20 finalists have been announced for the Open International Competition for Standard Housing in Russia. With the plan to provide 30 million Russian residents with new homes by 2025, the competition aims to discover new innovative solutions to improve residential design and planning for the new developments. The competition was organized by the Government of Russian Federation, the National Institute for Housing Development Foundation, and the Russian Ministry of Construction working together to create a new standard for affordable housing.

Based on the urban target models developed by Strelka KB, competitors were asked to design up to 4 solutions for one of the models: low-rise, mid-rise or central. Through an urban block masterplan and concept schemes, the success of each proposal was evaluated according to its ability to improve the quality of living in Russian cities, and its adaptability for various climatic zones and various budgets.The 20 finalists have now moved onto the second stage of the competition and winners will be announced in April.Below are the 20 finalists and their entries:

Low-Rise

PPA Arquitetura, Brazil

TA.R.I-Architects, Italy

Akhmadullin Architects, Russia

Grupo H d.o.o., Slovenia

Pioneer Project group, Russia

Mid-Rise

Boustany / Suphasidh / Desfonds + A2OM, International team

DO Architects, Lithuania

2Portala, Russia

Ad Hoc Architecture, Russia

DNK Architectural group, Russia

LLC Escher, Russia

Plan_B, Russia

Anarcitects Studio, The Netherlands

Central

Luis Eduardo Calderón García, Colombia

Sara Simoska, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Bureau ARD, Russia

DA Project, Russia

LLC Archi Fellows, Russia

Pole–Design, Russia

Bold–collective, The Netherlands