• Onur Karataş, Alp Fahri Ardıç and Muhammed Yasin Gülmez / Urban Adaptation architects' competition

    Onur Karataş, Alp Fahri Ardıç and Muhammed Yasin Gülmez / Urban Adaptation architects' competition

  • Francesco Allaix and Julio Orduña / Urban Adaptation architects' competition

    Francesco Allaix and Julio Orduña / Urban Adaptation architects' competition

  • Francesco Allaix and Julio Orduña / Urban Adaptation architects' competition

    Francesco Allaix and Julio Orduña / Urban Adaptation architects' competition

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Innovation

Urban Adaptation competition announce S M L XL as winning design

Organised by Metsä Group, Aalto University and the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, results show how modular construction using engineered wood products enables adaptable, sustainable and cost-competitive construction

by Georgina Johnston 09 April 2021 Sustainable Buildings

The Urban Adaptation competition challenged architects and students from around the world to design an innovative modular wood design for a public building or a building system that easily adapts to the changing needs of the community. The competition received a total of 154 entries from 48 countries.

The winning design, S M L XL, introduces a multipurpose building that incorporates four different floor heights, allowing different spaces that are optimised for hosting various functions.

Winners

1st prize for €15,000 awarded to Finland’s Francesco Allaix and Julio Orduña for their S M L XL design.

2nd prize for €5,000 awarded to Russia’s Alexandra Chislavleva, Sergey Ogorodnikov and Xenia Yakimenko for their Zerno design.

Honourable mention

Modu-Rot, by Onur Karataş, Alp Fahri Ardıç and Muhammed Yasin Gülmez, Turkey.

The entries were evaluated anonymously. In addition to visual and functional criteria, the designs needed to show adaptability, modularity and sustainability.

Rahel Belatchew, Chief Architect and founder of Belatchew Arkitekter in Sweden commented: "We've seen many interesting entries, with sites located across the world, showing how universally applicable a modular wooden system can be.” 

The other member of the jury was Minna Riska, Architect and Partner at MDH Arkitekter in Norway.

To view the winning designs, click here.

Metsä Group

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