Nestiv.com's Housing Values

No fees to enter, and you can earn money even if you don't win! Sick of working hard on competitions you have to pay to enter, with only a narrow chance that all your work will pay off? With Nestiv's Housing Values competition you can still earn money, get your design built, and grow your reputation, even if you don't win.

Housing and Values

The housing market crash and current architectural market should give us pause. We need to rethink housing by reexamining our values. Over time homes have gotten larger even as the average household size has fallen. Architects have had less and less influence on the designs. Most new home are only design for a 30 year lifespan. The result has been over-sized homes of low quality that are viewed as commodities rather than part of our neighborhood fabric. Homes express our values, and in retrospect it is obvious that we prioritized poorly. So what do we mean by "Housing Values"? Economic value is an important component in expanding the architectural housing market. But we also think community, the environment, design and construction quality, lifestyle needs, and more are all important criteria.

Nestiv Values Architects and Design

Nestiv wants to provide opportunities for young architects having a hard time finding work, newly formed firms looking to establish a reputation, and for established firms who are struggling in this economy. As we grow, we will be looking for ways to promote the value of good design to the public, including donating 5% of profits towards groups that brings good design to low income and disadvantaged communities. Competition To enter submit your housing designs to Nestiv. They can be new or old designs, so long as you own the rights to the design. Plans must be complete enough for builders to finish construction. While Nestiv won't be judging the plans, we do have minimal design standards for plans to be accepted. Learn more about submitting designs here.

Details

We are currently only operating in the United States, so all plans must meet Unites States building standards. You must either be licensed in the United States (any state), or have graduated with at least a Bachelor's of Architecture. Any entries made March 31st will automatically be entered. The judging panel will be made up of potential customers. There will be prizes given to the judges' top picks, regionally and nationally. There will also be honorable mentions for the best locally influenced, and best sustainable design in each region. The national winner will receive $1200, each of 9 regional winners will receive $150, for a total pot of $2550. All or a portion of this money will be raised through a Kickstarter campaign.

http://nestiv.com/content/nestivs-housing-values-competition

UPDATE: Deadline extended to April 30, 2012.