Affordable Housing Student Design and Planning Competition

Form a Team. Create a Plan. Make a Real-World Impact.

BRIEF

HUD PD&R invites teams from accredited educational institutions in the United States to participate in its Innovation in Affordable Housing Student Design and Planning Competition. Teams must be comprised of students enrolled in a graduate degree program.

Transforming our Communities

The need for quality, affordable housing has never been greater. At its best, housing can help strengthen the social and physical fabric of communities and neighborhoods. It is the hope of HUD and PD&R that by initiating and funding this competition, a new generation will advance the design and production of livable and sustainable housing for low- and moderate-income people through research and innovation.

Making it Actionable

The IAH competition has been designed to replicate a real-life approach. Multi-disciplinary teams comprised of graduate students in architecture, planning and policy, finance and other areas will be asked to address social, economic, and environmental issues in responding to a specific housing problem developed by an actual public housing agency (PHA).

The Importance of a Team Approach

This competition is designed to encourage research and innovation in affordable housing, to raise practitioner and future practitioner capacity, and to foster cross-cutting team-work within the design and community development process. The IAH will join the suite of annual PD&R awards for community planning, historic preservation, and affordable housing design.

Multidisciplinary teams must be comprised of a minimum of three students and a maximum of five, plus one faculty advisor. Each team must have members representing three different graduate level programs; one of which must be from an architectural or design-related program, and one of which must be from a non-architectural program. There are many acceptable permutations; here is one example for clarity:

2 M. Architecture candidates
1 M. Planning or Public Policy candidate
2 MBA candidates

SCHEDULE

Registration Open 10/02/2017
Registration Deadline 12/11/2017
Phase I Begins 12/12/2017
Phase I Submittal Deadline 02/05/2018
Final Four Teams Announced 02/19/2018
Site Visit for Finalists 03/07/2018
Phase II Submittal Deadline 04/16/2018
Final Presentations and Winners Announced in DC 04/18/2018