Sheikh Hamdan tells of ambitions for affordable housing in Dubai

Crown Prince launches competition to find the best designs for Dh1m homes

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Dubai's Crown Prince has launched an international design competition to produce affordable housing for the city.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed invited architects and designers from around the world to submit their designs for smart homes that families could mortgage for Dh1 million ($272,000).

The "House of the Future" competition comes as the city sees a rise in population and a boom in demand for property.

Average sales prices have risen by more than 10 per cent in the past year, brokers CBRE said in February — with average rents up 27 per cent.

In a statement, Sheikh Hamdan said the project would "further raise Dubai’s status as a model for urban development".

The competition will focus on attracting designs for "highly affordable, expandable, innovative and aesthetically pleasing housing", Dubai Government Media Office said.

The best designs will be for homes that can "stand the test of time and meet the requirements of future generations".

Submissions can be made at https://houseofthefuture.ae from April 25, with a closing date set in September. The winning designs will be unveiled in November.

The winner will receive Dh500,000 while the runner-up will receive Dh200,000, and second runner-up Dh100,000.

"The competition will also award Dh200,000 to the best design for a ‘self-sustaining house’ that is able to go off the grid, without water or electricity, for two consecutive weeks," it said.

The judging panel includes Micael Calatrava, who runs the consultancy of his star architect father Santiago Calatrava, and Charles Walker, a board member at Zaha Hadid Architects.

The project will be run by the Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation and the Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Establishment.

The winning designs will be considered for future house building projects.

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