Extreme Housing

Brussels, Belgium, 28 January 2008 - Living Steel is once again asking architects to take up the challenge to develop sustainable housing for the world's burgeoning housing shortage. The 3rd International Architecture Competition presents architects with the task of creating energy efficient, single-family, detached housing that minimises climate change emissions and can withstand temperature extremes, yet is affordable to build and to buy.

The competition's Call for Expressions of Interest is launched today, and the world's architects can enter at www.livingsteel.org/extrmehousing until 28 April 2008. Architects entering an Expression of Interest must do so as a team of two architects to be eligible for short-list consideration.

Judged by some of the leading architects around the world, total prizes and honoraria are €100,000, with the winning design awarded €50,000. The winning architects will use the exceptional qualities of steel to construct their design in Cherepovets, Russian Federation, where temperatures can range from -49 C to +34 C. The homes constructed from the winning designs will be part of a community for use by employees of Russian steel maker, SeverStal JSC, headquartered in Cherepovets.

"This competition is the chance to be a positive force in the growing global need for economical, environmentally responsible housing," said Scott Chubbs, Living Steel Programme Director. "We've put together an exciting format that will allow ten teams of two architects each to present their best ideas for filling this critical need."

The third competition includes a two-part challenge each with a winner and prize. Ten teams will be short-listed as competition finalists. The ten short-listed teams will be given the project brief and one month to put together their ideas for efficient, sustainable housing that fits the location specifications. These teams will be flown to Helsinki, Finland, where they will present their concepts to the competition's Jury on 26-27 June 2008. The Jury will select a winning team who will be awarded the Jury Prize of €50,000 and the opportunity to see their design come to reality.

In addition, a two-day design charrette will follow on 28-29 June in Helsinki where the teams will be joined together in groups and tasked with master planning of the community development. The groups will present their plans to each other and then vote which group offered the best solution. The winning group will share the €20,000 Architects' Prize.

Each of the 10 competition teams will be awarded a €3,000 honorarium, as well as have their travel costs to Helsinki paid by Living Steel.

The competition event in Helsinki will conclude with an awards dinner on 29 June 2008 and the announcement of the winners of the Jury Prize and Architects' Prize.

"We want to give architects the opportunity to imagine their extreme ideas making an extreme impact for our world and for the people that will call their vision ‘home'," said Chubbs. "We are anticipating a great time of exploring a score of possibilities for home and community, not only to meet this competition challenge, but to offer the world viable, sustainable solutions for comfortable and affordable housing for similar regions."

The 3rd International Architecture Competition follows two other successful Living Steel competitions that are entering the demonstration building construction stage in Brazil, China, India, Poland and the United Kingdom.

Learn more and enter online at www.livingsteel.org/extremehousing

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For more information, please contact:

Mary McCeney
Weber Shandwick
T: + 61 2 999 444 83

Patrick Flynn
Weber Shandwick
T: +61 2 999 44 36

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Editor's Notes

About Living Steel

Living Steel, a worldwide, collaborative programme designed to stimulate innovative and responsible housing design and construction was launched in February, 2005. The programme was developed to help address the unprecedented pressure on infrastructure, communities and the quality of people's lives stemming from growing urban populations.

Funded through the contributions of the world's leading steel manufacturers, the Full Members of Living Steel include ArcelorMittal, Baosteel, BlueScope Steel, CELSA Group, Corus, Erdemir, IMIDRO, Posco, Ruukki, SeverStal and Tata Steel.

Becker Industrial Coatings, McDonald Steel Building Products Ltd., Realm Intermediaries (P) Ltd. and Saint-Gobain Gypsum are Associate Members.

Supporting Members of the Living Steel include Associação Portuguesa de Construção Metálica e Mista, Asociación para la Construcción de Estructuras Metálicas, Asociación para la Promoción Técnica del Acero, Bouwen mit Staal, Canadian Institute of Steel Construction, Centro Brasileiro da Construção em Aço, European Convention for Constructional Steelwork, Finnish Constructional Steelwork Association, Fondazione Promozione Acciaio, HERA, Institute for Steel Development and Growth, Instituto Latinoamericano del Fierro y el Acero, International Zinc Association, Korea Iron & Steel Association, Korean Society of Steel Construction, Singapore Structural Steel Society, South African Institute of Steel Construction, Staalinfocentrum - Centre Information Acier, Stahl-Informations-Zentrum, Steel Construction Institute, Steel Framing Alliance and Turk Yapisal Celik Dernegi.

Visit www.livingsteel.org/members to learn more about our members.

About the Living Steel International Architecture Competitions

The Living Steel International Architecture Competitions were launched to develop innovative approaches to meet sustainable housing needs. Underpinning each competition is the need to address the economic, environmental and social implications of increasing population density and growth.

The combined competitions have a total prize fund of €700,000, making them one of the largest architectural design initiatives in the world, and present architects with the opportunity to bring their vision for effective and affordable housing to life in one of several countries around the world.

The first competition was launched in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 6, 2005, at the XXII World Congress of the International Union of Architects, with a call for expressions of interest to design sustainable housing in Kolkata, India and Warsaw, Poland. In June 2006, UK firm Piercy Conner Architects and architectenbureau cepezed from the Netherlands won the competition and were awarded contracts to complete and develop their designs for construction in India and Poland, respectively. The second competition was announced on World Architecture Day, October 2, 2006, with a call for expressions of interest to design sustainable housing in Brazil, China and the United Kingdom. From more than 1,100 expressions of interest, 18 short-listed firms were invited to submit designs for steel-based residential housing. Winners were announced in September 2007: For Brazil, Andrade Morettin Arquitetos Associados Ltda, Brazil; for China, Knafo Klimor Architects, Israel; and for the UK, Cartwright Pickard, UK. Visit www.livingsteel.org/competitions for more details.

PDFDownload the full press release

PDFDownload the full press release - Italian

PDFDownload the full press release - Russian

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