Buildner, in collaboration with building materials manufacturer Kingspan, has announced the winners of the MICROHOME Kingspan Edition with a 100,000 EUR prize fund.
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 square meters. 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. The global housing crisis is intensifying, with rising property costs and insufficient housing supply affecting millions. As urban areas grow and environmental concerns increase, there is a pressing need for affordable, sustainable, and compact housing solutions. Architects are crucial in addressing this issue by designing efficient and environmentally responsible homes. Compact living offers a practical approach to providing 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.
Buildner worked with an international jury panel to evaluate the received entries: Sandra del Bove, Head of Innovation, Kingspan; Paulo Flores, Director, Zaha Hadid Architects; Anne Cecilie Haug, Senior Architect, Snøhetta; Flora Lee, Associate Partner, MAD Architects; Silvana Ordinas, Founder and Partner, Peter Pichler; Brent Trenga, Director of Sustainability, Kingspan Insulated Panels.
1st Prize went to Thomas William Ewing (UK) for Monsoon Pontoon, a flood-resilient microhome for Bangladesh built from bamboo and recycled plastics, integrating solar energy and rainwater harvesting. 2nd Prize was awarded to Yi Yang Chai (Malaysia) for Jenga, a modular retrofit strategy that transforms abandoned towers into vertical microhome communities using low-carbon materials and renewable systems. 3rd Prize went to an Italian team—Nguyên, Egidi, Solar Lezama, and Mcdonell—for a wildfire recovery housing system combining modular timber construction with off-grid sustainability.
Special Awards:
Kingspan Award: Floaterra by Yi Yan and Andres Felipe Pineda (USA) — a floating, climate-adaptive microhome with autonomous systems.
Student Award: First Aid Kit by a team from Warsaw University of Technology (Poland) — modular housing for displacement relief.
Sustainability Award: A project from France integrating housing with agriculture and zero-cement construction.
The competition was juried by experts from Zaha Hadid Architects, Snøhetta, MAD Architects, Peter Pichler Architecture, and Kingspan. Visit the MICROHOME competition website for the full list of winners and shortlisted projects.
Buildner and its jury panel congratulate the winners and thank all participants of this truly global competition.
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1st Place
Monsoon Pontoon
Thomas William Ewing
United Kingdom
“I participate in architecture competitions because they offer a unique opportunity to challenge and expand my design thinking beyond the constraints of everyday practice. They encourage creative risk-taking, allowing me to explore original concepts and test bold ideas in response to thought-provoking briefs. Competitions also serve as a platform for reflection, experimentation, and continued growth – pushing me to refine my creative voice while engaging with global conversations in architecture.”
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JURY FEEDBACK summary
Monsoon Pontoon is a flood-resilient microhome designed for the extreme monsoon conditions of Bangladesh. It incorporates an off-grid, amphibious structure that adapts to rising water levels. Built with locally sourced, sustainable materials like bamboo and recycled plastics, the design draws from traditional flood mitigation strategies, such as mound houses and stilt structures. Modular in nature, the home can evolve over time to meet changing needs. Environmental systems including rainwater harvesting, solar energy, and wastewater filtration are integrated. The flexible canopy system enhances passive cooling and ventilation, supporting comfortable living in humid climates while ensuring community resilience during seasonal floods.
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2nd Place
Microhome ‘Jenga’: Re-inhabit Ghost Structures
Yi Yang Chai
Malaysia
“Occasionally, we take part in open architecture or urban design competition to exercise our mind, evoke new insights and discourses. The nature of competitions offer the anonymity and almost act as a complete blank canvas to keep us distant from preconceived ideas. It is refreshing to disconnect us from the day-to-day work, yet challenging at the same time to reconnect us to the creative niche in the world of design.”
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JURY FEEDBACK summary
Microhome ‘Jenga’ proposes a modular retrofit strategy for abandoned high-rise structures in “ghost cities,” transforming them into self-sustaining vertical neighborhoods. The design utilizes prefabricated microhome modules built with low-carbon, renewable materials, emphasizing modularity, lightweight construction, and adaptability. Stacked into customizable configurations, the modules integrate with reused building cores, incorporating communal gardens, renewable energy, water recycling systems, and local food production. The project aims to address affordable housing shortages and sustainability challenges while minimizing embodied carbon. It offers a scalable model for urban regeneration, using existing infrastructure to create resilient, compact communities adapted to future environmental and social needs.
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3rd Place
From The Ashes
Jeremy Minh An Nguyên, Cecilia Loretta Egidi, Ricardo Solar Lezama, Jonathan Cole Mcdonell
United States
“It provides me an opportunity to test my idea concepting generation and storytelling with other global thinkers. It also gave me a chance to work with some of my favorite coworkers who I admire for their awesomeness as human beings and talent as designers. I also get to let my creativity and application of knowledge and current technology to see how I can create innovative solutions with others. I enjoy the design process and charretting with others to further our ideas and manifest the ideas into colorful / thoughtful drawings. In this way I can also hone my graphic representation and communication abilities!”
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JURY FEEDBACK summary
This project addresses wildfire recovery by combining off-grid sustainability strategies with modular construction and passive house principles. Built from cross-laminated timber with charred wood cladding for fire resistance, the design integrates water harvesting, solar energy systems, and biogenic septic treatment. Flexible shutter elements extend living spaces outdoors, while maintaining resilience against environmental risks. The proposal supports community rebuilding through clustered site planning that fosters local connections and economic stability. Aimed at urban infill redevelopment, the project offers a scalable, low-carbon housing solution that emphasizes accessibility, energy independence, and protection from future disasters.
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Kingspan Award
FLOATERRA
Yi Yan, Andres Felipe Pineda
United States
“We participate in architecture competitions as a way to explore ideas freely and push the boundaries of our creativity. Competitions offer a space for experimentation—where we can challenge conventional approaches, test new concepts, and express our design values without the usual constraints of client expectations or budgets. It’s also an opportunity to engage with global conversations, learn from other designers, and continue growing as architects through exploration and reflection.”
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JURY FEEDBACK summary
Floaterra is a modular, climate-adaptive microhome system designed for resilience in the face of environmental instability. It integrates prefabricated, high-performance materials with systems for autonomous water collection, renewable energy generation, and hydroponic food production. Adaptable walls, retractable furniture, and passive climate strategies enable flexible spatial configurations and efficient energy use.
Kingspan’s commentary
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Buildner Student Award
First Aid Kit
Łukasz Michał Danilczuk, Ewa Helena Maniak, Karolina Maria Rorat
Poland
“We see architecture competitions as a fantastic way to step out of our comfort zones and take on unique, thought-provoking challenges. They allow us to explore different ideas, cultures, and perspectives. Most importantly, they’re a space for creative freedom and self-expression.”
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JURY FEEDBACK summary
First Aid Kit is a modular microhome system designed for rapid deployment in response to displacement crises. Based on prefabrication and passive house principles, the system adapts to varied climates through adjustable construction elements such as wall thickness and shading devices. Units can operate independently or aggregate into larger structures around communal spaces, supporting long-term integration and social resilience. Lightweight prefabricated modules minimize embodied carbon and can be easily transported, assembled, and later disassembled for reuse. The project proposes a flexible, scalable housing model that addresses both immediate shelter needs and sustainable urban redevelopment.
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Buildner Sustainability Award
Taking The Country’s Side
Hubert Pierre Olivier Charlaix, Emmanuel Pierre Hamelin, Benjamin Florent Philippe Vitry
France
“We participate in architectural competitions to compare our ideas with those of other architects and to challenge ourselves with subjects we don’t necessarily encounter in our everyday profession.”
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JURY FEEDBACK summary
This project proposes small-scale housing integrated with agricultural production on the outskirts of Avignon. Prefabricated units constructed with lightweight timber frames and no cement are assembled on-site, incorporating autonomous systems for water collection, greywater treatment, solar energy, and composting. The layout fosters community resilience through cooperative living structures and shared food production, supporting local markets and reducing dependence on fossil-fuel-based agriculture. Designed for farming couples, the model emphasizes land stewardship, modular scalability, and environmental adaptation, positioning microhomes as active agents in regional food networks and sustainable urban expansion strategies.
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Public Favorite
PHX Micro Gardens
Jeffrey Daniel Clancy
United States
“I enjoy the experience of diving into a new subject, exploring it, learning from it, and ultimately proposing a design solution. I also enjoy seeing the diversity of solutions that others put forth.”
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HONORABLE MENTION
MICROGROVE
Bryan Andrew Maddock
United States
“It’s important for us to consistently develop optimistic new forms of architecture without expectations or assumptions about the outcome. Competitions provide a space to test new prototypes of spaces and functions that can nudge architecture forward in unexpected directions.”
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HONORABLE MENTION
NEXUS
Gökalp Kalfa, Denizhan Salli, Göktuğ ünlü, Zehra çeli̇k
Turkey
“We see competitions as intellectual playgrounds—platforms where ideas can be freely explored, challenged, and refined. They allow us to collaborate with different minds, reflect on shared global issues, and produce work that is unbound by conventional limitations. For us, it’s less about competition and more about dialogue. We use competitions to grow, to question our assumptions, and to test our architectural voice in an open, ever-evolving field. It’s also an opportunity to position ourselves within a broader professional network and to learn from the diverse approaches of others.”
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HONORABLE MENTION
DimoraX
Omid Shafigh Khatibi, Amirata Yavari
United States
“Architecture competitions provide a unique environment that challenges us to push the boundaries of our creativity and innovation in design.”
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HONORABLE MENTION
Circ(Mod)ular Habitat
Krzysztof Pydo, Roman Gliwa
Poland
“We believe that participating in architectural competitions is a valuable opportunity to demonstrate what architecture can and should be. It allows us to share our ideas, promote our vision, and take part in a prestigious form of creative rivalry.”
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HONORABLE MENTION
City Farm
Binyu Minchev Binev
Bulgaria
“Competitions provide an exciting opportunity to work on briefs outside of my day-to-day practice. They allow me to experiment with new ideas, push my creative boundaries, and continue challenging and developing my design skills.”
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HONORABLE MENTION
New Business Model for Kingspan
Teymur Osmanov, Alisa Tikanova, Olga Sergeevna Alekseenko, Dmitrii Alekseenko
Georgia
“At first, I started participating in international competitions with my team to raise our professional standards and mastery by competing on a global level — it was a way to clearly see what we were capable of. Over time, I began to realize that we actually had something meaningful to contribute to the field. This evolved into a journey of playful creativity. Currently, I’m working on developing a methodology for architectural competitions, aimed at offering fellow architects guidance on how to reach the top using their talent and intellect.”
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HONORABLE MENTION
Habita +
Bruno Ernani De Mendonca Campos, Silvio De Melo Todeschi, Marcelo Pinto Coelho Fontes
Brazil
“We participate to explore pressing issues that interest us at the moment, or to work on typologies we rarely get the chance to design in our daily office routines.”
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HONORABLE MENTION
Ladomus
Agata Bandini, Benedetta Ballabio
Italy
“Architecture competitions offer us a vital space for experimentation and growth. They allow us to test radical ideas, challenge conventional approaches, and engage with international discourse in a constructive and inspiring way. For a young practice like ours, these competitions provide a powerful platform to express our vision and receive feedback from renowned experts in the field. We value the intellectual rigor of these environments and the opportunity they provide to contribute meaningfully to the future of design. It’s not just about visibility—it’s also a chance to sharpen our thinking and expand our creative boundaries.”
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SHORTLISTED PROJECTS
The post Results: Microhome Kingspan Edition 2024/25 appeared first on Competitions.archi.
Strong technical diagrams and environmental performance data clearly explain the self-sufficiency strategy, though varied lineweights could enhance visual clarity. The plans and sections are well-drawn, but rendered views would benefit from more direct annotation to connect visuals with design intentions. The first sheet’s dense text overlay weakens readability and would be stronger with more hierarchy and conciseness. Overall, the project offers clear technical ideas but would improve through better text distribution, stronger visual focus, and expanded annotation of key architectural elements.