Architecture at Zero 2021-22

Architecture at Zero is a design competition for decarbonization, equity and resilience, open to students and professionals worldwide. It serves to engage the fields of architecture, design, engineering and planning in the pursuit of sustainable design.

The 2021-22 competition challenges entrants to develop affordable housing for farmworker families in Visalia, California, one of the world’s most productive farming regions.

REGISTER NOW FOR THE ARCHITECTURE AT ZERO COMPETITION click here

CHALLENGE 

The 2021-22 Architecture at Zero competition focuses on decarbonization, resilience and equity.  The challenge is to design affordable housing for farmworker families in California’s Central Valley. Key aspects of this project include responding to the challenges of equity and resilience through the design solution.

There are four parts to this competition:

First, entrants will create an overall site plan to accommodate the program outlined below. Entrants are encouraged to highlight any energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy storage, and carbon reduction strategies or systems shown.

Second, entrants will design the building in detail, demonstrating how the design will result in lower carbon emissions and embodied carbon, and addressing the requirements of the California Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards. In order to indicate how the building design will result in lower carbon emissions, entrants will provide required documentation and may also include supplementary documentation.

Third, entrants are asked to describe how this project will build resilience. Entrants will be asked to complete a table outlining the inclusion of climate adaptation strategies and indicate on the site plan or section aspects of design strategies that support resiliency.

Finally, entrants are asked to consider how their design addresses equity for the project’s residents.  Entrants will be asked to write a short essay and indicate on the site plan or section aspects of design strategies that support equity.

ELIGIBILITY

This competition is open to students, architects, landscape architects, urban planners, engineers and designers anywhere in the world.

AWARDS AND JUDGING

Up to $25,000 in total prize money will be awarded to student and professional winners.

Entries are judged on the presentation board and the material highlighting the resilience and equity aspects of the competition.  A Technical Review Panel will convene to consider the decarbonization strategies of each entry. This Technical Evaluation is then provided to the Jury.  The Technical Evaluation is not the sole criterion on which entries will be judged but acts as a complement to the overall project design evaluation.

Entries are weighed individually, not in competition with others. Jury decisions will be based solely on the materials submitted. Criteria include quality of design, resolution of the program or idea, innovation, thoughtfulness, and technique.  See jury panelists and judging criteria here.

Winners will be announced on February 4, 2022 in an online event. Details forthcoming. 

DEADLINES

The submission deadline is January 11, 2022 at 6:00 pm PST.

Please note that the Architecture at Zero competition uses an electronic registration process. If you are submitting multiple projects, you will need to register each project separately.

By submitting a project, the entrant agrees to all Terms and Conditions outlined in the Architecture at Zero Terms and Conditions.  In any public use of the submissions, credit will be given to the design team. All submissions are final.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ARCHITECTURE AT ZERO COMPETITION click here

REGISTER NOW FOR THE ARCHITECTURE AT ZERO COMPETITION click here