Brighter future for Cambodian residents

Student winner: Sanaz Amin Deldar, Nastaran Hadidi, Ehsan Naderi and Simak Khaksar

Cambodian competition for $2,000 home has 3 winners from USA, UK and Australia

Three international architecture firms have been announced as joint winners in a design competition that hopes to provide Cambodians who have little resources with a better standard of living. The competition had over 600 registered entrants and a jury made up with representatives from Building Trust International, Habitat for Humanity Cambodia, Karuna Cambodia, MIT, Collective Studio, members of the Cambodian Society of Architects and - most importantly - the families that are going to live in the houses once they are built later this year.

The design competition asked for designs of a $2,000 house that can withstand flooding and offer a safe and secure home for low income families in Cambodia. Habitat for Humanity Cambodia have supported the competition from the start and now plan to deliver these homes in the coming months, giving the families that they support a chance to choose a design that relates to their specific lifestyle needs.

The jury picked three designs that reflected the desire to have a large flexible space to meet changing family needs, a space to rear chickens and a design that allowed for a shop front on the ground floor.

A wide range of submissions made use of sustainable materials and highlighted the need for Cambodia to look at the nature of the booming construction industry and to think about more environmentally friendly ways of meeting the housing demand. These designs show both traditional and new techniques in reducing the carbon footprint of delivering new homes. There will be an exhibition in Phnom Penh in May showcasing the best designs and the winning projects.

David Cole founding partner of Building Trust international said: “The most heart-warming part of the process so far was watching a family who currently live at the hospital having the chance to choose their home and make a selection based on what matters to them. The project builds on the fantastic work that Habitat for Humanity Cambodia are already doing in the region and we are glad to be able to encourage international and local architects to get involved with helping those most in need with the basic human right to shelter.”

The winning designs are:
- ‘Wet + Dry House’ by Mary Ann Jackson, Ralph Green, Muhammad Kamil and Nick Shearman from Australian firm Visionary Design Development Pty Ltd
- ‘Courtyard House’ by Jess Lumley & Alexander Koller from the UK
- ‘Open Embrace’ by Keith Greenwald and Lisa Ekle from USA
- The winning student design was by Sanaz Amin Deldar, Nastaran Hadidi, Ehsan Naderi and Simak Khaksar from Iran