Build With Strength Partners With Habitat for Humanity and ACSA to Create Design Competition

For immediate release: 

Alexandria, VA, June 21, 2021 — Build With Strength is partnering with Habitat for Humanity International and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture to create the Habitat Design Competition: Climate Positive Concrete Housing. The competition will challenge students, working individually or in teams, to explore a variety of design issues related to the use of concrete in the design and construction of a Habitat home. Students who submit designs will have the chance to win cash prizes, and the potential to see their design executed through local Habitat for Humanity organizations in the US.

Backed by the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), Build With Strength is a coalition of architects, builders, engineers, emergency services personnel, policymakers, and others committed to solving challenging housing issues. Build with Strength is partnering with Habitat to help further address those issues on a large scale.   

“We are incredibly excited to work with Habitat for Humanity on this competition and to allow students the chance to design sustainable and safe homes that Habitat families could potentially build,” said Mike Philipps, president of the NRMCA. “We are all looking forward to the innovative designs that students are sure to create. Designing with concrete is an exciting creative process and it will be interesting to see the different visions for incorporating low or negative embodied carbon strategies.”

Architecture students, along with their faculty sponsors, will be tasked with creating a design that would best suit one of seven climate regions across North America. Students can choose from various forms of concrete construction to work from but must meet the minimum requirements of Habitat for Humanity’s US construction standards. Competition results could greatly impact Habitat’s work by providing the organization with tangible design ideas for affordable, eco-friendly home construction.

As we face the climate crisis, it is critical to realize that we have very little time to offset the carbon dioxide created by the construction and use of buildings with future reductions of CO2. Therefore, the competition entries will also be judged on their successful inclusion of low or negative embodied carbon strategies in materials and construction processes.

“We’re pleased to announce this competition for faculty at ACSA schools to incorporate in their Fall 2021 curriculum,” said Lynne Dearborn, President of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. “Offering students the chance to design homes with actual potential to be built is an invaluable experience. Designing and building an affordable home for an inadequately housed family offers a beneficial anchor for family members and a significant opportunity for students and faculty.”

The deadline for registration is April 12, 2022, and winners will be announced in Summer 2022. Jurors’ criteria for winning designs will include a demonstrated use of negative embodied carbon, clear understanding and resolution of concrete construction, and an understanding of the physical characteristics needed to meet the demands of the chosen climate, and designed housing’s suitability for families, among others. 

To learn more about the competition, visit https://www.acsa-arch.org/competitions/2022-habitat-competition/. 

About National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
NRMCA is celebrating 90 years of representing the producers of ready-mixed concrete and the companies that provide materials, equipment, and support to the industry. It conducts education, training, promotion, research, engineering, safety, environmental, technological, lobbying, and regulatory programs. To learn more, visit https://www.nrmca.org/.   

About Build with Strength
Build with Strength is a coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association and works with communities, lawmakers, and industry employees to advocate for safer, sustainable building materials. To learn more, visit https://buildwithstrength.com/.

About Habitat for Humanity
Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity began in 1976 as a grassroots effort on a community farm in southern Georgia. The Christian housing organization has since grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering, or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability, and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.

About the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture
Founded in 1912 by 10 charter members, ACSA is an international association of architecture schools preparing future architects, designers, and change agents. Our full members include all of the accredited professional degree programs in the United States and Canada, as well as international schools and 2- and 4-year programs. Together ACSA schools represent some 7,000 faculty educating more than 40,000 students. To learn more, visit https://www.acsa-arch.org/. 

Learn more at www.buildwithstrength.com

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