A design competitition which calls on teams from across the design and construction disciplines to collaborate on the UniPod design has just been launched by PrefabNZ. The competition responds to the accessible needs of retirement and social housing dwellers, alongside multi-unit residential developments.

With a projected shortfall of 30,000 social and retirement housing units by 2030 [PrefabNZ SaRH Pipeline], Pamela Bell, the chief exexcutive of PrefabNZ, says “this means more innovative pre-packaged design and construction solutions are needed. This is an opportunity to be truly innovative and create something ‘bite-sized’ that can be built anywhere and meets the needs of New Zealand’s changing population”.

Entries close on Monday 7 December and the judging panel will include experts in architecture, construction, prefabrication, sustainability, universal design and social and retirement housing.

The competition winners will be announced on the week of 14–18 December, with an overall prize of $5,000. The winning entry is also planned to be built and showcased at the PrefabNZ CoLab in Auckland next April. 

Full details can be found on the PrefabNZ website.