INTERNATIONAL DESIGN CHALLENGE

Supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering under the Frontiers Champions programme

RESILIENT HOUSING DESIGN IN FRAGILE SETTINGS – RES-HOUSE

PREMISE ........................................................................................................................................................... 3
DESIGN BRIEF ................................................................................................................................................. 3
GENERAL SPECIFICATION OF THE HOUSE .............................................................................................. 3
TIMELINES ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
EOI SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................................. 4
FINAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................................ 5
SUBMISSION CRITERIA ................................................................................................................................. 5

1. DESIGN OF HOUSE IN 3D FORMAT ......................................................................................................................... 5

2. DESIGN DETAILS AND SPECIFICATIONS INCLUDING ............................................................................................... 5
3. SUMMARY PAGE .................................................................................................................................................... 5
4. TECHNIQUES AS PER ENERGY+ GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................ 6
AWARDS + RECOGNITION ............................................................................................................................ 7
PREMISE
The frequency and intensity of natural disasters around the world has increased over the years. This is
evident from the severe droughts, prolonged heatwaves and continent-wide wildfires experienced in
Africa Americas, Australia, and Asia. The devastating floods in Pakistan in 2022 floods and 2023
earthquakes in Türkiye call for more inclusive and place-based building design and construction. The
dynamic nature of geological and climatic situations demands a rethink of concepts, approaches,
technologies, and techniques to include specific social, economic, and environmental components in
addition to the historical cultural and geographical factors with a strong place-based and wellbeing
focus.
The design of a house plays a vital role in the sustainability, affordability, and resilience besides
improving the residents’ quality of life. Climate responsive, adaptive, and passive design strategies
coupled with innovative technological solutions are fundamental to energy efficient homes. The
object of this challenge is to prepare emerging professionals especially the students and young
graduates to envision and design a climate adaptive, zero-energy, resilient, inclusive, and sustainable
house that is affordable to own, operate and maintain by the standards of lower to middle-income
level households in the Global South setting. The design of a resilient house therefore must enhance
the quality of life and well-being of residents, as well as adapt to climate change and the projected
relevant natural disasters (e.g., floods, droughts, or heat waves) in a selected area.
This competition is primarily for interdisciplinary teams of students and young professionals. For a
team to enter and win this competition, they must:
• Design a house that is intended for four to six occupants spread over a plot of 120 sqm, out of
which 80 sqm would be the constructed area (the house).
• Design a house up to a maximum construction cost of US$220 per sqm (as a general convention
for Global South). We will accept regional variations of costs if clearly justified.
• Includes a subsidiary function attached to it for household need, as per the context (subsidiary
function could be a workplace/commercial area, food sourcing or animal husbandry)
DESIGN BRIEF
The design of the house needs to be innovative, provide all needs of residents, efficient and minimise
waste of materials and as per the respective energy-positive and resilience guidelines. Teams should
use their local climate zone data based on the location of the house and should provide details of any
assumptions regarding the location, orientation of the house, and the local construction standards and
costs. The design (layout and exterior), materials and construction methods of the house need to
emphasise:
a) Energy+ – keeping the use of energy low through design inputs and offset the use of energy
through alternative energy means;
b) Affordability – the proposed house should be within the average construction costs prevailing in
the regional context;
c) Food sustainability – use of space for the food production, storage, and consumption; and
d) Resilience to natural disasters.
In addition, other innovative solutions such as water conservation and recycling etc. would be
considered as plus points. Material and construction methods choices need to be kept innovative but
locally acceptable, available, and compliant within the local and international design and building
standards. A consultation with integrated system experts should also be part of the final design.

GENERAL SPECIFICATION OF THE HOUSE

• Total area of plot 120 sqm with allowable constructed area of 80 sqm on ground floor
(footprint).
 • 3 Bedrooms with closets
• 2 Toilets and Bathrooms
• 1 Kitchen with cabinets
• 1 living area
• G+1 and height should not exceed more than 8m.
• Integrated RE technologies
• Kitchen garden
• Subsidiary function
• Needful energy appliances with their approximate usage details as per local needs and culture.
• Evidence of climate adapted and resilient structure to natural disasters (earthquakes, flooding,
heat island, etc.)
To achieve these targets whilst keeping optimum environmental sustainability, the proposal needs to
maximise passive design, added features such as water and energy efficiencies, produce on-site food,
and recycle on-site water would be considered added desirable features over and above the core
requirement of energy-positive house. Thermal comfort must still be achieved whilst delivering a low
energy building

TIMELINES
• Expression of Interest (EOI): June 12, 2023
o Lecture 1: June 15, 2023: Dr Saeed Ahmed and Madiha Salam, NED UET Karachi,
o Lecture 2: June 21, 2023 – Vasilena Vassilev, P+ Studio London
o Lecture 3: July 5, 2023 – Dr Salman Mobeen, NED UET Karachi
o Lecture 4: July 12, 2023 – Dr Maryam Siddiq, UET Lahore
o Lecture 5: July 19, 2023 – Dr Alireza Moghayedi, UWE Bristol
o Lecture 6: July 26, 2023 – Narmeen Aamir (Fulbright Fellow, Illinois Tech)
• Registration Deadline: August 02, 2023
• Submission Date: August 23, 2023
• Announcement of winners: tba
Submissions and queries to be emailed at [email protected]

EOI SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Subject: EOI Affordable, Resilient Energy + House Competition
• Proposed team name
• Proposed design location
• Proposed project team members (name, profession, role, and affiliation)
• Project lead contact details (email and phone)
• Proposed concept note / design approach (maximum 750 words)
Make sure you have interdisciplinary team members in team (minimum team members are three and
maximum five).
FINAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Subject: EOI Affordable, Resilient Energy+ House Competition
• Team Number*
• Team name
• Project team members (name, profession, role, and affiliation)
• Project lead contact details (email and phone)
• Concept, Design approach, RE integrated details, in form of a report (maximum 4000 words)
• Design Boards on two A1 Size sheets.
• 3D models – Sketch up, 3D Max, Revit etc.
• Energy calculations using appropriate open-source software such as EDGE BUILDING1
• A Small 5-7 minute video explaining your work and details
*team numbers will be assigned by the organizers after EOI submissions
SUBMISSION CRITERIA
Submission criteria:
1. Design of house in 3D format
• Architectural Drawings: Architectural floor plan(s), sections (minimum of 2), elevations
(minimum of 2)
• 3D/Axonometric drawing showing key architectural and systems concepts
• Structure layout*
• Electrical layout*
• Diagrams explaining:
systems (electrical, plumbing, HVAC where appropriate)
integration of landscape
spatial organisation
lighting principles
* Participants should show understanding of the engineering systems and if connected with the
energy+ concept, should provide details and calculation wherever necessary. (Interdisciplinary teams
should be made to handle this situation)
2. Design details and specifications including
• Envelope
• Key connections and materials
3. Summary page
• Project assumption
• Project concept
• Design approach

1
https://edgebuildings.com/software/
4. Techniques as per Energy+ Guidelines and Requirements

Assessment Criteria and Rubrics:

Successful responses should demonstrate design depicting an approach towards energy-positive house
which is also sustainable, affordable, and resilient through a creative and innovative integration of
design and construction strategies. The designs should also include the issues of the community and
its context, ecology, natural habitat, bioclimatic design, water uses, climate responsive designs and the
impact on health and well-being. Long life considerations, environmental quality upgradation, design
flexibility should be part of the design approach.
Entries will also be assessed for the success and innovation that the project has met the following
criteria out of a total of 200 points:

Rubric Category Description Point

DC Design Concept • DC - Concept and approach 10

CA Context and • CA - Relation to context and regional 10

Analysis variations

DA Design Aesthetics • DA1 - Drawings 10

• DA 2 - 3d models

EC Energy • EC – Energy Calculations using Edge 10

Calculations
DI Design for • DI 1 - Innovative design strategy 10
innovation • DI 2 - New building materials

DA1 Design for • DA11 - Affordable Construction cost 15

affordability • DA12 - Operation cost lower than the
conventional houses
• DA13 - Low maintenance cost

DS Design for Social • DS1 - Functionality 40

Aspects • DS2 - Privacy
• DS3 - Safety
• DS4- Connection to nature
• DS5- Design for wellbeing of the
residents
• DS6- Support the local economy and
community
• D7 Support the local economy and
community
• D8 Design for social inclusivity,
equity, and community development.

DC1 Design for • DC11 - Resources and materials 30

construction efficiency
(Added feature) • DC12 - Suitable for mass production
• DC13 - Require less water and energy
• DC14 - Reducing the duration of
construction
 • DC15 - Minimising waste
• DC16 - Using materials that are
o nontoxic,
o durable,
o recycled and recyclable,
o low embodied energy
o locally available

DE Design for Energy • DE1 – Optimization of natural 45

+ and lighting and ventilation
Sustainability • DES2 - Energy-efficient equipment
and devices
• DES3 - Thermal insulation
• DES4 - Thermal comfort
• DES5 - Energy modelling
• DES6 - Eliminate dependence on
fossil fuel
• DES7 – 100% of energy consumption
generation on-site (renewable energy)
Energy + design
• DES8 - Water conservation
• DES9 - Food sustenance

DES Design for • DE1 - Connect to the local ecosystem 10

ecosystems • DE2 - Support local habitat
restoration

DC2 Design for change • DC21 - Resilience 10

• DC22 - Flexibility/ Adaptability

Total 200

AWARDS + RECOGNITION
There are cash rewards for the winners and the runners up. Awards will be based at the discretion of
the jury. All shortlisted projects will receive certificates of participation. Winners will be notified of
the competition results directly2.
Winner will receive £ 500,
Runner up will receive £ 300.

COPYRIGHT:
Copyrights of the design will be owned by the authors. By submitting an entry, the entrants grant
worldwide licenses to organizers for the following:
• The right to publish the entry online as part of the shortlist and (if so selected) in print in
publications.
• The right to display and store the entries on the competition website.

2
The recipients outside the UK will get an equivalent amount in local currency.