HÄUSER-AWARD 2013: 15,000 euros for the best family homes

Children are our society’s future. And yet many couples’ desire for (more) children often ends when they start looking for family-friendly living space: the conventional property developers’ layouts and off-the-peg houses in Germany are nothing to write home about.

Foto: HÄUSER

In future, architects’ creativity will therefore play a vital role in providing parents and children with a more attractive setting for their lives together. Besides being robust and suitable for everyday life, family homes should also be able to adapt to changing requirements and life situations in the long term: their inhabitants, be they big or small, don’t just need enough space for shared activities and individual areas of retreat, they need room for change as well. Far-sighted planning bears this in mind right from the start – with cleverly organised layouts, flexibly usable rooms, multifunctional spaces, conversion potential, extension possibilities, sections that can be separated off and much more besides.

For the HÄUSER AWARD 2013, we are therefore looking for exemplary individual concepts that meet the requirements of a well-functioning, future-viable family home in ideal fashion – and prove that child-friendliness and aesthetically sophisticated architecture are by no means mutually exclusive.

We are holding the HÄUSER AWARD 2013 in collaboration with the InformationsZentrum Beton, the Verband Privater Bauherren e. V. (VPB) and the Bund Deutscher Architekten (BDA). Prize money of 15,000 euros is at stake. The results of the competition are scheduled for publication in HÄUSER in March 2013. In addition, the best projects will also be presented in a book to be published by Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Munich (DVA) at the same time.

Conditions of entry

Architects from all over Europe are eligible to enter the competition.

They must be the originators of the projects submitted. The houses must have been completed after January 1st 2009 and not have been previously published in a general-interest magazine. In addition, the award winners must agree that the winning houses will not be published in any other general-interest magazine prior to the announcement and publication of the competition results (scheduled to appear in HÄUSER 2/2013).

Each participant may submit a maximum of two projects under the condition that the participants and owners/clients agree to the publication of photos and plans in HÄUSER and on the HÄUSER website, as well as in the book to be published by Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt.

The prize money

The total prize money of 15,000 euros will be allocated as follows:

1st prize: 7,000 euros
2nd prize: 5,000 euros
3rd prize: 3,000 euros

The jury may choose to allocate the prize money differently.
The VPB will pay the owner/client of each award-winning house an additional bonus of 1,000 euros. This does not apply if the owner is also the architect of the house.

The jury

The works submitted will be judged by an independent jury made up as follows:

Laura Fogarasi-Ludloff, architect, Berlin
Thomas Kaczmarek, Chief Executive of the InformationsZentrum Beton
Thomas Penningh, Board Chairman of VPB
Michael Frielinghaus, President of the BDA (Association of German Architects)
Stephan Schäfer, designated Editor-in-Chief of HÄUSER

The jury will convene on 25th May 2012.

Competition Documents

Please submit the following project documentation and forms:

• Project plans: location plan on a scale of 1:1000 plus ground plans, sections and views on a scale of 1:100, maximum format A3 (as loose sheets, folded; no brochures, boards etc.).

• Photos: at least eight colour prints/colour copies (no slides, no digital picture files) in a format of approx. 18 x 24 centimetres, giving a general impression of the exterior of the house – including its urban context – as well as the interior.

• A completed project sheet (download) with the most important building data, key energy figures, date of completion, an exterior photograph of the house as well as a summary of the design concept in bullet points (in German or English).

• An explanatory text in German or English with a detailed project description (1 page A4 maximum), explaining the special features of the design.

• The completed entry form (download) as well as the signed participant's declaration.

• A self-addressed envelope, for entries from within Germany please also ensure the envelope is adequately stamped.

The closing date for entries is Monday, May 7th 2012 (date as per postmark).
The jury’s decision is final.

Address

Gruner + Jahr AG & Co KG
Editorial office HÄUSER
(Envelope to be marked "HÄUSER AWARD 2013")
20444 Hamburg
Germany

Telephone enquiries

Editorial office HÄUSER
Anja Sander
Telephone + 49 (0) 40-37 03-22 58

Informations, Entry Form and Project Sheet

Download Entry Form (PDF)

HÄUSER-AWARD 2013