Competition to design homes of the future launched

A competition to design the homes and communities of the future will be launched today by Housing Minister Steve Maharey.

Housing New Zealanders 100 Years On invites architects, designers, urban designers and students to design innovative social housing and urban developments. Steve Maharey said a design competition was a timely way to celebrate 100 years of state housing in New Zealand.

“The first state houses in New Zealand came from a design competition in 1906," Steve Maharey said. “Echoing that competition, Housing New Zealanders 100 Years On aims to spark public and professional debate on how architecture and urban design can influence the sorts of homes and communities we’ll have in future.”

Prizes totalling $30,000 include Urban Design ($12,500), Housing Design ($12,500) and recognition for an Emerging Designer ($5,000). A Premier trophy will be awarded to an overall winner chosen from the three categories.

The competition runs from 26 May to 8 August, and entries will be assessed by a panel of local and international judges with architectural and design expertise. Winners will be announced at the Urbanism Downunder conference in Wellington on 18 August.

“Central to good design is that it enhances our lives. Designing homes for people on low incomes or with particular housing needs is no different.

“As well as thinking about new building practices, technologies, and effective urban design, the competition brief asks people to consider housing in the context of New Zealand’s changing population and greater cultural diversity,” Steve Maharey said.

The brief is based on a Housing New Zealand-owned site in Sandringham, Auckland, and requires designs for one, two and five-to-seven-bedroom houses, within an overall urban design for the site.

Full entry details are available at http:// www.hnzc.co.nz from 26 May.

© Scoop Media