URBAN CO LIVING HOUSING
RESULT
URBAN CO LIVING HOUSING
Editorial reflection
Urban Co-Living House explores how architecture can transform housing from a collection of private units into a vibrant social ecosystem. Addressing the challenges of urban density, rising housing costs, and changing lifestyles, the competition invited participants to envision living environments that balance personal privacy with meaningful opportunities for interaction, collaboration, and shared experiences.
The submitted proposals explore innovative approaches to communal spaces, adaptable residential units, and sustainable urban living. By reimagining courtyards, shared lounges, co-working areas, and transitional spaces, the designs highlight the potential of architecture to nurture community, inclusivity, and a stronger sense of belonging.
The jury evaluated the entries for their ability to integrate functionality, social engagement, adaptability, and architectural innovation. The selected projects demonstrate diverse possibilities for creating housing that responds not only to the practical needs of urban life but also to the human desire for connection.
The results celebrate these explorations and recognize the potential of co-living to shape more inclusive, resilient, and socially connected urban futures.
EXPERTS
Jury Panel
Distinguished architects from around the world evaluate submissions with rigorous professional standards and creative insight.
01 First Place
Winner
Re-Weave
Şevval Sıla Akçay
Juror’s Comment:
Re-weave presents a compelling vision for collective living by integrating housing, local craftsmanship, creative production, and shared community spaces. Its adaptive reuse of historic facades, interstitial gallery, and active ground-floor frontage create a strong connection between architecture and the urban fabric of Tarlabaşı. The concept of “maker tourism” further distinguishes the proposal by prioritizing cultural exchange and local economic resilience over consumption-driven tourism.
Work on:
Strengthen the technical demonstration of the new structural system behind the preserved historic facades, including construction feasibility and the long-term maintenance of the double-skin interface. Further clarify how affordability, residential privacy, noise control, and the management of shared facilities can be sustained while accommodating public activities around the clock.
02 Second Place
Remarkable
The Graft
Hesna Tekin
Juror’s Comment:
The Graft proposes a thoughtful response to the challenges of industrial-zone housing through its concept of Industrial Symbiosis. The integration of modular residential units, communal facilities, and a continuous green roof transforms a conventional housing block into a connected living environment for the industrial workforce. Its sloping massing improves daylight penetration, supports cross-ventilation, and creates an accessible landscape that links the courtyard to the roof. The inclusion of daycare, communal kitchens, co-working lounges, and recreational spaces demonstrates a strong commitment to community well-being.
Work on:
The proposal would benefit from more detailed demonstrations of how the residential units maintain acoustic comfort, privacy, and adequate separation from surrounding industrial activities. The environmental strategies could be supported by quantitative daylight, ventilation, and energy-performance studies. Further clarification of the green roof's accessibility, maintenance requirements, and long-term operational costs would strengthen the project's feasibility.
03 Third Place
Exceptional
Soli-Terra
Sude Ayvacı & Nur Aydın
Juror’s Comment:
SOLI-TERRA presents a compelling post-disaster co-living model that connects housing, agricultural production, and women's economic empowerment. Grounded in the social and economic challenges faced by Hatay following the 2023 earthquakes, the proposal goes beyond conventional housing by integrating agricultural fields, food-processing facilities, cooperative shops, workshops, childcare, and shared residential spaces. Its productive landscape becomes the organizing principle of the settlement, while inward-facing courtyards and graduated public-to-private zones seek to balance community interaction with residents' privacy and security. The project’s strongest contribution is its integration of social recovery and economic independence into everyday architectural life.
Work on:
The proposal would benefit from a more detailed demonstration of its operational and economic feasibility, including the management of agricultural production, distribution networks, and cooperative enterprises. Although the planning integrates housing and production effectively at a conceptual level, the extensive programme requires clearer circulation strategies separating agricultural logistics, public visitors, and residential activities. Further development of accessibility, passive climatic design, water management, and resource efficiency would strengthen its environmental performance. The design should also demonstrate how residents can exercise individual choice and participate voluntarily in shared activities while maintaining personal autonomy and privacy.
Special Mention
Exceptional
Co-Dwell
Melissa Aleyna Bağcıoğlu
Juror’s Comment:
CO-DWELL presents a socially driven approach to co-living, positioning housing as a means of helping displaced individuals rebuild their lives through community integration. The proposal combines private residential units with shared kitchens, workshops, study areas, a library, employment assistance, and therapeutic spaces. Its courtyard-based planning and provision for production and commercial activities offer opportunities for social interaction, skill development, and economic participation. The inclusion of multiple residential typologies also demonstrates an understanding of the diverse needs of individuals, couples, and families.
Work on:
The project would benefit from a clearer demonstration of how its shared spaces and employment-oriented programmes would operate in practice, particularly for residents with different cultural backgrounds and daily routines. The large courtyard and extensive communal circulation require further consideration of accessibility, surveillance, maintenance, and environmental comfort. More detailed evidence of daylight, natural ventilation, energy efficiency, and the relationship between public commercial areas and private residential zones would strengthen the proposal's feasibility and long-term effectiveness.
Honourable Mention
Colivia:In-Fill
Beyzanur Ozdemir
Juror’s Comment:
Colivia: In-Fill presents a thoughtful response to Shenzhen’s housing inequalities through modular living units, shared social cores, and interconnected communal corridors. Its emphasis on equitable access to daylight, ventilation, and collective space offers a compelling vision for high-density co-living.
Work on:
Demonstrate how the extensive open-corridor system balances social interaction with acoustic privacy, security, and weather protection. Further develop the structural feasibility of the modular system and provide measurable evidence of environmental performance.
Honourable Mention
Living Generator
Ayşe Nur Ceylan
Juror’s Comment:
Living Generator proposes a compelling alternative to conventional housing by establishing community infrastructure before residential development. Its central concept—a permanent workshop and production hub that evolves into a shared civic space—connects collective construction, skill-sharing, and community governance. The modular steel framework, adaptable housing units, and transformation of construction courtyards into public spaces reinforce the project's vision of a socially sustainable and evolving settlement. The design panels effectively communicate the phased development strategy and spatial organization.
Work on:
While the participatory approach is innovative, the Community Points system requires further clarification regarding equitable participation, accessibility, and long-term management. The phased construction strategy also needs more detailed evidence of structural feasibility, construction logistics, and the continuity of residents' daily lives during development. Although natural ventilation, daylight, and adaptability are incorporated, measurable environmental performance and the practical delivery of affordable housing remain insufficiently demonstrated.
Honourable Mention
The Elevated Neighbourhood
Fatima Hadzhieva & Vlado Valkof
Juror’s Comment:
The Elevated Neighbourhood presents a thoughtful approach to co-living through its modular housing system, adaptable dwelling layouts, and elevated communal plazas. The integration of private outdoor spaces and shared recreational areas creates a compelling balance between individual autonomy and community interaction.
Work on:
While the modular units offer flexibility and the elevated plazas encourage social engagement, the project could further clarify how acoustic privacy, visual separation, and conflicts between communal and private activities are addressed. Greater detail on structural feasibility, circulation efficiency, and measurable environmental performance would strengthen the proposal and demonstrate its practical viability.
Honourable Mention
XC-FAC
Arsenii Maksimchuk
Juror’s Comment:
XC-FAC presents an ambitious vision of integrated urban living by combining worker accommodation, automated farming, manufacturing, commercial spaces, and railway infrastructure within a single vertical complex. Its bold structural expression and interconnected systems offer an innovative response to the relationship between housing, production, and urban logistics.
Work on:
While the proposal demonstrates considerable conceptual ambition, the integration of industrial production and residential life raises questions about noise, air quality, privacy, and occupant well-being. The project would benefit from clearer strategies for environmental performance, energy consumption, and separation of industrial and residential circulation. Further clarification of the feasibility of its automated systems would strengthen its overall proposal.
Honourable Mention
A mid-rise residential building with academic dormitory functionality
Khamenkova Anastasiia
Juror’s Comment:
The proposal presents a thoughtful co-living environment that integrates student accommodation, faculty housing, study areas, and recreational spaces. Its central courtyard and distinctive red connecting passages encourage social interaction, physical activity, and movement, creating a strong architectural identity while supporting an active academic community.
Work on:
The design would benefit from a clearer demonstration of how the red passages function across different levels without compromising privacy, circulation efficiency, or accessibility. The extensive use of glazed façades and bold connecting elements also raises questions about energy performance, thermal comfort, and maintenance. Further development of these aspects could strengthen the project's environmental responsiveness and overall feasibility.
Honourable Mention
Vei Co-Living
Milana Aslakhanova
Juror’s Comment:
VEI Co-Living presents a compelling interpretation of collective living rooted in Chechen cultural identity. The project thoughtfully balances private residential spaces with shared courtyards, multilevel terraces, an amphitheatre, and communal grilling areas. Its contemporary interpretation of Vainakh architectural elements, particularly the arches and natural stone, establishes a distinctive identity while fostering community interaction.
Work on:
Although the proposal communicates a strong architectural vision, the repetitive modular blocks and extensive terraces require further demonstration of their spatial efficiency and practical usability. The sustainability strategy identifies natural ventilation and solar access, but quantitative evidence of energy performance and climatic responsiveness is limited. Further clarification of privacy between units and shared outdoor spaces would also strengthen the design's response to its cultural context.
Honourable Mention
Poblenou Commons
Sara Elzubeir E.M. Elmelik
Juror’s Comment:
Poblenou Commons presents a socially responsive co-living model that connects affordable housing with shared amenities, productive workshops, and Barcelona's industrial heritage. Its layered community spaces and diverse resident profiles offer a strong vision for inclusive urban living.
Work on:
Strengthen the demonstration of housing affordability and environmental performance, and clarify how public, communal, and private zones are managed to protect residents' privacy while encouraging interaction.
Honourable Mention
Co Deal
Dicle Erkan
Juror’s Comment:
CO-DEAL thoughtfully transforms a former stadium site into a socially active urban living environment. Its integration of public spaces, collective amenities, and adaptable modular housing offers a promising approach to community-oriented co-living while preserving the site's collective memory.
Work on:
Clarify the relationship between public circulation and residential privacy, and strengthen the demonstration of daylight, ventilation, energy efficiency, and the practical feasibility of the modular housing system.
Celebrating Potential
Shortlisted Entries
Innovative ideas that stood out among hundreds of entries and earned a place in the final shortlist.
1. Design Title: The Cascade
Winners Name: Berra Kolancı
2. Design Title: Complete Community
Winners Name: Beixi Zhu
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