Today's architecture for tomorrow's living: 15,000 euros for the best single family houses - HÄUSER AWARD 2008

HÄUSER AWARD 2008

Today's architecture for tomorrow's living:
15,000 euros for the best
single family houses

How innovative and future-viable can modern single family houses be? How much foresight is necessary to plan and build a home that will continue to satisfy changing requirements and life situations? These are the questions HÄUSER wants to investigate in its current architectural competition: we're looking for intelligent solutions and attractive concepts that architects and their clients have used to turn their ideas about future living environments into reality.
A wide range of topics can be covered: the innovative aspects might relate to the construction method, the shape and form of the building or the way the ground plan is organised. Especially in view of rapidly dwindling resources, energy-efficient and sustainable building are just as sought-after as new technologies, construction methods or materials.

Which and how many forward-looking aspects the individual projects submitted contain is up to the participating architects. What's important is that these points are formulated in a convincing, comprehensible way in the project description and are clearly recognisable from the plans and photos provided.

We are holding the HÄUSER Award 2008 in collaboration with Schüco and the Verband Privater Bauherren e.V. (VPB). There are 15,000 euros of prize money at stake. The results of the compe-tition are scheduled for publication in the March 2008 issue of HÄUSER. The best projects will also appear in a book to be published by Callwey Verlag at the same time.

The prize money

The total prize money of 15,000 euros will be allocated as follows:
1st prize: 7,000 euros
2nd prize: 5,000 euros
3rd prize: 3,000 euros

The VPB will pay the owner/client of each award-winning house an additional bonus of 1,000 euros.

The jury

The works submitted will be judged by an independent jury made up as follows:

Almut Ernst, Grüntuch Ernst Architekten
Klaus Becker, Schüco International KG
Thomas Penningh, Board Chairman of VPB
Kaspar Kraemer, President of the BDA (Association of German Architects), Wolfgang Nagel, editor-in-chief of HÄUSER

Competition Documents

Please submit the following project documentation and forms:

- Project plans: location plan on a scale of 1:500 plus ground plans, sections and views on a scale of 1:100, maximum format A3 (as loose sheets, folded; no brochures, boards etc.).
- Photos: at least eight colour prints/colour copies (no slides, no digital picture files) in a format of approx. 18 x 24 centimetres, giving a general impression of both the exterior and interior of the house.
- A completed project sheet (see form) with the most important building data, key energy figures, date of completion, an exterior photograph of the house as well as a summary of the design concept in bullet points (in German or English).
- An explanatory text in German or English with a detailed project description (1 page A4 maximum), explaining the special features of the design and the innovative, forward-looking aspects.
- The completed entry form as well as the signed participant's declaration.