Over 1.1 billion people worldwide live in informal settlements, often built without formal planning, services, or resilient construction materials. As climate change drives hotter urban environments, residents are often left with roof materials that trap heat and make daily life increasingly unsafe.
A global call for innovation
In response, IHS, Slum Dwellers International (SDI), World Habitat, and Build Change are jointly launching the competition Rethinking Roofs: A Call for Innovative Heat Solutions. The initiative invites designers, students, researchers, community organisations, and creative thinkers to reimagine the roof as a more climate-resilient, affordable, and comfortable component of the home.
What the competition seeks
Participants may submit ideas in two categories:
1. Physical solutions
Designs, materials, modular systems, or performance upgrades that reduce heat, boost durability, and remain affordable and easy to build locally.
2. Collective/social solutions
Approaches that help communities organize, produce, share, finance, or maintain improved roofing solutions together.
Submissions may be fully built, prototyped, or conceptual, and can include technical, social, or hybrid strategies. Strong entries will demonstrate feasibility, creativity, understanding of local realities, and potential to inspire broader impact across communities and countries.
How to enter?
The competition is open to anyone: from residents and youth groups to professional architects or researchers. Submissions must include:
- A video or audio explanation (max 3 minutes) clearly explaining the solution, how it works, and why it is effective.
- A graphical or text-based document (max. 3 pages) – using visuals, sketches, photos, or written explanations.
Timeline & recognition
The open call runs from 1 December 2025 to 1 March 2026 in two phases. The first submission deadline ends on 21 January 2026. A jury will then shortlist candidates and select the top entries in each category. Highlights include:
- Top 10 in each category presented at the World Urban Forum 13 in Baku
- Top 3 invited to further showcase their solutions
Why this matters
With global housing supply lagging far behind demand, informal settlements will continue to grow. Meanwhile, residents already face the harshest climate impacts with the fewest resources to adapt. By combining lived community knowledge, grassroots practice, academic insight, and design creativity, Rethinking Roofs aims to catalyse ideas that can be built, shared, and scaled, improving millions of homes, roofs, and lives.
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- More information
Interested in the Inform2Build project? Find out more here.
