Custom Builder Design Challenge

Custom builders, architects, design professionals and students are invited to showcase their skill and ingenuity with creative solutions to the annual Custom Builder Design Challenge. 

I’m excited to announce that the Custom Builder Design Challenge is back! We’re putting our readers’ design skills to the test with an all-new program for a multigenerational household.

The clients are a baby-boomer couple with three children ranging in age from 5 to 18. Living with them are elderly grandparents whose mobility is limited. They want to build a custom home on a suburban lot measuring 90 feet by 150 feet. The Challenge: to design a residence of no more than 3,500 square feet and three stories, including basement. 

All entries must be original designs, never before built. Judges will use floor plans, front and rear elevations, plats and, where appropriate, interior elevations and renderings to pick first-, second- and third-place winners. We’ll also recognize the best design submitted by a student. 

There's no entry fee, so you can submit as many designs as you like.

We received some great entries last year and we’re hoping to raise the bar even higher. Show us the dream home you’d create for these fictional clients — enter the 2009 Custom Builder Design Challenge!

Thanks in advance for participating, and good luck.

Susan Bady
Senior Editor, Design
Custom Builder 
 

THE CHALLENGE: Design a one-of-a-kind custom home on a suburban lot for a multigenerational household. Total square footage (finished and unfinished) cannot exceed 3,500 square feet on three levels: basement, main floor and second floor. The basement should be at least partly finished as living space and therefore have some type of egress. In this particular community, there is a height restriction of 30 feet. Additional details and requirements for the 2009 Custom Builder Design Challenge are contained on the Entry Form: Custom Builder Design Challenge Entry Form (PDF: 116KB)  Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 7 or later. Download now here. (The download is free.) All entries must be original designs, never before built. Entry deadline has been extended to September 21, 2009.  Winning entries will be featured in the November 2009 issue of Custom Builder and on CustomBuilderOnline.com. They will also be displayed at Professional Builder's Show Village at the International Builders' Show in Las Vegas, January 19-22, 2010.