Competition Requirements

The purpose of the competition is to design an attainable home that includes green building elements that will help create a safe, efficient, durable, healthy, and comfortable place to live for a single family in Wyandanch, New York. For the purposes of this competition the following are the required criteria:

1. Total square footage of the home should not exceed 1500 SF (Note: any design with a total area more than 5% above the 1500 SF maximum will remain in the running but will be subject to a penalty during judging)
2. Home should have a minimum of three (3) bedrooms and two (2) full baths in addition to other rooms found in a typical suburban home but should not include any sub-grade living space.
3. Attainable construction budget (independent of site and soft costs) of $185,000 should not be surpassed.
4. The home should meet the requirements of both Energy Star for Homes version 3.0 (HERS score should be a minimum of 91, equivalent to a HERS Index of 45, without the aid of renewable energy although renewable energy may be used) and USGBC LEED for Homes Certification at an advanced level (minimum Gold).
5. Elements of Passive Survivability are encouraged and should be appropriate to the local climate. The design should reflect the ability to achieve “Fortified for Safer Living” certification from the Institute for Business and Home Safety.
6. As the occupant of the home is yet to be determined universal design is a requirement so as to provide a livable home for a variety of occupants.
7. As the winning design will be built all current state and local municipal code requirements needed to attain a building permit should be adhered to without the need to attain a variance.
8. Home designs should also include a landscape plan and demonstrate how a connection is made to the site; outdoor living space is encouraged but not required.
9. Designs should demonstrate a connection to the surrounding community and should complement the existing neighborhood.
10. Designs should be easily adaptable to different sites and contexts as the winning design will be made available as an open source document with the potential use worldwide. As such, the design needs to be easily replicable and should be constructed using a workforce with common tools and skill level using existing technology.
11. Details to demonstrate innovative strategies for the building or landscape should be included as deemed appropriate.
12. Teams are encouraged to pursue additional third party certifications including Energy Star for Homes plus Indoor Air Package, the American Lung Association’s Health House, etc.
13. This home will be owner occupied and will not have an accessory apartment.

Site Details

Submittal Documents

Submittal documents are to be in digital format (.jpg of a file size no larger than 10 MB be uploaded to the competition website no later than 11:59pm on June 17th, 2011) that are the equivalent of two (2) presentation boards 24”x36”, and are to include, at a minimum, the following:

1. Plans, Sections and elevations, showing the home in its site context, as well as a project specific wall section and any details that help describe the design if necessary (separate files of each drawing (.jpg or .pdf no larger than 10MB) should also be uploaded to the competition website).
2. 3D rendering showing the homes design and proposed materials (separate files of each drawing (.jpg or .pdf no larger than 10MB) should also be uploaded to the competition website).
3. A maximum 500 word description of the project, which should communicate the designs intent, how the building is replicable on other sites and climate zones, any innovative features, and other information that better describes the design.
4. A completed LEED for Homes checklist indicating what credits are being attempted along with notes on how each credit is being attained.
5. A separate Energy Model created specifically for the design in REM Design, submitted reports are to include the Home Energy Rating Certificate, Component Report, Cost Analysis, and Energy Savings Report.
6. Fortified for Safer Living completed checklists.
7. A separate cost estimate on the enclosed template.
8. Manual J calculation ACCA Approved, latest edition, for all proposed mechanical systems.
9. Finalists must provide full scale (24” x 36”) presentation boards for display at the awards event/dinner.

Note: nothing identifying individuals or teams submitting designs, other than what is required by Open Architectural Network, should appear on any submittal documents. (ie. no title blocks, logos, etc.)

Winning Design

The winner of the competition will be required to submit a minimum of five (5) signed and sealed construction documents (meeting all the requirements to obtain a building permit) in addition to a digital copy of the drawings (.dwg). The drawings will be used to build the winning design in Wyandanch, NY. Additionally the drawings will be posted to a file sharing site similar to the Open Architecture Network, and similar open source websites, and be made available for anyone to use as open source.

Judging Criteria

All entries into the competition will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Architecture: (25%) Designs will be judged against each other for their aesthetic, functionality, and buildability.
2. Sustainability/Energy Use: (20%) Based on approach and proposed implementation to achieve LEED for Homes certification as well as the submitted REM/Design energy models and compliance with Energy Star 3.0 requirements.
3. Constructability/Repeatability: (20%) Demonstrate the constructability using currently available materials and techniques as well as the ability of the design to be easily adapted to different sites.
4. Affordability: (15%) Based on submitted construction cost estimates.
5. Market Appeal: (10%) Based on Real Estate criteria.
6. Innovation: (10%) Based on unique aspects of designs and how goals are achieved.