July 19, 2012 (Romereports.com) Currently more than
one billion people lack access to decent housing and are forced to live in substandard conditions.
According to the UN, this number could double by 2030.
To help create housing that was cheap and easily built, a professor from Dartmouth launched a contest in “Harvard Business Review” to create homes for 300 dollars or less. This was the beginning of “$300 House,” a contest for architects, engineers and designers from every country.
The winner was Eric Ho for his proposal to build individual housing units that are attached together and thereby cutting down on costs. These houses would create a neighborhood of around 100 families. To view the design, you can follow his step by step construction plan that would keep costs under $300.
The California architect Joseph Sandy sent this design that can be adapted to different climates, giving homes to poor families around the world.
Among the hundreds of projects presented, the top 16 took awards home. However, the idea behind the contest didn't end there. Some of these designs are already being built in India, Ethiopia and Haiti to help ensure that nobody is left without a home.
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