Urban population in our major cities is rapidly growing, increasing the demand for dwellings and thus, the prices. This will likely lead to the “urbanization” of the suburbs, where many people will be willing to move to get affordable housing, areas with suboptimal outdoor air quality. Apart from that there is a need of designing new houses and redesigning existing ones in a new way to meet the demand of different type of users, to comply with the necessity for comfortable, sustainable and resilient buildings and not least, to provide the users with quality of life and enhanced wellbeing.

Reducing the environmental impact buildings have on our planet is a well-recognized issue among both practitioners and researchers. It has a large influence on the way buildings are designed today and will certainly continue to inform future developments in efforts to mitigate climate change. An equally important issue lies in understanding how buildings affect people’s health and wellbeing.

With this design competition we want to stimulate the minds of young and future building designers and engineers to identify innovative solutions that help create good indoor air quality, adequate thermal comfort and stimulating light and acoustic environments in dwellings also taking into account energy efficiency and e.g. climate resilience.

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 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.

The REHVA Healthy Homes Design Competition 2022 encourages and challenges 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. The award 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. All teams that participate will receive a certificate for their participation.