Green Housing for ALL Design Competition announcementJust Big Enough--Green Housing for ALL
Architectural Design Completion
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 plus 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: Assuming we receive at least ten entries, we 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.
Schedule: Proposals due: Friday January 19, 2018.
All designs will be exhibited Feb. 6-10 at APE Gallery, Main St, Northampton.
Reception and prices announced at APE Friday Feb. 9th at 6:00 PM.
Rights: All materials submitted may be reproduced on the internet and 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 Net Energy Zero with the addition of on or offsite photovoltaic arrays
Energy Star and Energy Stretch Code, building code, and health code requirements
Front and bathroom doors and thresholds must be wheelchair accessible
Building energy performance, at a minimum, 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
For site details, see Site plans www.NorthamtonMA.gov/Plan, click on the Just Big Enough tab.