Toronto-based Sustainable.TO Architecture + Building was recognized in the international Designing Recovery competition, where contestants draft housing for disaster recovery zones.

“We’re very proud and grateful for this acknowledgment,” says Paul Dowsett, principal at Sustainable.TO. “We’ve designed a house that is sustainable, affordable, comfortable and appealing, which, when built, will help a community solve a major issue.”

The competition was organized by the American Institute of Architects, in collaboration with Architecture for Humanity, Dow Building Solutions, Make it Right and St. Bernard Project. The Designing Recovery competition solicited designs for sustainable housing in three disaster zones: New York, New Orleans and Joplin, MO. A jury selected a winning design for each disaster zone.

Sustainable.TO’s submission, Resilient House for New York, was designed for the city post-Superstorm Sandy. It is designed to resist storm surges with a flood-proof foundation, and relies solely on the sun and wind for passive heating and ventilation. Living spaces are oriented towards the sun and there are minimal interior partitions.

If the house sustained a power loss, it would remain livable without operating utilities. If it was built using traditional construction methods and equipment, Resilient House could be constructed for less than $50,000 in materials.

GOATstudio LLP’s “Shotgun [remix]” proposal was the winning design for New Orleans, while Q4 Architecture’s CoreHouse was selected in the Joplin competition.