www.sqrfactor.

com
SQR - Spaces derived from Qualitative Research
 SqrFoot House
Housing For One
We believe that to bring about a change for billions of needful
people, we must start with ONE.
Background
The growing issue of homeless people around the world is one that needs to be tackled on a war footing. As our cities
grow, each of them are occupied by a diverse narrative of migrants who make the city their home. A third of all urban
dwellers worldwide – 1.2 billion people – lack access to safe and secure housing.
The gap is worst in lower and middle income countries, where some cities are growing so quickly that governments
cannot build out services and infrastructure fast enough to accommodate new arrivals. The result is millions living in
inadequate conditions and fraying trust in governments.
The Brief

Affordability is a fundamental challenge faced by our

most successful cities. Where supply cannot keep up
with demand; there are often a lot forces at work, and
technology has the potential to help mitigate all of them.

To design effective experiences that achieve positive

social change, we need design principles that integrate
the systems and Human Centric Design approach.

Firstly, We need to understand the challenges faced by

the migrants and people who need it. Secondly, we have
to understand the idea of design itself – a design so
efficient which can be multiplied and drive individual
actions, which, when performed by many individuals,
drives wide-scale, societal change.

Affordable house starts with the design phase itself, an

integrated design approach by the designer is very much
essential during the early phase of the project.
The Challenge

We aim to impact at least one needful family by using

design as a tool to create sustainable and affordable
product. We are focusing on 4 major problems faced by
homeless migrants :

• Affordability : Access to safe and secure housing

which is easy on pocket and doesn't brand itself as
housing for the poor but an asset which is useful for
everyone.
• Mobility & Portability : Floating population/seasonal
migrants, who might not want to invest in property —
an immovable illiquid asset, no matter how subsidised
or cheap it is, we need a mobile/portable solution
which is designed with innovative technologies.
• Sustainability and Scalability : A design solution which
sustains not just the weather conditions but is easy to
maintain and can be replicated to bring a scalable
change.
• Economic Opportunity : Can this new product design
generate revenue either for the Individual/family
living in it or the government?
Design Program

A good modular design concept can definitely save up a

lot and the productivity will be much higher in modular
design, thus the tenements can be delivered on time.

• A small house for a family of 4 members not

exceeding an area of 250 SqrFt and maximum height
of 12 feet, the lesser the area – the better. The shape
of the house is not restricted but it shouldn’t exceed
the total cubic feet volume (250 SqrFt. X 12 Ft.).
• Basic amenities like sleeping area for 4 members,
Kitchen and toilet to be provided.
• Not necessarily but design a product which is
movable, portable and affordable. A design so
efficient which can be carried, transported, fixed and
dismantled when needed.
• You have to design a small housing colony for 50
families, combining one module with other similar
modules. Your modular design should create an
impact by solving the mass housing problem.
• The area for the colony is not restricted and you can
grow either horizontally or vertically.
 Awards & Recognition

1st Prize Top 10 Entries except top 3 winners will be

INR 50,000 + Certificate awarded INR 5,000 + Certificates

Top 3 Special Recognition and Awards for the

2nd Prize Teachers/Mentors having maximum teams in
INR 30,000 + Certificate top 30 short-listed entries

Top 30 short-listed entries will be featured on

Sqrfactor’s website +
3rd Prize Eligible for Voting For People’s Choice Award +
INR 20,000 + Certificate Digital Certificate

Subscription and Publication in Design Detail Magazine to top selected winning teams and mentors.
Featured passes to the events organized by education partners. Results publication on e-architect.co.uk
ratLAB workshop passes to the selected and interested participants from Top-30 winning teams.
 Registration and Important Dates
Early Registration Standard Registration
1st August to 25th August 2018 26 August to 15th September 2018
th
Indian - INR 900 (per team) Indian – INR 1500 (per team)
International – USD 20 International – USD 30
Late Registration
16th September to 25th September 2018
Indian - INR 2400 (per team)
International – USD 40

Date of Submission - 30th September 2018 | Announcement of Winners - 20th October 2018

Eligibility
Architects, students, engineers, product designers, thinkers, companies, organizations and everyone interested in
the mission of the competition to submit their ideas. No professional qualifications are necessary.

Registration
Entrants may register by signing up on sqrfactor.com and then participation in the competition by paying the
registration amount through a payment gateway on our website.

Submission Requirements
Maximum 3 A2 Sheets | Participants will have to upload the submissions on the competition page at
www.sqrfactor.com in Article (SqrFactor Editor) or PDF format. Uploaded PDF should not be more than 20 MB.
 Previous Competitions : Info, Partners, Jury and Stats
Competitions we have organized previously

Re-Inventing Gwalior’16 Re-Inventing Gwalior’16

Jury Panel
The aim of the competition was to design a
School of Music and Arts particularly
responding to Indian classical style of music at
the proposed land by Gwalior Municipal
Corporation.
Ar. Karan Ar. Krishnarao Ar. Krupa
Dates – 29 Jan’16 to 29 May’16 Grover Jaisim Zubin
Eligibility – Architecture students and Fresh graduates who have
graduated in year 2014 and after. Partners
Type – Paid Competition – National (1200, 1800, 2400 INR)

In association with Event Sponsors (28 & 29 May’16)

Statistics of Participation
Gwalior Municipal
Corporation
279 Teams (India) | 820 Participants
 Previous Competitions : Info, Jury, Partners and Stats
Competitions we have organized previously

Envisioning Gwalior Trade Fair Envisioning Gwalior Trade Fair

Jury Panel
The aim of the competition was to re-design Gwalior
Trade Fair to reawaken the glory of a historic trade
fair ground and to give back the original charm,
through sustainable architecture, for the Land which
is owned by Gwalior Trade Fair Authority.
Ar. Shirish Ar. Sheila Sri Ar. Jitendra
Dates – 20 Aug’16 to 15 Dec’16 Beri Prakash Mehta
Eligibility – Architecture students and Fresh graduates who have
graduated in year 2014 and after. Partners
Type – Paid Competition – International (1500, 2100, 3000 INR)

In association with

Statistics of Participation
Gwalior Trade M.P. Chamber of
Fair Authority Commerce & Industries
132 Teams (India + International) | 470 Participants
 Previous Competitions : Info, Jury, Partners and Stats
Competitions we have organized previously

Archcember’17 Archcember’17
Jury Panel
An engaging challenge which started in December’17
was about storytelling through illustrations
(sketches/doodles/paintings or computer generated
illustrations and graphics) related to architecture with
a 100 word story explaining the illustration.
Ar. Anuj Kale Ar. Fabiola Morcillo
Dates – 4 Dec’17 to 29 Dec’17 Founder - Leewardists Founder - 1989
Eligibility – Open to all the students, designers and architects from the
field of architecture & related fields. Partners
Type – Free Competition | Individual Participation Only

In association with

Statistics of Participation
341 Participants (India + International)
 Honorary Jury Panel
SqrFoot House : Housing For One

Ar. Sathya Prakash Ar. Krishnarao Ar. Gita Ar. Vijay

Varanashi Jaisim Balakrishnan Narnapatti
Has been practicing Former chairman of Founder of Ethos India Co-founded mayaPraxis
eco-friendly, cost, IIA- Karnataka. His – an organization which - renowned architecture
effective architecture work has been focuses on networking firm in India. He also
for past 20 years. He featured in New york of community and teaches at the School of
also writes for The Times, The Hindu, The launch educational Architecture at RVCE,
Hindu since 2010 Times of India etc. competitions Bangalore.
 Building Community Network
An initiative to interview top architects emphasizing the need of building a community network and
help design reach to the masses

Ar. Sathya Prakash Varanashi
One of leading architects in Bangalore,
practices eco friendly architecture. Has
been writing for The Hindu since 2010
Interview :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl2
1um10RV4
Ar. Krishnarao Jaisim Ar. Apurva Bose Dutta
One of India’s top architect; designed Famous writer/ journalist who has
iconic buildings. Former chairman of IIA worked globally with magazines and
Karnataka. websites . Awarded for journalism.
Interview : Interview :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI7
WFJMp9aNc OfyLS6Ws