National and local housing crisis

The United States faces a substantial housing shortage of at least 1.5 million units. Half of renters pay more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities, which is considered cost-burdened. For those wanting to purchase, few homes on the market are affordable for a median-income household.¹ For example, in Knoxville, TN, approximately 77% of households cannot afford the median-priced new home and rental units, registering the second-fastest annual growth among the top U.S. metros last year. ²

National and local housing crisis

The United States faces a substantial housing shortage of at least 1.5 million units. Half of renters pay more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities, which is considered cost-burdened. For those wanting to purchase, few homes on the market are affordable for a median-income household.¹ For example, in Knoxville, TN, approximately 77% of households cannot afford the median-priced new home and rental units, registering the second-fastest annual growth among the top U.S. metros last year. ²

AIA East Tennessee’s Mission

With the mission to lead East Tennessee in developing the cities, communities, and built environment of the 21^st Century, AIA East Tennessee is hosting a free-to-enter design competition to elevate awareness and understanding of low-barrier entry tools, such as the accessory dwelling unit, toward increased affordable housing supply in our region.

AIA East Tennessee’s Mission

With the mission to lead East Tennessee in developing the cities, communities, and built environment of the 21^st Century, AIA East Tennessee is hosting a free-to-enter design competition to elevate awareness and understanding of low-barrier entry tools, such as the accessory dwelling unit, toward increased affordable housing supply in our region.

Why Accessory Dwelling Units?

An alternative construction strategy to help increase affordable housing supply in communities is the accessory dwelling unit (ADU), a smaller, independent residential dwelling unit on the same lot as a stand-alone, detached single-family home.  Commonly referred to as a guest home, accessory apartment, and granny flat, an ADU can have the potential to increase housing affordability (both for homeowners and tenants), create a wider range of housing options within the community, enable seniors to stay near family as they age and facilitate better use of the existing housing fabric in established neighborhoods.³

Why Accessory Dwelling Units?

An alternative construction strategy to help increase affordable housing supply in communities is the accessory dwelling unit (ADU), a smaller, independent residential dwelling unit on the same lot as a stand-alone, detached single-family home.  Commonly referred to as a guest home, accessory apartment, and granny flat, an ADU can have the potential to increase housing affordability (both for homeowners and tenants), create a wider range of housing options within the community, enable seniors to stay near family as they age and facilitate better use of the existing housing fabric in established neighborhoods.³

• Citations
  • ¹www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_The_State_of_the_Nations_Housing_2023.pdf
  • ²www.etnrealtors.com/assets/pdf/2023-05+-+KAAR+-+State+of+Housing+Report
  • ³www.planning.org/knowledgebase/accessorydwellings

Competition Information

Anyone and everyone interested is invited to submit detached ADU designs that meet the design criteria here.  A jury will review submissions and select finalists. Finalists will be announced before the 2024 AIA East Tennessee Design Awards Gala. The finalist’s design submissions will then be printed and displayed at the awards event for public display and voting for a “People’s Choice Award.”

Lindsay Crockett, Knoxville-Knox County Planning

Matthew Griffith, In Situ Studio (Raleigh, NC)

Ross Miller, FormGrey Studio (Omaha, NE)

Jury Selections

After reviewing all of the submissions, our three-person jury had this to say: “Missing middle housing is a critical issue that architects can play an important role in addressing in their communities. Seeing all the different creative approaches and concepts to designing ADUs was quite refreshing and will hopefully spark further conversations in the Knoxville and East Tennessee communities. We selected [six] submissions in the two categories for their design merits.”

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Timeline