(Images above represent 6 of the 10 winning entries.)

In a recent competition sponsored by the New York City Office of Emergency Management with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and Architecture for Humanity New York, designers were asked, "What if New York City was hit by a Category 3 Hurricane?" Structured as a two-phase competition, the intention is to build prototypes of one or more of the winning projects after further development in the second phase with the support of the New York City of Emergency Management.

The open, international competition intended to elicit innovative responses to this worst-case disaster scenario from the widest audience possible. An impressive 52 countries were represented by 117 valid entries from a total of 465 registrants. Although the majority of entries were created by architects, students participated in large numbers with individuals and teams from various disciplines rounded out the group.

Entries were judged by a panel that included Guy Nordenson, Enrique Norten, Joseph F. Bruno, David J. Burney, Paul Freitag and Richard Plunz. The jury was asked to favor designs that demonstrate the following qualities:

- Density Maximize number of housing units per land area
- Rapid Deployment Provide units ready to be occupied as soon as possible
- Site Flexibility Maximize the ability to accommodate as many different sites as possible
- Unit Flexibility Maximize the ability to accommodate as many variable household types and sizes as possible
- Reusability Maximize the potential for reuse of the structures either for future disasters or other purposes
- Livability Maximize the strength, utility, convenience, and comfort of the dwellings
- Accessibility Allow access for people who have limited mobility
- Security Make public space defensible and help people feel safe
- Sustainability Reduce energy costs and the carbon footprint of the dwellings
- Identity Maximize the ability of New Yorkers to feel a sense of identity and even pride in where they live
- Cost Efficiency Maximize the best value for investment

Ten Winners were selected and awarded a prize of $10,000 each. The winners were not ranked and appear here in no particular order.

Registrant: Matthew Francke
Other Team Member: Katya Hristova
East Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Title: Mobile Emergency Relief Ports (M.E.R.P.s)

Registrant: David Hill
Other Team Members: Laura Garofalo, Nelson Tang, Henry Newell, Megan Casanega
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Title: Threading Water

Registrant: Carsten Laursen
Other Team Member: Morten Norup Fassov
Copenhagen, Denmark
Title: Untitled

Registrant: Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects LLP
Team Members: Mary Burnham, Jeffrey Murphy, Joseph Lengeling, Jason Hill, Seung Yup Baek, Youngjoo Kahng
New York, New York, United States
Title: Community Provisional Residence (CPR)

Registrant: Jay Lim
Other Team Members: Erick Gregory, Christopher Reynolds
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Title: S.C.A.F.FOLD

Registrant: Darrell Mayer
Other Team Member: Elizabeth Kolepp-Mayer
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Title: Container Living Apparatus (CLA)

Registrant: Otto Ruano
Other Team Members: Robert Wrazen, David Mans
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Title: SCALE: Sustainable Contemporary Adaptable Living Environment

Registrant: Joao Sequeira
Other Team Members: Ana Figueiredo, Marta Moreira, Pedro Ferreira
Lisbon, Portugal
Title: Untitled

Registrant: Michael Tom
Other Team Member: Adam Alter
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Title: Untitled

Registrant: James Vira
Other Team Members: Jason Cadorette, Dominic Cullen, Ethan Cotton, Lanson Cosh
New York, New York, United States
Title: Rapidly Deployable inflatable Containers (RDIC)

Visit the competition website, whatifnyc.net for a complete online gallery of all the entries. Also available is the original competition brief and the jury report.