Vancouver’s The 100 Mile House Competition is calling on all architects, designers, artists, students and other environmentally conscious members of the global creative class from around to submit their ideas for the ultimate green design challenge. The contest solicits designs from applicants around the world for a house for four that only uses materials and systems made, manufactured or recycled within 100 miles of the city of Vancouver. Conducted by the Architecture Foundation of British Columbia, the new competition encourages designs that rethink and challenge the way we live and select materials, systems and technology for unconventional methods of home construction.
The concept is an extension of the increasingly trendy “100-Mile Diet” as applied to the architectural world. Similar to the 100-Mile Diet challenging readers to source their food locally, The 100 Mile House encourages them to apply the same principles in sourcing materials that make up their homes. The concept homes must feature a maximum area of 1,200 square feet, with a hypothetical flat, corner site of 33 by 120 feet. All city services (water, sewer, storm drain, natural gas and electricity) are available to the property line should the applicant choose to use them.
Competitors are not expected to know the bylaws and building codes of a specific area but it is expected that general construction practice and knowledge should be demonstrated. Zoning and building bylaws of the City of Vancouver are, of course, important criteria in reality but are not the focus of the competition. The most important element is that submissions demonstrate the integration of local social, technological, economic and aesthetic sustainability into the final design solutions.
Entries will be judged by a panel of international experts, with a total of $10,000 to be awarded to the winners. The contest’s registration deadline is April 19.