The Davidson Prize announced 18 on its shortlist for its inaugural edition; responding to the theme of Home/Work, 55 entrants imagined innovative solutions for living and working in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The inaugural theme of ‘Home/Work – A New Future’ is prompted by the urgent need to reassess how people may want to live and work post-pandemic. Many businesses have already adopted hybrid working models as research indicates that most desk-based workers want more choice in future to work from home. But the typical home doesn’t meet the requirements to work comfortably, and redesigning domestic spaces for work is a more complex brief than simply choosing the right desk and chair. Architects demonstrate how homes and neighbourhoods can be more adaptable for more varied modes of working.
Among the 2021 shortlisted entries, recurring themes included hyperlocal, community based solutions that aim to combat feelings of social isolation, with approaches ranging from adaptive typologies in urbanism to new planning and development models. Other themes included biophilia, natural light and wellbeing, retrofit and modular solutions for the separation of work and living, and the occupation of in-between spaces for work, in and around buildings and out on the streets.
The 2021 Shortlist:
Cousins & Cousins x Ekkist: Onni
Elli Farrant Architects: 20-Minute Commute
Graeme Nicholls Architects & Secchi Smith: The Live, the Work and the Wardrobe
HomeForest: HomeForest
Mole + Darc Studio: The Module
New Normal: Com-View-Nism
O'Donnell Brown: Tea Time
Origin 3 Studio: The AntiPODy
OutsideIn: OutsideIn
Playhouse: Camera Lucida
REMI·C·T Studio: The Work/Home Ecosystem
Soffit Collective: Part N
Studioshaw and Finn Thomson: To Work on Common Ground
Team Wobble: A Stitch in Time
Threefold + The Liminal Space: Shifting Perspectives
Tonkin Liu: Work Outside
Ukuaji: A Framework for Local Growth
Workhome: Two-Door City
To see the shortlist submissions, please follow here.
At the next stage The Davidson Prize jury panel will select three finalists from the shortlist. The panel comprises Alison Brooks,Thomas Heatherwick, Michelle Ogundehin, Narinder Sagoo, and Sonia Solicari. Finalists will be given £5,000 to develop their ideas in the form of a visual media presentation. The Davidson Prize overall winner will be announced in June 2021 and will be awarded a £10,000 prize.