The RIBAJ/Norbord Europe competition, now part of West Fraser, is designed to encourage architects to push the creative boundaries when considering the use of SterlingOSB Zero
The SterlingOSB Zero/RIBAJ competition, where the winners enjoy cash prizes, industry acknowledgement, and much coverage in media channels, has seen some incredibly innovative creations in its time; each year poses a different challenge that is designed to reflect real-life topics in the architectural world.
The 2021 challenge, named “Off Grid 2030”, saw RIBAJ asking entrants to design a family home of no more than 200m² GIA that adheres to the RIBA’s 2030 Climate Challenge principles.
2021 Winner:
Kevin Sulca – Ventanilla House
Commended:
Rob Hilton (Hilton Barnfield Architects) – Naturehaus
Jason Scoot (Scoot Studio) – LatticexLivexWork
DarX (Arper and Yegana Dilek) – Self-Sufficient Zero
Longlisted:
The Rain Catcher – Davide Roth
Off Grid 2030 – Angus Eitel, Isabella Hicks, Josh Smith and Olivia Laughlin
The Matchbox Townhouse – Hon Yen Chong and Chen-Yong Tan
Mitre House – Peter Dagger
A “simple but tangible, robust proposal”
The 2021 winner is Kevin Sulca’s Ventanilla House – a modular solution to the unique challenges of living in Lima, Peru – only narrowly beating Rob Hilton of Hilton Barnfield Architects’Naturehaus to the top spot.
Sulca’s design was praised for its compactness, scalability and polemical stance against the poor living conditions of Ventanilla’s inhabitants, given the district’s humidity, precarious housing and lack of green space.
David Connacher, marketing manager of Norbord Europe, praised the way that “it fits the brief in terms of different generations comfortably living in the same house”, while RIBA Journal’s deputy editor, Jan-Carlos Kucharek, described it as a “simple but tangible, robust proposal”.
Its provision of housing to people across the social spectrum was commendable. “Different levels of society could live in these houses”, applauded judge Kristofer Adelaide, architectural director of KA-A.
