registration: Participants from India – 1800+18% GST = INR 2124 (per team), Participants from Other Countries – 70 + 18% GST = USD 82.6 (per team)
Standard Registration: Participants from India – 2400 + 18% GST = INR 2800 (per team), Participants from Other Countries – 85+ 18% GST = USD 95 (per team)