Mahindra wins 300 dollar house design challenge

A blog post on the Harvard Business Review website recently challenged readers across the world to design a house that could be constructed for less than US $ 300. Initially a conceptual argument by bloggers Vijay Govindarajan and Christian Sarkar, the hypothetical idea of a house constructed for under US $ 300 received an overwhelming response and they began to bring together a collective of thinkers, designers and investors from around the world. A team from the Mahindra Partners division received the global award of recognition for corporate participation and will be proceeding to the US for a prototyping workshop. The design incorporates material which is abundantly available in local markets and utilises low-technology materials and simple design that can be built easily at low-cost, globally. “Competitions such as the US $ 300 House Open Design Challenge help foster creative thought and collaboration towards finding a viable solution for the housing crisis. The entry submitted by the team is a great example of reverse innovation and is a positive step towards creating low-cost, affordable housing for the world’s poor,” said Zhooben Bhiwandiwala, Executive Vice President and Managing Partner, Mahindra Partners.“As a group of professionals interested in finding a solution to the housing crisis, especially in developing countries, we were intrigued with the US $ 300 house challenge’ and thought it was a great opportunity for us to leverage our individual expertise. The brief was to design a dwelling which would be sustainable, secure, durable, replicable and dignified, within a cost of US $ 300. In our entry, we have not only attempted to address all these factors but have also made a case for its commercial viability,” said Mohan Raghavan, Team Mentor, Mahindra Partners.

7