Chicago is one step closer to realizing a community without youth homelessness.
The Tiny Homes Competition announced that Chicago-based Terry Howell, AIA, LEED GA ( associate architect, Antunovich Associates ), Marty Sandberg, AIA ( partner, Via Chicago Architects ), and Lon Stousland ( associate architect, Antunovich Associates ) are the winners of the competition.
They will receive a $5,000 cash prize and will build a prototype of their tiny house at the Pride Action Tank Tiny Homes Summit, taking place at UIC on April 1819. View larger image of the winning design at the link: www.windycitymediagroup.com/pdf/TINYHOMECOMPETITITIONWINNER1.pdf .
The Tiny Homes Competition is an international design competition launched in November 2015 which solicited speculative design proposals for tiny homes that could be economically built to house Chicago's youth experiencing homelessness. Bronzevillea neighborhood located in Chicago's South Sidehosts the proposed community site. Ald. Pat Dowell welcomed the competition in her ward, noting that the location was just for the competition, not for the final development.
More than 250 submissions were received from teams based in 12 countries. The competition was organized by AIA Chicago, the AIA Chicago Foundation, Landon Bone Baker Architects, Windy City Times, and Pride Action Tank. Funding for the competition was provided by the Alphawood Foundation.
A jury of experts in housing for underserved communities judged the competition. Juror Brent Brown, AIA, LEED AP, founding director of bcworkshop in Dallas, TX, has designed a transitional tiny home community currently under construction in his home town. He was joined by Jeff Bone, AIA, principal at Landon Bone Baker; Marisa Novara , director of the Metropolitan Planning Council; Sol Flores, executive director of La Casa Norte; and Benet Haller, Principal Adviser of the City of Chicago's Department of Urban Design and Planning.
The team of Howell, Stousland and Sandberg met in the undergraduate design studios of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. After graduating in 2011, all three found their way to Chicago where they have continued to collaborate. With a background in traditional architecture and urban planning, they share a contextual approach to design. They believe in the power of architecture to reflectand also influenceits surroundings, and see each project as an opportunity to make a tangible improvement to their built community.
Their design, entitled "A House for Living In," incorporates a traditional, one-story "duplex" structure with shed roofing. It creates 11 individual tiny homes for college-age youth, along with an accompanying community space. Each unit is 336-square feet, and costs only $73.00 per square foot to construct. Comparable conventional low-income housing units typically cost in the range of $200 to $400 per square foot ( depending on size and scope ), according to experts.
According to the team, the design is a new take on the traditional Chicago courtyard-style building. Residents pass through a secured gate and access front doors through a shared courtyard that contains a community garden. Also shared are deep breezeways between individual tiny homes that serve as front porches.
"The Tiny Homes Competition offered an exciting opportunity to apply our design approach in a familiar Chicago neighborhood, while exploring a unique housing model," the winning team says. "Terry's parents are long-time Bronzeville residents, and have hosted us for countless barbeque nights just two blocks from the competition site.
Designing for a location with such a personal connection provided extra incentivea chance to create something not simply beautiful, but also practical, contextual, and potentially transformative."
Judging criteria included community planning, feasibility, creative problem solving, design quality, and programhow the design would help or hinder a youth homelessness transition plan.
Juror Benet Haller notes the big ideas and small details were well planned. He states, "The submission's site and floor plans are very efficient. Locations for storage are well thought out and the sleeping area is nicely separated from the living area. The use of brick on the exterior is a nice touch. Everything about this submittal works well."
Second, third and two honorable mentions are included in the final program: In second place was Wheeler Kearns Architects; in third place, another Chicago team of Joe Villanti, AIA ( senior project architect at Pappageorge Haymes ), Tyler Hopwood ( intern architect at Pappageorge Haymes ) and Ryan Arnaudov, LEED AP BD&C ( project architect, Pappageorge Haymes ); Honorable Mentions were New York City-based David Bravo Salva ( architect ), Blanca Rodriguez Peis ( architect ); and Chicago-based Georgi Todorov ( Pappageorge Haymes ) and Petya Petrova ( Pierre-Yves Rochon ).
These projects will be showcased at AIA Chicago's Small Projects Awards Party on May 5 at Architectural Artifacts. The event is free and open to the public.
Chicago-based company Price Construction will be building the model home for the Tiny Home Summit. For information on the summit, April 18-19, 2016 at UIC, visit chicagotinyhomes.org .