In the 2022-23 Challenge, participating teams will compete in one of six Divisions. These building types propose unique and critical building problems that India currently faces. The teams will collaborate with the industry to work on regional, yet cutting-edge solutions to these problems. Projects should comply with the byelaws, codes, and standards governing regulations such as ground coverage, setbacks, minimum room size, fire protection requirements, service locations and quantities, and other specific requirements. Here are the 6 competition divisions in the 2022-23 Challenge:

Multi-Family Housing

Multifamily housing can range from affordable housing to high-end housing. It is projected to have exponential growth in over the next 20 years. At 24%, housing is the second largest electricity consuming sector in India. Affordable and mid-range housing will lead demand, supported by government policy. The need for cooling and energy will rise multi-fold in next few decades. Net-zero and resilient building innovation are needed for sustainable growth of this sector. This can also contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This Division can impact millions of people giving access to affordable homes, with clean and reliable energy, making a positive impact on their health and well-being.

Single-Family Housing

Single-family housing are standalone detached structures or a semi-detached structure that abuts another house, intended to be occupied by a single family. These homes, at the high-end of the market as well as affordable homes, including those built under PMAY scheme are in demand despite the strong growth in multifamily housing. This housing type is as vulnerable as, if not more than multifamily housing, to the hazards of flooding and other hydro-meteorological events. Rising temperatures due to climate change increase cooling energy demand. This Division provides the opportunity for replicable and scalable solutions to achieve resilient, net-zero-energy-water housing

On-site Construction Worker Housing

Typically, construction workers are migrants and stay on-site anywhere between 3 months to 3 years in poorly constructed temporary shelters, without proper hygiene or comfort. These temporary shelters do not have stable electric supply and workers burn fossil fuels for cooking and heating. Meanwhile we expect large amounts of construction to take place in the next 3 decades.

All this warrants an approach to on-site housing for construction workers to provide hygiene and thermal comfort. This Division will focus on solutions that are modular, movable, and eliminate waste. They will be developed to be resilient, net-zero-energy and net-zero-water.

Educational Building

An educational building may range from primary schools and high schools to college buildings. Access to clean water, education and infrastructure for children has been a challenge, where millions of children lack resources. Many classrooms in India are not able to provide the minimum level of thermal comfort, visual comfort, and clean air. When provided, the cost of construction and operation is high, resulting in high fees. Net-zero-energy-water educational buildings should ensure these at low CAPEX and OPEX and provide a resilient infrastructure for transitioning to the National Education Policy of 2020.

Office Building

An office building is defined as a complete commercial facility or a government and semi-government office complex with full fit and finish for the defined client(s). Commercial buildings have been one of the fastest growing real estate sectors. During 2019, the office leasing space reached 6 million m2 across eight major cities of India, registering a growth of 27% year-on-year. This building type consumed 8.4% of the total electricity in 2018-19. Accepted as an attractive destination for IT and BPO services and estimated to contribute 13% to the GDP by 2025, the sector will increase greenhouse gas emissions. Net-zero-energy office buildings can surpass the minimum requirement of the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) and dramatically reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint while contributing to country’s National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC).

Community Resilience Shelter

Community resilience shelters are managed and owned by the communities in the long term, although they may be built by the government. These multipurpose shelters may ultimately become a ‘community asset/resource’ and create a broader impact on the livelihood of the community. Community resilience shelters are used for emergency evacuation during extreme weather events like cyclones, floods, and earthquakes. They may be used to shelter disaster-affected people for short periods. Such a building should also house community service activities such as education, health training, and other income-generating social functions. Net-zero-energy-water solutions for these buildings makes them more resilient.

They could also serve as isolation centres at the community level during pandemics/ health crises such as COVID-19. We encourage teams to contact the State Disaster Management Authorities, local municipalities, or local development authorities to learn about planned and future projects.