Design Competition Healthy Homes 2022
In cooperation with Prof. Dr. Marcel Schweiker (LuF Healthy Living Spaces, faculty 10 medicine & faculty 2 architecture) and the chair of building construction, Prof. Hartwig Schneider our institute plans on participating in the Healthy Homes competition. Therefore, we will form interdisciplinary teams in the upcoming winter semester 2021/2022. Students who would like to participate in this challenge can write an email to pauen@e3d.rwth-aachen.de with a short motivation. The allocation of participation places follows the principle “first come, first serves”. Successful participation in the competition is recognized as an examination achievement for the subject Digital Planning Methods in Building Services Engineering in the upcoming semester. Successful teams will also have the possibility to travel to Rotterdam and win the prize money of €5,000.
The REHVA Healthy Homes Design Competition 2022 wants to encourage and challenge students and young professionals working within the field of building design, building physics, and buildings service systems design to explore the theme of healthy living – and to create a deeper understanding of indoor environmental quality as well as exploring the impact of future climate changes. The award celebrates and promotes excellence in projects with focus on people’s health & comfort and indoor climate solutions in their living environments and at the same time balancing energy use. It encourages projects that celebrate the privilege of being a student or young professional; with curiosity and with the willingness to think “out of the box” in the approach to the indoor environmental dimension of future living.
Imagine you have a plot in Rotterdam, on the edge of the city, close to an industrial area; but still, you and your teammates are determined to create an above-average healthy & comfortable apartment complex for 20 households, that tunes in with present-day challenges. What would you build on that plot? How would you shape a new way of living at this suboptimal location? How will you make the best out of it? And how would you make this dwelling complex healthy and comfortable but also energy-efficient and climate-resilient? As a healthy home, the focus of the project is on the indoor environment, the health and well-being of the occupants. The indoor air quality, as well as thermal, acoustical and visual comfort, play an important role in the design. The project should present the solutions applied to achieve the best level of comfort, in terms of indoor climate and daylight. A specific focus should be set on the contemporary and future challenges faced by both designers and end-users e.g., related to climate change. Also, the design should tune in with the specifics of the (virtual) building site. The future healthy homes are as well expected to be sustainable and resilient to climate change. Sustainability can be seen in many different aspects, mainly related to the environment, economy and society. The project should use the most appropriate level of technologies according to the building use, considering hybrid ventilation, active and passive solutions where possible and have a clear sustainable direction in its energy consumption while maintaining high indoor climate quality. The buildings and systems should also be ready to adapt or resist the climate challenges of tomorrow.
Detailed information about the design competition is given on https://www.healthyhomesdesigncompetition.com