The Davidson Prize

In a year of strong submissions, the judges of the 2022 Davidson Prize have selected a longlist of 14 teams. Responding to this year’s theme of Co-Living – A New Future, the longlisted teams represent diverse and exciting collaborative approaches to transforming the architecture of the home.

The Davidson Prize is a design ideas and communication prize established in 2021 in memory of architectural visualisation pioneer Alan Davidson. Following the success of the inaugural Prize last year, in 2022 teams made up of architects working collaboratively with other disciplines were asked to consider whether current notions of home in the UK are keeping step with the 21st century.

The demands being placed on the spaces we live in are perhaps more complex than ever before – and there has probably never been a better opportunity for design that rethinks our models of home while transforming lives and safeguarding the environment. Challenges addressed by the teams in 2022 include growing numbers of single-person and single-parent households, the shortage of homes, and a loneliness epidemic that the British Red Cross has reported is affecting up to 9 million people in the UK.

The longlisted teams offer clearly communicated creative design approaches for rural and urban locations. A unifying theme emerging across the submissions was one of care – from the care of ageing populations, children and marginalised groups to safeguarding the world’s resources of energy and embodied carbon. Exciting ideas range from new ways of embedding supportive social networks in cities and towns to new models of multi-generational living and innovative retrofit solutions.

You can see longlist here.

Chair of the The Davidson Prize jury, Paul Monaghan said: ‘The calibre of submissions for this year’s prize was really impressive and it was interesting to see how people’s approaches to co-living may have changed in the aftermath of the pandemic. Although there are similarities in many of the submissions, each of the 14 longlisted teams put forward an innovative solution to this year’s theme – we’ve got a tough job ahead of us now to agree on the three finalists.’

Marie Chamillard, Director of the Alan Davidson Foundation, said: “There wasn’t a single bad submission, nothing to discard outright. Each submission raised great discussions amongst the judges. I’m impressed with how the teams have expressed their ideas both with strong written statements and varied and interesting visuals. It really makes me want to see more.”

Thanks to the generous support of VitrA Bathrooms, the judging sessions for the 2022 Davidson Prize are hosted at the VitrA London Design Hub on Turnmill Street, Clerkenwell.