This years competition, again with a prize purse of 25,000, seeks inventive design proposals to transform any site in the UK into a cohesive and integrated community of at least 300 new homes.The brief responds to the governments ambitious goal of building 1.5 million homes over the next five years. Concepts will be expected to zoom in on the experiential aspects of typical living spaces and provide solutions to ensure quality as well as quantity remains part of the outcome.The 16-strong longlist (see full details below) includes Ash Sakula, Patch Collective, Clifton Emery Design, daab Design Architects, Morris+Company, RCKa, Studio Woodroffe Papa, and The Place Bureau.AdvertisementThe annual prize recognises the best of transformative architecture of the home. It is open to multidisciplinary teams featuring at least one ARB or RIAI-registered architect. Each year, three shortlisted teams receive 5,000, while the overall winner takes home a further 10,000.The award is named after architect, visualiser and Hayes Davidson founder Alan Davidson, who died of motor neurone disease in 2018. For 2025, The Davidson Prize is partnering with leading visualisation studio Hayes Davidson, which will provide creative consultation and provide the winner with an additional week of support to help them engage with key decision makers.Jury chair Pooja Agrawal architect, planner and chief executive of Public Practice said: One of the great things about The Davidson Prize is the way it brings together multidisciplinary teams. For me thats not just about bringing together different professional skill sets, but also peoples lived experiences after all housing is about peoples homes.The range of proposals we assessed were varied, tackling finance, typologies and planning. There were so many interesting ideas to learn from and collectively they provided a vision for what the future of housing in the UK could look like.Akil Scafe-Smith, jury member and director of Resolve Collective said:This year's submissions creatively addressed a variety of contexts in responseto The Davidson Prize's challenge. It was particularly moving to see the vision and feel the energy of the non-London and Northern England based proposals and I'm excited to get into choosing the three finalists.AdvertisementThis years theme is Streets Ahead: The Race to Build 1.5M Homes. It asks collaborative teams to draw up compelling visual arguments for a minimum of 300 new homes on a site of their choice anywhere in the UK or Ireland.Last years Davidson Prize was won by The Apartment Store a concept to reinvent empty retail space as homes designed by Studio Saar with Landstory, Stories, BAS and Megaphone. The 2023 Davidson Prize was won by Helping Hands, drawn up by a team led by Liverpools Studio MUTT and collaborative research outfit Neighbourhood.The inaugural contest in 2021 was won by a team led by Haptic Architects under the banner HomeForest and featuring poet Lionheart, designer Yaoyao Meng, digital designers Squint/Opera and musicians Coda to Coda. The teams biophilic design aimed to bring the restorative effects of nature inside, [and] playfully blend digital and physical worlds to soften the constraints of working from home.Alongside Agrawal and Scafe-Smith, the judging panel includes Jonny Buckland, creative partner at Studio Saar and 2024 Davidson Prize winner; Lucy Watson, commissioning editor, House & Home at The Financial Times; and Jonathan Falkingham, founder and director of Urban Splash.The next stage will see three teams shortlisted and paid5,000 each to further develop their concept. The overall winner will be announced in June.daab Design Architects, HomeGrown Plus, Expedition Engineering, Robert Bird Group, Third Revolution Projects, Atelier Crescendo Between the Lines - Living with IndustryThe Davidson Prize 2025 longlistF.U.N.N.E.L by A IS FOR ARCHITECTURE, WSP, SpacehubHardworking Landscapes by AOMD, Edit, Periscope, Dion Barrett, Ruth Lang1 House, 2 Homes... make a neighbourhood by Ash Sakula with Human NatureWearWork by CARD Projects, PATCH Collective, and System of Systems300 Homes within a Union Street Mile by Clifton Emery Design, Nudge Community Builders, Millfields Trust, Plymouth Energy Community, Devon and Cornwall Planning ConsultantsBetween the Lines Living with Industry by daab Design Architects, HomeGrown Plus, Expedition Engineering, Robert Bird Group, Third Revolution Projects, Atelier CrescendoPermitted Development + by Elephant in the City Morris+Company, Hub, Stantec / Hydrock, Studio Knight StokoePositive Disturbance Realising Brownfield Potential by FLOC, MAZi, Hyem, Stef Leach, Broaden, Thurston Illustration, SHED, Artis, Henna AsikainenMetroland by Harper Perry, Urban Design Works and Studio Mint with North East Combined Authority and NEXUS Tyne and Wear MetroThe Rail Belt by James Waddington with Nathaniel Welham and WSPBeta Boroughs How Could Better Data Help Us Beat the Housing Crisis? by RCKaKommuna Palace by Studio Woodroffe Papa, Lawrence Barth, Almitra Roosevelt and Anagha Othalur of AA Housing and Urbanism, Whitby Wood, XCO2Forever Island A New Model for Young Islanders by The Place BureauGrowing Places by University of West England StudentsLiving in the Landscape A community for all ages by William Burgess & Oliver BurgessRUN! by Yolande Barnes Consulting & Space SyntaxWilliam Burgess & Oliver Burgess Living in the Landscape - A community for all ages