Open Source House Launches Design Competition

Architectural Web site Arch Daily points to a design competition at Open Source House for individuals or teams to create a eco-friendly sustainable single-family house for a specifically designated spot in Ghana. The contest, which runs until May 15, 2010, encourages designers to "think big" and come up with ways their initial designs can be implemented on a larger scale.

"For the first time modular housing systems will be used to create diversity instead of uniformity. We want to create smart, modular housing systems, with comparable and understandable designs, consisting of elements that are sustainable, flexible and affordable. An online platform offers applied global knowledge of sustainable and flexible designs sensitive to specific local conditions and materials. The designs are then open to be improved and adapted to new personal needs or other local conditions. Through online and local collaboration OS-House operates simultaneously from bottom-up and top-down," say contest organizers.

Competitors are tasked with the problem of developing a home for a middle-class family in Ghana. The organizers say once the home is built, they hope it will prompt the design and creation of additional modular single-family homes, eventually building 100,000 open source houses in needy areas by 2010.

Visit Open Source House's Web site for additional information on getting involved in the competition, and be sure to check out the short video as well. All designs will be made available after the winning selection is made so everyone can benefit from them and communities can adapt the plans to their individual needs.