Design Your Dwelling: Runners-Up

As promised, here are the runners-up from the Design Your Dwelling Competition, as determined by the judges at SketchUp and Dwell. They're not presented in any particular order:

Matt Hutchins | Model



Modern means giving back to the community. In this case, the house gives over most of the allowable square footage for a community room/exhibit hall (1210 sf.) to create an anchor for a new public sculpture park. The residence is situated on the second floor, using the broad roof of the community room as an artificial ground plane, simultaneously eliminating the conflict between the public park and the private residence and allowing maximum transparency for the residents. The house is situated at the east end of the park, along the arcing path, and incorporates an existing extension across the path, overlooking the wetlands.

A small permanent collection of sculpture inhabits the site. The glass screen provides security, and electricity--the design on the glass is created with a photovoltaic interlayer, which powers the house and hall. Stormwater is captured, stored and used to feed a vegetable garden on the roof. The hall is a multipurpose space, more infrastructure than building--for public events, private events, exhibits etc, inspired by sculpture gardens in Minneapolis, Seattle and the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The glass sliding panels open the hall to the public, the park and the bridge view. The core contains public restrooms, storage, and a staircase to the residence (252 sf on 2 levels). The residence split into a large family space with easy indoor/outdoor living, and utilitarian 2 bedrooms sharing a bath (912 sf). The concave roof expands toward the bridge and toward the city.

David-Alexandre Cote | Model



Shaped by the elements, this house takes full advantage of the abundant sunlight afforded by the open site with its roof being made out of solar panels sandwiched between two glass panes. The cool breeze from the sea is used to cool off the roof and take out excess heat from the house. In winter the hot air from the roof is re-used for heating. The ribbon like wall/floor/roof is denser on the south side to minimize solar heat gain and afford more privacy to users. This house reflects the attitude we need to embrace to be able to live in this modern world. The dynamic and playful shape is designed to meet the need; it is frank, opened to the outside and very respectful of the setting in which it is placed.

Stephen Cheung | Model



Prism house is a dwelling for a small family of four, with sustainable features. A small footprint of approx. 30ftx 30ft is intended for that reason. The four facades each has a distinct character. The south entry facade has a 15ft x30ft louvers, which is adjustable and monitored by computer to response to the sun intensity, angles, to allow for optimum amount of natural light, heat penetration. The louver is adhered with photovoltaic films that generate electricity. Behind it is energy efficient windows with openable sections for cross ventilation.

The north side is rather transparent to allow view. Full height windows off the living space with guard rail outside can be wide opened. Privacy provided by interior screens. The west elevation, accommodates three water tanks, which stores the “filtered” water runoff from the green roof, re-filtered and pumped back for irrigation and to the pond, and also provide greywater for toilet use. The east side, which faces the “lagoon” has a more amorphic or sculptural projection. The house is supported on stiles over a pond, to minimize fill and intended for better earthquake performance. There will be a green roof on top. The lower level will be a multipurpose room/home office. No garage is designed-intended for more bicycle/public transit use or car rental when necessary. Hopefully, this will provide a sense of place for us, conscious and try not harming of our only living environment while we dwell.

Chris Craver | Model



Inspired by a passion for surfing and the natural beauty found at this coastal site. The views, wind, sky and waves converge at this location, creating the perfect location to live within nature. The shape of my dwelling is derived from a wave, rolling and cresting as it reaches the shoreline. As it begins to break, a hollow space is formed. It is within this space my dwelling occupies. The vehicle used to inhabit this space is a serious of shipping containers, sip's and glass walls that will house bedrooms, bathrooms and living spaces. The angled scrim that protects the exterior walkway is made up of multi-colored glass units with semi-transparent PV modules. This solar screen will provide electricity for the dwelling.

The living spaces are elevated off grade by a serious of steel frames that have minimal contact with the ground, minimizing the disturbance to the site, native plants and users. The shipping containers, outdoor spaces and the main living areas are oriented towards the views of the water and the Golden Gate Bridge. The dwelling is placed at the intersection of two existing, converging paths. The existing path will be used for vehicular and pedestrian access.

Hsiao Ling Tang | Model




Fab(3) dwelling is an affordable pre-fabricated stack-up housing unit made up of 8.8mX8.8m modules that can be customized in different materials and rotated around a stair core to respond to different view corridors, in this case - 'Waterfront view', 'Islands view' and 'Golden Gate Bridge View'. Upon rotation of these modules, interesting ‘leftover’ rooftops spaces can act as spill-out balcony spaces for outdoor activities and dining purposes. The sustainable grass roof seeks to replace the green groundcover that was taken up by the building footprint, also an effort towards the reduction of carbon footprint and contribution towards Urban Heat Island. The internal spaces are flexible and can be furthered partitioned to suit individual needs. The red stairs and decking take reference from the Golden Gate Bridge and the waterfront deck adds a little surprise element to visitors of this unique home.

Take a look at this 3D Warehouse collection to see all the submissions.

Posted by Tasha Danko, Marketing Functionary

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