Winners' videos
Watch below the videos produced by the Winners of each category from all the previous editions.
2025
“Management excellence for housing affordability”
Stockholmhusen – a collaboration project to build thousands of rental apartments
Stockholmshusen
Stockholmshusen addresses the city's housing shortage through coordinated long-term planning among city departments and municipal housing companies. The buildings are thoughtfully designed, ranging from 4–8 stories, with high-quality architectural details and bright apartments. They meet high Swedish enviromental building standards, with features like solar panels, green roofs, and access to sustainable transport options. A joint procurement model and collaboration with contractors streamline production, reduce costs, and encourage innovation.
Sostre Civic
“More than a roof, supporting communities of equal opportunities” category
Sostre Cívic - cooperative housing model, Barcelona, Spain (Sostre Cívic)
Sostre Cívic uses a non-speculative “right-of-use” model, offering homes 25–40% cheaper than market rents to low and middle income households groups. The cooperative builds nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB), incorporating renewable energy and circular materials for sustainability.
Through long-term agreements on public land (75 years), the housing remains a social asset, protected from speculation. Residents co-govern and self-manage the housing, fostering inclusive communities and strong social cohesion.
“Agents of just green transition, leaders of innovation” category
Wientalterrasse, Vienna (WBV-GPA)
Betonpreis_2023_Wohnquartier_Wientalterrassen_kuerzer_v2
The project offers 295 subsidized apartments for diverse groups, including single parents, seniors, and youth in care. The building operates entirely without fossil fuels, using deep geothermal probes, solar absorbers, and wastewater heat recovery to provide heating and cooling. This system helps reduce carbon emissions and keeps energy costs low. Shared spaces such as a generation centre, community terraces, and an on-site repair workshop support intergenerational living, neighbours’ interaction, and a circular economy mindset.
Matosinhos Habit_Gestor de Entrada
“Building strategic alliances, fostering community participation” category
Gestor Entrada (Entrance Manager, Matosinhos, Portugal (MatosinhosHabit)
The project engages residents in managing shared spaces within public housing complexes. Through elections, training, and structured communication, residents take on active roles to improve safety, community ties, and quality of life. Active in 33 housing complexes, the initiative fosters co-responsibility, builds skills, and enhances collaboration between residents and housing services.
Going the extra mile for safe and sound living” category
Health Housing: A New Generation of Social Housing for Well-being, Voisins‐le‐Bretonneux, France (Antin Résidences)
Health Housing
“Les Allées du Lac” is the first Île-de-France Project matching the French high health standards. Blending inclusive design, wellness features, and intergenerational community spaces, the residence enhances tenant well-being through thoughtful architecture and on-site health services.
2022
Fair financing for housing affordability winner 2022 | Yes We Rent!
Mataró, Spain
“Lloguem!/ Yes We Rent” aims at generating an accessible housing stock targeting low-to-medium income households using properties that have been left empty and off the market. With the offer of guaranteed rent and financial and organisational support to renovate their properties, the project incentivises risk-averse owners to rent to the affordable housing scheme at below-market prices.
More than a roof winner 2022 | Regenerating A Rural Highland Community
Achtercairn, Gairloch, Scotland
Communities across the Highlands in Scotland have suffered depopulation, loss of services, and have been faced with challenges of increasing tourism and house prices. The small village of Gairloch sits on the coast of Wester Ross has about 750 inhabitants who benefit from a community-led development tailored to local and long-term needs coordinated by the Communities Housing Trust (CHT).
Leaders of innovation winner 2022 | Bertelotte student residence
Paris, France
The transformation of the unused office building into the Bertelotte student residence was the opportunity for Paris Habitat to innovate in terms of construction practices and to contribute to the achievement of its climate commitments.
Building strategic alliances winner 2022 | Empowering tenants to co-create
Aalborg, Denmark
Himmerland Boligforening believes that renovations alone are not enough to change a city district. Therefore, it has been important for them to integrate the tenants in the strategic city development as well as to make them active city planners. As a housing organisation, their philosophy has been to use a bottom-up approach where everyone involved helps to better each other.
Going the extra mile winner 2022 | Arriving home
Vienna, Austria
Due to the financial consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, many more people became vulnerable and even homeless. The project has helped solving this issue by financing tenants’ contributions upfront and allocating apartments in a participatory way.
The number of partners in the project also added to the complexity of the initiative. In total, 50 associations, 12 social services, and 50 people prepared the scheme within a short 3-month timeframe while the Ministry of social affairs provided extra funding.
2019
The Kaleidoscope Project
Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France
Public housing company Villeneuve-Saint-Georges OPH acknowledged structural challenges in the area and vulnerable residents in the community. They also recognised the need to evolve their decision-making processes, by involving tenants more fully, in fact, by pursuing a “100% participation” policy. Practically this mean prioritisation of projects, exchange of ideas, conversational walks, participatory work-camp, amongst other actions.
Place -based anti-speculation housing policies
Barcelona, Spain
Public company Institut Municipal de l’Habitage i Rehabilitacio (IMHAB), as part of the forward-looking Right to Housing Plan 2016-2025, pursued “place-based anti-speculation housing policies” - which included, among other things, selective acquisition of privately-owned housing units, mobilisation of affordable housing through bilateral agreements with private landlords.
"More than a Roof"– An experimental way of renewal of a cooperative housing estate
Berlin, Germany
Housing Cooperative Berliner Bau- und Wohnungsgenossenschaft von 1892 eG pursued an experimental and innovative renewal of a 1970s social housing complex (from 1970s), which featured adaptations as well as additions/extensions (of modern apartments, ateliers, co-housing solutions for a variety of households), using innovative construction strategies, energy-saving technologies, improving accessibility, expanding common spaces, and supporting the self-organised community.
Power to the People – empowering the team to improve services
Torino, Italy
Public body ATC del Piemonte Centrale underwent a strategic repositioning of the organisation, which involved comprehensive training of 100 staff members, as well as redefining dialogue with stakeholders, implementing new procedural and managerial methods, and service-oriented approaches.
Alwel - “Leaders of innovation, agents of fair energy transition”
Roosendaal, Netherlands
Non-profit organisation Alwel – wanted to make “future-proof” their housing complex and so initiated a major energy renovation of 241 social rental homes. This involved numerous actions, including complete disconnected from gas connect, improved insulation and ventilation, increased comfort, decreased consumption, upgrades in lighting and window, new overall aesthetic following a design and colour scheme. However, it was the resident involvement and intensive collaboration (diverse mix, ca. 25 different nationalities, and 25 residents designed “floor contact person”) which was the project’s “most significant success factor”.
Special Mention | La Borda
Barcelona, Spain
Non-profit Cooperative Habitages La Borda SCCL spent 6 years pursuing a bottom-up organisational scheme in order to create a 28-unit housing cooperative, with low environmental impact and high community spirit. From day one, the residents initiated the design, funding, legal and economic decisions, conviviality schemes, with the help of social networks, surrounding neighbourhood and external expertise.
2016
Goedkope Woning - Venning ECO-Life
Kortrijk, Belgium
European Responsible Housing Awards 2016 Winning Project in 'Local Social Sustainability' category.
ICF Habitat La Sablière - 'Innovative coupling vs Energy Precariousness'
Paris, France
European Responsible Housing Awards 2016 Winning project in the category 'Environmental Sustainability'.
Gewobag - ‘Vocational Training key for refugee integration’
Berlin, Germany
European Responsible Housing Awards 2016 Winning project in the category 'Responsible Human Resources Management'.
Shepherds Bush Housing Group - The Big Conversation
London, UK
European Responsible Housing Awards 2016 Winning project in the category 'Good Governance and Fair Relations with Stakeholders'.