Canada is simultaneously facing two disruptive 21st Century challenges 1) in light of a growing population, there is an increasing need for housing and supportive infrastructure and 2) the need to reduce consumption to achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with 2030 and 2050 climate commitments. Neither is optional, and yet we are falling short on both. Canada’s population is growing faster than any other G7 country, meaning this challenge is particularly acute here.
Research has shown that living smaller is critical to meeting both housing and sustainability goals. Canadians currently have one of the largest housing footprints in the world with 60 m2 of space per person. Global sufficiency studies call for 10 – 15 m2 per person. The United Nations International Resource Panel calls for Canada to transition to no more than 35 m2 per person by 2060.
This is a design competition to design small housing that is also appealing to live in while considering the repeatability and stackability of design given the need to build a lot of housing quickly.
Semi-Finalists will be invited to present their designs at the Embodied GHG Symposium held at the University of Toronto on May 13th, 2024, where the winner will be announced. The winning team will be selected at the event and will receive $2000 (to be divided equally between all team members, see eligibility conditions below).
Submission must be saved in a Onedrive or Dropbox folder and a link to said folder emailed to hoda.touma@utoronto.ca by May 5st 2024 at 5 pm EST. The email must come from a recognized Canadian University or College email address.