As more of us flock to urban living in quest of enhanced lives and professions, there is a paradigm shift in the way we live, work, and play. Today, more than half the world’s population lives in cities. The century has witnessed a dramatic population shift from rural to urban to experience the growth dynamism of the world’s metropolises. However, this ‘growth’ is chewing the space and adding a ‘weight’ to the functioning of the cities. The housing stock isn’t growing as fast as their migration and hence there is a resurgence of co-living.

Co-living is becoming a housing model that allows anyone from millennials, young professionals, single women, digital nomads, or individuals relocating to frame their lifestyles with people sharing a common thread. It is the intentional community participating in an increasingly shared economy and the affordability of a convenient housing solution. Co-living is also touted as one of the solutions to the environmental problems, a step towards the phase of the transformation. Today, the expanse of human construction has withdrawn people from the communal living in the urban areas. Humans are integrally social and co-living is the novel social connector. The core characteristic of co-living is re-connecting the vibrant communities with people and nature. It is built on the notion of openness and collaboration to cohabit. 

California is the global hub and convergence point of a large number of entrepreneurs, technocrats and creative minds. The larger area is home to thousands of big and small companies that are harbingers of innovation. There are millions of people who are rotating this giant growth turbine. With growing urbanization, immigration and demographics, there’s a shortage of affordable houses in California. Archasm invites architecture students and professionals to design an aspirational self-sufficient ‘Co-living Housing in California’ that facilitates and enhances the experience of community living. The aim of the competition is to integrate the concept of co-living within a housing block to add the social and community factor that is lacking in these concrete blocks. The participants should strive to implement the idea of co-living on a housing scale where the number of tenements can be economic viable and also become a dynamic and interactive prototype for the world. The idea is to change the perception and stereotype around the existing cold, rigid housing block and create a superfluous, extrovert and harmonious solution to this long pending conundrum. 

Awards

Winning participants will receive prizes totaling INR 2,00,000 with the distribution as follows:

- First prize- INR 1,00,000/- + Certificate 

- Second prize- INR 60,000/- + Certificate

- Third prize- INR 40,000/- + Certificate

- 10 Honorable mentions

Winners and honorable mentions will be published on our website and other international architecture magazines and websites partnered by us.

Registration & Timeline 

The competition is open to everyone in the world (architects, students, engineers etc.). You can participate individually or in a team. A team can have a maximum of three members only.

Standard registration: - 10th February 2021 – 10th April 2021

- International Participants: 60 EUR + Taxes (per team)

- Indian Participants: 1800 INR + Taxes (per team)

Late registration: - 11th April 2021 – 9th May 2021

- International Participants: 80 EUR + Taxes (per team)

- Indian Participants: 2100 INR + Taxes (per team)

Submission deadline: 10th May 2021

Result: 5th- 8th June 2021

Discount

15% discount for 5 teams and above. 

You can find more information on the competition's website. 

Top image courtesy of Archasm.

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