Buildner, in collaboration with building materials manufacturer Kingspan, has announced the winners of the MICROHOME Kingspan Edition, awarding a total prize fund of 150,000 EUR. This year's competition, now in its seventh edition, attracted professional and student architects and designers from 115 countries.
The global housing crisis is intensifying, with rising property costs and insufficient housing supply affecting millions. As urban areas expand and environmental concerns grow, the need for affordable, sustainable, and compact housing solutions is becoming more urgent. Architects play a key role in addressing these challenges by designing efficient and environmentally responsible homes. Compact living offers a practical solution to affordable housing while supporting sustainable urban development. By focusing on these aspects, architects can contribute to creating functional and equitable housing solutions that meet current and future needs.
To that end, the MICROHOME Kingspan Edition invited participants to conceptualize an off-grid modular dwelling for a hypothetical young professional couple, with a total floor area not exceeding 25 m². This challenge encouraged innovative thinking in spatial organization, distinctive aesthetics, and the use of state-of-the-art technologies and materials. The competition had no geographical restrictions on the hypothetical sites, allowing for unlimited creativity whether urban or rural. Participants were asked to focus on key design considerations including community Integration, sustainability and environmental impact, affordability and accessibility, adaptability and scalability, and educational and social awareness.
Buildner worked with an international jury panel to evaluate the received entries:
- David Basulto, ArchDaily
- Ben van Berkel, UNStudio
- Paulo Flores, Zaha Hadid Architects
- Martina Martino, Mario Cucinella Architects
- Silvana Ordinas, Peter Pichler
- Carlo Ratti, Carlo Ratti Associates
- Brent Trenga, Kingspan Insulated Panels
Buildner has launched the 2025 edition of the Kingspan MICROHOME competition with an early registration deadline on September 26. Other ongoing, open international competitions include the Unbuilt Award, which honors unrealized project proposals with a 100,000 EUR prize fund; the Denver Single-Stair Housing Challenge, aimed at addressing Colorado's housing crisis through innovative design solutions for mid-rise, single-stair housing; and the Morocco Oasis Heritage Retreat, seeking designs for a sustainable and culturally sensitive housing complex in Morocco.
Projects
First Prize Winner, 40,000 EUR
Project Title: Urban Residential Pod
Authors: Daniel Rojas of Wandrian Studios, from the USA
Urban Residential Pods address the global affordable housing crisis by repurposing vacant office buildings. Each POD aims to provide a compact yet comfortable living space for two adults, including essential amenities such as a bathroom, air conditioning, laundry station, storage, full kitchen, dining area, queen bed, and living room. The design also incorporates semi-private, semi-outdoor space adjacent to each POD. A key innovation is the off-site construction system, which allows the POD components to be prefabricated, transported, and easily assembled within existing office buildings. This approach not only meets basic housing needs but also leverages unused urban spaces, offering a practical solution to both housing shortages and vacant commercial properties.
Second Prize Winner, 20,000 EUR
Project Title: Why is living in Hong Kong so exhausting?
Authors: Giorgio Maria Martellono, Luca Quadro, Chang Liu, Jacopo Leccia, from Italy
Hong Kong, grappling with a severe housing crisis due to high costs and limited land, is projected to face a shortage of around 1,200 hectares for housing in the next 30 years. The city's mountainous terrain and socio-economic factors have worsened living conditions, with many residents enduring cramped apartments and uncomfortable rooftop huts. Traditional public housing solutions have struggled to meet demand, prompting the search for innovative alternatives. This project proposes a floating colony of modular, prefabricated microhomes designed to be off-grid, sustainable, and energy-independent. These compact units operate without traditional infrastructure, making them ideal for urban settings where expanding infrastructure is costly. The design envisions a temporary, dynamic micro-city that enhances community interaction and adapts to the evolving needs of its residents, offering a novel solution to Hong Kong's housing dilemma.
Third Prize Winner, 10,000 EUR
Project Title: Respira
Authors: ValentÍ Soler Casas, from Spain
According to the proposal for Respira Accessible Garden Homes in Barcelona, housing affordability is increasingly out of reach for young professionals in many European cities. This issue is exacerbated in Southern Europe by a disconnect between housing costs and salaries, often forcing individuals into shared accommodations and impacting their sense of comfort and community. The project addresses this issue by repurposing unused rooftops for garden homes. These modular units blend with the city's architectural heritage and Mediterranean lifestyle, offering a new layer of urban planning. Designed to be insulated for winter and open to the surroundings in warmer months, these homes blur the lines between indoor and outdoor living. Targeting young professional couples, the design includes private and communal spaces that balance social and personal needs. The rooftops not only provide affordable, low-energy housing but also enhance social and environmental sustainability. Occupants can manage rooftop gardens and solar panels, contributing to the building's energy efficiency and fostering community engagement.
Kingspan Award Winner, 40,000 EUR
Project Title: TOTEM
Authors: Alessandro Ghidini, from Italy
Totem is a versatile modular system designed for varied applications, from residential to commercial use. Its reflective silver Kingspan façade blends with its surroundings, offering a sleek, adaptable design. The project features five distinct modules—each transportable by land, sea, or air and easily assembled on-site, reducing construction costs. The MICROHOME configuration, a compact 25 m² unit, includes four main areas: a small storage room, a living room with large sliding windows, a compact kitchen, and a bathroom module that can function independently. Upstairs, a retractable ladder leads to a studio/bedroom with a circular window for exterior views. The design also incorporates a basement module for stability and seating, along with a tech module featuring solar panels for energy efficiency. Totem's modularity allows configurations such as huts, glam camps, and suites, making it a flexible solution for various needs and environments.
Highlighted submissions
Project Title: Light Space
Authors: Lord Evan Ceniza, from USA
Light Space reinterprets Japanese Metabolism Architecture to address modern micro-housing needs. Drawing inspiration from the Metabolism Group's proposal at the 1960 World Design Conference, it embraces the idea of adaptable, modular buildings. It also incorporates Frank Gehry's "Village of Forms" concept, which breaks down a structure into distinct parts, each with its own identity, forming a cohesive whole. The project tackles the challenge of rethinking spatial organization by separating the home into individual pods—bedroom, bathroom, living, and kitchen/dining spaces—allowing users to mix and match them, like building blocks, to create a personalized living environment.
Project Title: LUMIMIST
Authors: Omar Mohamad Houssam Khayat, from UAE
This microhome project seeks to transform traditional tethered hot air balloons into floating, luminous structures. Inspired by the concept of tethered balloons—anchored by cables and controlled by winches—these homes appear as suspended volumes in the sky. Light beams extending from the top simulate the look of hanging cables, enhancing the illusion of floating. This project explores the ethereal qualities of balloon forms, combining practical design with a visually striking concept. The houses remain securely grounded while offering the appearance of dynamic, hovering structures, blending innovation with inspiration from the familiar form of tethered balloons.
Project Title: The Purman Home
Authors: Gabor Hangosi, of company Hutoepito Kft, from Hungary
The Purman Microhouse is a cutting-edge solution for off-grid living. Its energy storage system uses lignin-based battery cells housed in removable drawers, charged via solar panels that track the sun's movement. The home includes an integrated water tank with separate drinking and rainwater modules, as well as advanced air-to-air and air-to-water heat pumps. The modular design and built-in septic system allow for installation in diverse terrains, including rocky areas. An additional wood-burning stove with a heat exchanger provides extra heating. The Purman Microhouse prioritizes sustainability by using recycled PU foam in its construction and insulation.
Project Title: The Platform
Authors: Fotios Gazepidis and Anna Chatziioannou, of company GConstructions, from Greece
This project addresses global challenges by offering a self-sustaining microhome designed for young professionals. With a small 25 sqm footprint, it emphasizes sustainability, high living standards, and social impact. Greece was chosen for its mild Mediterranean climate, potential for renewable energy, and the need to strengthen social bonds. The home's modular, rotating design maximizes solar and wind energy use while offering 360-degree views of the landscape. Inspired by traditional Greek windmills, the home features solar panels, a rotating mechanism for sun tracking, and outdoor living spaces. The structure is divided into ergonomic zones, optimizing space for cooking, living, and working. This design balances practicality, sustainability, and community living in a cost-effective way.
Project Title: Once Upon a time in Miami
Authors: Renzo Luciano Lopez, from USA
This project responds to Miami's ongoing housing crisis, exacerbated by rising costs and a surge in homelessness. To address this, a fictional narrative is presented in which zoning laws are amended, allowing public land—previously occupied by the homeless—to be transformed into hybrid "playhouses" for low-income citizens. These kinetic, compact structures serve as multifunctional units, combining living space, playground, picnic shelter, and live-work environment. Residents live rent-free on prime waterfront land and are responsible for maintaining the social infrastructure around their units. Architecturally, the houses are designed as origami-like structures that function as playgrounds and picnic shelters by day and transform into small homes at night, positioned along Miami's coastline between lifeguard posts.
Project Title: Retreat Hub
Authors: Yang Hong, from China
Retreat Hub is a modular microhome designed for digital nomads, combining sustainability, flexibility, and ease of assembly. Located in grassland areas, it offers a peaceful environment that blends nature with modern technology. Built with eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient systems, the design minimizes environmental impact while allowing residents to customize their living spaces. Targeting the growing global community of remote workers, Retreat Hub provides functional layouts, high connectivity, and affordability. Its simple assembly process and adaptability make it ideal for those seeking a mobile, flexible lifestyle. The project creates an inspiring, sustainable living solution that supports both work and life in harmony with nature.
Project Title: The Elevated Home
Authors: Full Mustafa Majid Hashim Al-attabi, of company AL-Dar Studio, from Iraq
The Elevated Home is a housing solution designed to address rising temperatures in the Middle East, where warming is occurring twice as fast as the global average. With over 400 million people facing extreme heat and drought, this concept draws inspiration from traditional Arab courtyards and ancient cooling methods. The home uses clay materials and an innovative design that allows it to lower three meters underground during extreme heat and elevate when temperatures are moderate. Key features include sliding solar panels, double-glazed windows, thick clay walls for insulation, and steel columns for vertical movement. This design integrates climate adaptation while fostering community and connection, inspired by traditional architecture.
Project Title: Harmonia Housing Initiative
Authors: Joshua Alexander Schultz, from USA
The project aims to provide urgent emergency housing through off-grid, modular units for young professional couples displaced from Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank. Each 265-square-foot unit is designed for quick assembly and flexible reconfiguration, using lightweight, durable, and recycled materials to reduce environmental impact while complementing Jaffa's diverse landscape. This initiative not only offers immediate shelter but also fosters community and sustainable living. The structures respect local heritage, providing a harmonious living space. Additionally, operable clay tile sunshades enhance energy efficiency by protecting concrete panels from heat exposure, further contributing to the units' modern aesthetic and functionality.
Project Title: Around The Clock
Author: Zhen Li, from USA
This project envisions repurposing parking garages in a future where private cars are replaced by efficient public transportation. With growing urban populations, limited natural resources, and increasing housing demand, the project aims to address these issues by converting parking lots into affordable housing. The design uses recycled materials from cars and existing structures to create flexible spaces that serve both daytime office functions and nighttime residential needs. By reducing private space and expanding shared areas, the project fosters interaction between different social groups. This adaptable model offers a sustainable solution for future cities, enhancing space utilization while addressing housing shortages and promoting socioeconomic inclusion.
Project Title: MiCA (Micro Cabin Annex)
Author: Gero August Suhner, from Germany
The sustainable, energy-efficient microhome is designed for both urban and rural settings. Built with regionally sourced, certified wood, its prefabricated construction reduces time and costs while maintaining high quality. MiCA is entirely off-grid, utilizing integrated solar panels, a rainwater system, and a composting toilet to minimize environmental impact. The cabin's modular interior offers flexible living and working spaces within 25 m², making it adaptable to different lifestyles. Its elevated design provides privacy while creating a community terrace below. MiCA is scalable, with the option to stack units in dense urban environments, addressing space and housing shortages. Green roofs and adaptive smart glass enhance energy efficiency, contributing to a low ecological footprint and sustainable living.
Project Title: ShapeShift Module
Author: Savina Vankova Kyurkchieva and Danniel Jose Cho Valadao, USA
The ShapeShift Module is a compact microhome designed to address New York City's housing crisis by utilizing underused urban spaces. With a 25-square-meter footprint, the module adapts to residents' needs by expanding or contracting its envelope, offering flexibility in small living spaces. Prefabricated for efficiency, it can be used as standalone units or in clustered formations, either horizontally over the Hudson River or vertically in underutilized city sites. The design targets low- and mid-income households, providing a sustainable solution with features like solar energy, passive ventilation, rainwater harvesting, and recycled materials. The project aligns with the city's vision for greener, more inclusive urban living while offering a contemporary and comfortable living environment.
Project Title: PERCH microhome
Author: Robert David Gough, from Norway
The proposal is for an off-grid living solution designed for Hokås skog, a forest in southern East Norway near the Swedish border. Set on a gentle slope by a freshwater lake, it offers sustainable, compact living for minimalists, couples, or solo dwellers. Harnessing renewable energy, the design maximizes space efficiency with large windows, skylights, and outdoor decks that connect residents to nature. The site is perfect for outdoor activities like canoeing and fishing, while a communal bonfire fosters a sense of community. Blending timber production with serene lakeside living, the PERCH microhome provides an alternative lifestyle focused on self-sufficiency and a harmonious relationship with the environment.
Project Title: Hillside House
Author: Xu Han, student at SCI-Arc, USA
The Hillside House in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a timber microhome designed to harmonize with its natural surroundings. Set on three levels with a mezzanine, it features a dining area, meditation space, and working and living areas, all connected by floor-to-ceiling windows that open to the surrounding woods. Jalousie windows enhance the connection to nature, offering tranquil views while blending the home with its environment. Raised off the ground on columns, the house minimizes its impact on the landscape. The design emphasizes a seamless relationship between the home, nature, and its occupants, creating a peaceful retreat that integrates architecture with its surroundings.
