Beginning today, the City of Cincinnati invites architects, designers, students, and all interested parties to enter the BuildReady open call design competition for middle housing concepts, specifically two-, three-, and four-family homes.

BuildReady is a long-term project to develop pre-approved housing plans for small multi-family homes; preapproval can expedite the development process by several months, meaning this much-needed type of housing can be built more quickly.

The design competition is intended to spark ideas and invite conversation about what attainable, contextual housing could look like. Popular designs will inform the development of the finalized pre-approved plans through a City-led procurement process this fall.

To learn more about the competition and to submit a design visit BuildReady: Pre-Approved Plans - City Planning.

The open call design competition runs until noon (ET) on Friday, August 14.

Submissions will be reviewed by three judging bodies, and a total of nine entries (three each for two-, three-, and four-family designs) will be selected as winners.

• Professional Panel: A group of architects, developers, and policy experts with deep knowledge of what makes housing contextual, attainable, and scalable.
• Community Stakeholder Panel: A diverse volunteer group of residents, community representatives, real estate agents, and nonprofit leaders convened to ensure that new housing fits the look and feel of what makes Cincinnati special.
• Online Voting: All submissions can be voted on anonymously, and the design(s) with the most votes will be celebrated as “People’s Choice” winners.

Winning designs, as well as other feedback shared during the open call design competition, will be used by the City to build the Request for Proposals (RFP) that will bid out the development of fully licensed pre-approved plans.

A full competition brief, including submission rules and requirements, can also be found on the BuildReady website here: BuildReady: Pre-Approved Plans - City Planning.

BuildReady is supported by a $2 million Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition to the open call design competition and development of pre-approved plans, the BuildReady initiative will subsidize the construction of at least two real-world buildings that use the plans.