“How can modular timber construction be used to respond to the contemporary housing crisis?” was the question posed in the international Modular Timber Housing competition, launched by Outsider magazine in collaboration with Modular Timber™ in January 2023.

We received 45 entries by the deadline of 31 March 2023. The expert jury, composed of the architects Špela Videčnik (OFIS Architects), Rok Oman (OFIS Architects), Gregor Turnšek (JKMM Architects), Marko Hozjan (Modular Timber), Dr. Iztok Šušteršič (Modular Timber), Peter Pavšič (Modular Timber) and Matevž Granda (Outsider), met twice. At the first meeting, which took place by videoconference on 3 April 2023, the jury took note of the proposals received and adopted the details of the evaluation method. By the next meeting, 15 projects had been selected by each member and a shortlist of 15 finalists was drawn up based on the sum of the scores.

The final judging took place live on Friday 14 April 2023 in Ljubljana. The jury began by noting that most of the contributions received were of a very high standard, and selected three prize-winning entries and seven special mention prizes.

The aim of the competition was to find innovative ideas for a universal modular timber building system that is both durable and sustainable. The jury was looking for design solutions for basic prefabricated modules that allow the greatest possible variety of housing units and typological adaptation to different locations.

The jury has evaluated the projects according to five aspects of design quality:

1. Economic aspect: Cost-effectiveness and design optimisation.
   How does the project solve the basic task of making the most useful applications with the fewest possible different types of panels?
   How does the project contribute to optimising the cost and speed of construction, taking into account the intended use and sustainability of the design?
2. Architectural aspect: Usability and design of the architectural solution in line with modern lifestyles.
   How successfully does the project address the challenge of quality architecture with a panel design?
   How does the project address the challenge of architectural diversity and flexibility?
   How does the project ensure comfort for the end user?
3. Ecological aspect: Compliance with the principles of sustainable development.
   How does the project contribute to the development of sustainable construction in terms of the design and use of passive strategies?
   What is the proportion of natural materials in the proposed solution?
4. Social perspective: The social responsibility of the design and understanding the contemporary challenges of living together in a multi-apartment building.
   Which form of living provides the highest quality of life in terms of the best use of space? How can the original typological idea influence the ways of living together in the society of the future?
5. Technical aspect: Credibility of the proposed solution.
   Is the solution technically feasible in terms of structural design, range of materials, speed of construction and installation options?

Evaluation criteria:

• Feasibility of the proposal (cost-effectiveness, durability, sustainability).
• The relevance of considering the role of wood in modern modular construction.
• Innovation and boldness.
• Quality of the architectural solution.
• Flexibility and applicability in different contexts.
• Completeness of the submitted material.

FIRST PRIZE
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Living Formular
Jie Liu, Li Zhang, Wei Duan, Ziye Zeng, Chengwei Liu

Prize: €4,000

→ Jury’s assessment
→ Posters

SECOND PRIZE
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Easy to Build, Easy to Live
Filip Vunjak

Prize: €2,000

→ Jury’s assessment
→ Posters

THIRD PRIZE
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In Between
Giacomo Caputo ([a]social-bureau)

Prize: €1,250

→ Jury’s assessment
→ Posters

SPECIAL MENTION PRIZES

Prize: €250

→ Project presentations and jury’s assessments

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Mirko Milanović (MIRMIL)

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Manuel Lopes, Arnaud Baas, Mahboobeh Moshtari Bavil, Alma Lövgren, Emma Magnusson (DREEM Arkitekter)

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Tristan Černe, Domen Ahac Pogačnik, Tina Čuješ, Miha Colja, Tilen Breznik, Oskar Divjak

GM2VDR – Jenga
Alexander Smaga (Alexander Smaga Architects)

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Duy Tan Tran, Thai Son Au

4XYTDI – 9 to ∞
Tjaša Mohar Plavec, Urška Uršič, Andraž Lovšin, Bojan Kujundžić (AAB Arhitektura d.o.o.)

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Jani Toçi

SHORTLIST

The jury highlighted the high technical and graphic level of execution of a large number of the proposals. The other shortlisted entries were pdtOxD, etFcQy, FnCHJ9, YAKzqN and oVCqsG.

JURY

Špela Videčnik, architect, OFIS Architects; lecturer at Harvard GSD, Boston, MA, USA; and the Architectural Association, London, UK

Rok Oman, architect, OFIS Architects; lecturer at Harvard GSD, Boston, MA, USA; and the Architectural Association, London, UK

Gregor Turnšek, architect and partner, JKMM Architects, Helsinki, Finland

Marko Hozjan, Modular Timber™

Dr Iztok Šušteršič, expert in sustainable construction with renewable materials

Peter Pavšič, architect

Matevž Granda, architect and executive editor of Outsider magazine

A competition by | Organizatorja natečaja: