Off-Grid Living
Architecture and design work for dwellings and shelters that operate independently of public utility grids, from tiny houses to rural retreats.
Off-grid living refers to buildings that generate their own power, manage water and waste on site, and do not depend on municipal networks. For designers, this shifts the brief toward passive heating and cooling, material choice, orientation, and compact planning, since every system must be sized to the site.Community work under this topic spans compact tiny houses, rural farmhouse conversions, rainforest and landscape retreats, and temporary or emergency shelters such as domes and capsule camps. Entries also test off-grid thinking in unexpected settings, including residential complexes, student accommodation, and protest spaces.
