2020 Passivhaus Student Competition Winners

From a regenerative primary school in Nottingham to a floating educational centre in the Isles of Scilly, the winners of the fifth Passivhaus Student Competition, sponsored by Tarmac, are revealed.

A special thank you and congratulation to all the tutors involved this year, still managing to deliver teaching & guidance despite unprecedented circumstances due to Covid-19.

Judges looked for schemes that identified their Passivhaus strategy, were tested via energy modelling & justified design choices with clear development. After an accumulation of Passivhaus tutors, informative seminars, as well as surmounting additional challenges posed by lockdown, we are happy to share a new cohort of winning designs.

Tarmac is committed to supporting the drive for more sustainable construction. We share the importance of educating future architects and engineers on the impact they can have by creating comfortable, high performing sustainable developments and communities via the built environment.

Martyn Kenny, Sustainability Director, Tarmac


Trent Basin Primary School Winner: Carolina Bley, University of Nottingham Based on a live design project for a new sustainable community in a regeneration area. A simple high-performance shell shelters comfortable classrooms with good air quality and daylight levels. Judges commended Carolina’s decision making via her design iterations. There was a clear understanding of different façade treatments and beautifully compelling renders. Pop-up I DesignPH poster


Kinematics Social Hub Winner: Bahaa Alnassr Allah, Oxford Brookes Inspired by the industrial style of trains and recycling steel from the Grenada site, the scheme aims to provides flexible spaces for rent & social gatherings. Judges commended sound design development and exploration of external shading structures. Pop-up I DesignPH Poster


Calypso's Hacienda Winner: Dayana Anastasova, University of Cardiff A cluster of buildings on a pontoon in the Isles of Scilly house an education center alongside manufacturing and repairing facilities for gig boats. Dayana had good design analysis and judges commended her on the exploration of form and details. Pop-up I DesignPH poster


Main Road Eco Village Yadu, Gorjimahlabani, Mody, Jaju, Sheffield School of Architecture A 35-dwelling social housing project consisting of terraced & detached houses. The scheme adopted a robust Passivhaus strategy. Judges commended the group’s understanding on key Passivhaus principles and attention to crucial junctions. Exploration for different unit types in DesignPH was praised. Pop-up I DesignPH poster


The Ice Cubes Victor Makara, Coventry University Striving to establish a new landmark over the south side of Coventry ring road and replacing an existing building, the project aims to form an environment for researching, learning, and re-imagining movement and dance. Victor showed some good design development. His drawing skills and video walk-through were commended. Pop-up I DesignPH poster

Passivhaus Student Competition_2020 Winning submissions

2020 Passivhaus Student Competition: Winning pop-up banners

Winners work will form a digital exhibition at the 2020 UK Passivhaus Conference in November.

Participating in the Passivhaus Student Competition was both exciting and challenging. It encouraged me to adopt an eclectic approach to my design, where every aspect was critical to achieve a wholesome project. Being announced as a winner is a milestone in my professional career path that will push me as an architect to work harder in order to protect our environment.

Bahaa Alnassr Allah, Oxford Brookes Winner

Once again, thanks to the PHT and Tarmac for supporting this initiative over the last five years. These initiatives really do make a difference for the students and the teaching and learning environment Schools of Architecture offer, so the support is really valuable and greatly appreciated by students and staff.

Prof Mark Gillott, Head of Department, University of Nottingham

Finalists

Congratulations to not only the winners listed above, but all the finalists who made the competition shortlist: