Green Housing for ALL Design Competition announcement R10-19-17Just Big Enough--Green Housing for ALL
Architectural Design Competition
Invitation for Designs
Sponsored by the City of Northampton | Co-sponsored AIA Western Massachusetts
Supported by Boston Society of Architects Foundation and PV Habitat for Humanity
Objective: Demonstrate potential for small, green, and affordable housing units
Eligibility: Teams must include one registered architect. Other disciplines encouraged.
Required materials: 1. Two 24” by 36” landscape formatted boards mounted on foam core.
2. A PDF file of the boards
3. A $100 entry fee for any entry (multiple entries are welcome)
4. OPTIONAL: Any relevant supporting materials and/or physical models
Program specifics: Three Net Energy Zero affordable small single family homes (see next page)
Prizes: First place: $1,500; Second place: $1,000.
Third place, honorable mention, and people choice honors
Commission: We, through funding of the housing developer, will offer one of the architects
entering the competition a $45,000 commission to design all three homes and
provide key construction point inspections. The timing of this commission will
depend on when the three homes are developed, when the city sells one of the
remaining market rate lots, and successful contract negotiation. We reserve the right
not to proceed with the commission if we do not receive adequate competitive entries.
Schedule: Proposals due: Monday January 22, 2018.
All designs will be exhibited Feb. 6-10 at APE Gallery, Main St, Northampton.
Reception and prizes announced at APE Friday Feb. 9th at 6:00 PM.
Rights: All materials submitted may be reproduced on the internet & distributed to the media.
Creative rights remain the property of the submitter.
Evaluations: We will use an outside independent jury for all awards except the people’s choice
The winning proposal will be 1) context-aware, 2) demonstrate high-quality
sustainable design and 3) emphasize affordability.
Questions: Wayne Feiden, FAICP, City of Northampton, Planning & Sustainability
wfeiden@northamptonma.gov, 210 Main St, Northampton, MA 01060
Context of Burt’s Pit Road/Burt’s Bog Limited Development Project
The design competition is part of a city-sponsored limited development project that created:
1. Three lots dedicated for affordable single family homes that are the subject of this competition.
2. Nine market rate housing lots, five of which the city owns and is selling.
3. The permanently protected 121 acre Burts Bog Greenway conservation area.
4. An eventual multiuse trail that will extend from the site to downtown Northampton.
Building on the successful small lots | BIG IDEAS competition in 2013, Just Big Enough--Green
Housing for ALL seeks to showcase designs for three affordable, sustainable housing units in Northampton,
MA. The previous competition attracted 15 entries, over 200 people to the show at the APE Gallery, and
substantial print and social media coverage reaching over 10,000 people.
Required Design Program for three net energy plus affordable small single family homes
Units Bedrooms Min.
Size
Max. Size Bathrooms Zero Lot
Line
Heat Extras
One One 500 sq. ft. 800 sq. ft. One full Yes Does not require fossil fuel.
Electricity allowed because
it can be renewable.
No basement
and no
garage
One Two 650 sq. ft. 900 sq. ft. One full Yes
One Three 800 sq. ft. 1,000 sq. ft.One & ½ No
Building Zero Net Energy with the addition of on or offsite photovoltaic arrays and clearly indicate how
Zero Net Energy will be achieved
Energy Star and Energy Stretch Code, building code, and health code requirements
Front and bathroom doors and thresholds must be wheelchair accessible (no requirement for fixtures)
Building energy performance, with a minimum of, R30 walls, R60 attic, and R-20 foundation walls/under
slab. Teams must prove and defend their choices in terms of performance and cost estimates. Clearly
indicate how costs would be kept well below industry standards.
For site details, see Site plans www.NorthamptonMA.gov/Plan, click on the Just Big Enough tab.
Submission Guidelines
Required Materials are due Monday January 22, 2018
1. Mail or deliver two 24” by 36” landscape formatted boards mounted on foam core to:
Wayne Feiden, FAICP, Hon WMAIA
Planning & Sustainability
210 Main Street
Northampton, MA 01060
OR contract with Paradise Copies for printing and mounting
(413-585-0414 or Paradise@ParadiseCopies.com, quote #52162 for $44 rate per board, $88 total)
When boards are ready for pickup at Paradise Copies, contact WFeiden@NorthamptonMA.gov
NOTE: Please put design firm name and any identifying information in one box on the top
or the bottom of the design board so that we can cover it up for the judging.
2. Send PDF of entry to WFeiden@NorthamptonMA.gov of design boards. We reserve the right to edit
and change scales for distribution in paper or electronic media.
3. Optional: If you want to include a physical model, send that to the above address.
3. Include registration fee made out to the City of Northampton
IF fee is paid by December 22, 2017, the fee is $75 per entry- preregistration preferred.
Fees paid after December 22nd and by January 22nd are $100 per entry.- preregistration not required.
We prefer to hold onto materials for future exhibits.