The Rice Design Alliance (RDA) and AIA Houston announce a two-stage national competition to design a sustainable, affordable house that addresses the needs of the low-income family in the Gulf Coast region.

The competition objectives are to broaden awareness of green building strategies applicable to affordable housing, generate and publicize buildable examples of sustainable, affordable houses, and construct an exemplary sustainable, affordable house prototype.

The competition challenges designers and architects to design a sustainable, affordable house.

Special consideration should be given to affordability, longevity, energy savings benefits, and appropriateness for the hot, humid climate of Houston.

The City of Houston has donated a site for the house through the Land Assemblage Redevelopment Authority (LARA) initiative.

The lot is located in Houston’s historic Fifth Ward, a residential area east of downtown.

The competition is a two-stage project to be completed in 2008.

Stage I will be an international design competition for a single-family house with up to 1,400 SF, including three bedrooms and one-and-a-half to two bathrooms.

The construction budget is up to $99,000.

Deadline for submissions is January 14, 2008.

The Jury will select three finalists who will each receive a stipend of $5,000 and will be expected to produce construction drawings.

More information:
http://www.the99khouse.com/