Welcome to 'The Architect', a contest to see if you can come in on time and on budget with building designs for 4 very special clients! Submit your bids and see who will be named 'The Architect'!

(*No sims required or used in this competition.)

General Rules
1.) No photoshopping, adding text, graphics, borders to any submitted photos. Photos may be taken traditionally in-game, or by use of 'printscreen'.
2.) All lots submitted must be new, original designs. There will be no 'flipping' of pre-made Maxis homes allowed, or use of downloaded homes.
3.) Pay attention to the requirements for each round as following specific directions counts!


CONTEST UPDATES & LATEST INFORMATION
Get the latest information quickly and easily using the links below!
General Judging Criteria for this Contest!
ROUND 2 INFORMATION!
ROUND 1 RANKINGS & COMMENTS
ROUND 3 INFORMATION
ROUND 2 RANKINGS & COMMENTS
ROUND 4 INFORMATION!
ROUND 3 RANKINGS & COMMENTS
ROUND 5 INFORMATION


The Rounds
Round 1- Start Me Up
Round 2- Allison Road
Round 3- Mansions of Glory
Round 4- Electric Avenue
Round 5- Gone Global


The Timeline
Round 1- Aug 29- Sept 2- Closed! Thank you for entering!
ROUND 1 RANKINGS (posted)
Round 2- Sunday, Sept 2nd- Friday, Sept 7th @ 12:00PM EST (noon)-closed
Round 2 Ranking & comments to be posted by Monday 9-10
Round 3- Sept 7- Sept 13 (closed- thanks for your entries!)
Round 3 Rankings/comments- posted! See link above
Round 4- Sept 13- Sept 21 @ 6:00am EST
Round 4 Rankings/comments
Round 5- Sept 19- Sept- 26th @ 12:00PM EST (noon)
Current round highlighted in bold print.
Rounds will be closed as soon as all contestants have posted their entries OR by the deadline posted above- whichever comes first!

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Round 1- Start Me Up

The client for this Round is Matthew Bessline, a 24 year old recent college graduate and modern bachelor with an active social life who is looking to have his first home built. Being fresh out of college, Matthew has a strict budget of $18,000. There is also a list of requirements that need to be met while staying in budget. They are:

~ A lot size no greater than 2X2
~ Ranch-style home (all rooms on 1 floor only) of modern design
~ A minimum of 1 Kitchen, 1 Bedroom, 1 Full Bathroom
~ A driveway (*See note below!)
~ Ready to move in condition (IE: completed interior without furnishings)
~ Completed exterior
~ Landscaping
( *NOTE: If you do not have NL, you may 'fake' the driveway using flooring materials. The specs on your drive should be 5X8 (5 squares wide by 8 squares long) to keep it within the size of the actual driveway. You must add $100 to the cost of your lot as if you were placing a real driveway. You will not be penalized by the judges for doing the driveway this way.)

Materials that need to be submitted for Round 1:
1.) Your name and the Round # in the subject bar of your post.
2.) 3 Photos of your completed design; 1 of the exterior from the front, 1 of the exterior from the rear, 1 overhead with roof removed so layout of rooms can be seen.
3.) A list of the names and dimensions of each interior room.
4.) The home's list of amenities.
5.) Total purchase cost of lot.


Round 1 Details
You are allowed to use as much or as little custom content in the creation of your lot as you'd like. You may use a foundation if you'd like in this round. Remember to keep your client and his needs in mind when you are designing! You may add more to the home than the basic requirements, but remember, you must stay on budget and the final cost of the home must meet or be under the client's budget!
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Official Judges
1.) pors
2.) Fayreview
3.) breena
Emergency Judges
1.) Stormy
2.) MissTech


Prizes
First, second and third place prizes will be awarded. The 3 top scoring contestants may choose their prize from any of the following offered:
1 Willow- Cute San Francisco style Victorian created by me

OR
21 Winter Way- Wonderful family home with attatched greenhouse created by me.

OR
The Tower- Community lot with plenty of activities for dates created by me!

OR
Jeff- Mr. USA 6- An adorable and sweet guy created by me.

OR
1 more option coming soon!

• Do not post replies and/or contest applications before the contest host has checked in on this thread, or your post will be deleted.
  
• REMEMBER that the Picture Posting Guidelines apply to the contest forum as well. If your pictures violate these rules, your pictures will be deleted and you will be alerted/warned.

LIST OF CONTESTANTS-

REMAINING CONTESTANTS
1.) tschick0373045 Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5

2.) photo_me2004 Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5

4.) sawcat6 Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5

5.) i saw drones Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5

8.) Girl4Sims2 Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5

9.) coldfloral Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5

10.) katt Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5

11.) Hazy Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5

12.) rednpurplesunset Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5

13.) megativity13 Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5

14.) eedgan Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5

20.) 4oh4error Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4 / Round 5

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DROPPED OUT CONTESTANTS
3.) goforfink Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Round 4

6.) lindsay--lou Round 1 / Round 2 / Dropped Out

7.) Sayyadina Round 1 / Round 2 / Dropped out

15.) poplers Round 1 / Round 2 / Dropped Out

16.) cartoonfan Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Dropped Out

17.) Danny Round 1 / Round 2 / Dropped Out

18.) teardrops182 Round 1 / Round 2 / Round 3 / Dropped Out

19.) Aleeeexx Round 1 / Round 2 / Dropped Out

Hi. I'll try this again. This is my first contest, so I got a little too eager and posted before you did. :doh I hope my application is okay. I didn't make my house ultra-modern; I just made it where it had clean, straight lines. I hope that's okay. Tell me if it's not.

Exterior Front:



Exterior Back:


Top View:




Living Room /Kitchen Area: 10X10
Master Bedroom: 5X7
Master Bathroom: 3X3

Amenities:

2X2 Lot
1 Bed, 1 Bath
Fully Landscaped
Granite Countertops in Kitchen With Island
Top of the Line Appliances
Spacious, Airy Rooms
Patio
Large Japanese Maple in Back

Total Cost: $17,955

Very good! Glad to have you aboard- and for your first contest no less! Will put your name on the contestant list right away!

I want to join. First a few questions. This is round one, and not the application-round, right? And how many pics do you want for this round? (BRB with my entry...)

Yes this is Round 1. There are no applications because no one will be eliminated from any round of this contest. And for Round 1 you will need to submit 3 pics as it says in the Round 1 instructions in the Main post of the thread.

Must the interior be furnished? What I mean is - do we have to add basic plumbing and a sink in the kitchen? Or is that not required... :confused:

Garage: 5x9
Kitchen: 5x6
Livingroom: 7x7 (ish)
Bath: 4x3
Bedroom: 5x7

House Specs:

2x2 Lot
17,784 Price Tag
Hardwood Floors
White Granite Counters
Expandable Backyard
Lots of Big Windows

(Hope this is okay!)

In the instructions I said unfurnished but in move-in condition, which perhaps I didn't make that clear enough.

Move-in condition means that there are things like a tub, toilet, sink in the bathroom, basic lighting (like overhead kitchen/bath ceiling fixtures), and counters/sink/ceiling fixtures, and perhaps cabinetry in the kitchen, but not appliances or other furnishings. In other words you want your house to look just like one would if it were just built and put up for sale in the real world, and all new construction includes things like a complete bathroom, basic ceiling lighting fixtures, counters in the kitchen. Hope this helps.

To those who already posted, if you didn't include some of the things I just listed like counter-tops etc, you can alter your entry/photos up until the deadline for this round. (Which will be made more specific with a time in a day or so.)

2x2 Lot
Open layout Living, dining and kitchen area
Lush, tropical landscaping in atrium and patio, including a water garden.
Hardwood floors and marble tiles.
Invisible frame shower enclosure

Total Price: $17, 943

Kitchen: 3x5, 15 sq.
Dining Room: 4x5, 20 sq.
Living Room: 3x7, 21 sq
Bedroom: 8x4 (at widest), 26 sq.
Bathroom: 3x3 (at widest), 8 sq.
Entrance atrium: 3x5, 15 sq.

tschick0373045: Lovely little traditional house with no CC... they get harder to find so well done! And the expensive shower, fridge and counters are a nice touch.

photo_me2004: Loving the garage! And more rooms, tastefully decorated

gofornik: Nice room spread, followed the most important rule of house building, easy to decorate. Pastel colours really help, came up most under budget and topped of with a reasonably expensive stove.

sawcat6: Beautifully modern, says Bachelor pad to me and adds a nice touch of class for a small price tag

This is going to be hard to judge!

Front:


Back:


Aerial:


Specs:

2x2 lot
Living area: 6x6 sq
Bedroom: 4x5 sq
Kitchen: 3x4
Bath: 3x3

Surprisingly spacious 1br 1 bath bachelor pad, large windows & door opening out onto patio overlooking the garden and park beyond.
Modern amenities in kitchen - dishwasher, compactor, oven, fridge, and sink in counter. Shower over the bath, toilet and sink in bathroom.
Ready to move in, decorated with neutral to masculine tones.
Light hardwood floors, lovely garden with plenty of room to expand.
Garden features grassy raised mound, large willow trees, flowerbeds and delicate Japanese maples.
Also includes offstreet parking/driveway.

Total cost:
$17,999 (phew!)

Hey everyone! Just wanted to post the judging criteria for this contest so that current and hopeful contestants, as well as my judges, will have some idea of what lies ahead.


First, for all rounds of this contest your entry will be judged by the following criteria:
1. Design Status: Did the design meet the minimum requirements specified for this round?
2.) Overall Design: Is the layout convenient and functional?
3.) Design Asthetics: Is the design pleasing, pretty/attractive? Does it have 'extas'?
(Of course more specific instructions and criteria will be PMed to all judges for each round. Just wanted to give everyone a general idea of what is being looked for and looked at!)

The judges will give a numerical score (whole numbers only) of between 1 and 10 points for each of the above catagories. (Meaning the highest score you could receive from each judge would be 30 points.) Your total score from each judge will then be added together and then averaged to reach your "Round Score".

EXAMPLE:
Contestant 19:
Total Score from Judge 1- 27 points
Total Score from Judge 2- 23 points
Total Score from Judge 3- 28 points
TOTAL SCORE FOR ROUND 1= 78 points
ROUND SCORE FOR CONTESTANT 19: 26 points

After each round of judging, the contestants will not be given their Round Scores as I want all contestants to not be discoraged by numbers. Each contestant, however, will be given a ranking for each round. In other words, you will see exactly where you placed in each round.

EXAMPLE:
Round 1 Results/Ranking
1. Contestant 6
2. Contestant 15
3. Contestant 8
4. Tie- Contestants 1 & 18
6. Contestant 4
etc......

Your contestant number is the number in which you're listed in the contestant list when you entered. (So if you were the first to enter, your contestant number is 1, if you are last to enter- your contestant number is 20.) With your ranking, you may also receive judges comments. Judges will be allowed to (and encouraged to) make positive comments and constructive critisisms for each round, but are not required to do so.

After the final Round, your Round Scores from each round will be added together for your "Total Contest Score". It is this final Total Contest Score that will determine our winner. All contestants will have their final results posted like this:
EXAMPLE:
Contestant 5:
Round 1 Score: 24
Round 2 Score: 28
Round 3 Score: 24
Round 4 Score: 21
TOTAL CONTEST SCORE FOR CONTESTANT 5: 97 points

Hope this helps everyone understand the process of this contest. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I want everyone to have a fair chance at winning and to enjoy this contest! :D

i saw drones : Stunning and realistic with a nice use of different building materials and some beautiful natural looking landscaping!

MissTech
Just wanted to ask - if I don't have NL, hence no cars for me and no driveways, can I leave a place for it, make it look like a driveway and just take the placing and price of the real thing into consideration? I would like to try my hand, but if NL is required I simply can't.

Ah ha! Did not think of that...
Yes, if you do not have NL you can fake the driveway and add the 100 it would cost to the price of the house and that will be fine. You will not be penalized point-wise for doing it that way. (Will make sure judges are aware of this.)

I wanted everyone to be able to enter, even if they just had the base game, (which is why I dont intend on requiring things like basements) and forgot the drives were with NL! Sorry about that!

Cool =) If I remember correctly driveway is 4 by... something squares? Forgot how long it is actually. Maybe you could add that info to apps details?

Yes will do that. The specs on the drives is 5X8 (5 wide, 8 long) also.

Hi y'all!

Just wanted to pop in and let you know that Maxis created a driveway and garage door for those that don't have nightlife here:

http://thesims2.ea.com/exchange/obj...&languageCode=7

I hope this helps!

Marie

Awesome Marie! Thank you for the heads up on that! Very cool of you! :D

OKAY contestants, you can either fake the drive, or go get and use the one Marie just pointed out to us!

Great entries, seems like this will be a tough judging process (due to all the gorgeous entries), but I'm looking forward to it! :D

Front View :



View From Above :



Rear View :



This magnificent, affordable modern home features spacious and comfortable living, one bedroom and one bathroom, a private backyard, gorgeous hardwood floors and upscale finishes. Ideal for entertaining! House comes with brand-new kitchen appliances including stove, diswasher and trash compacter. Also features a fully furnished bathroom.

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Lot : 2X2
Kitchen : 3X3
Dining : 3X4
Foyer : 4X4
Bedroom : 4X6
Bathroom : 4X3
Living : 5X4
Extended Hallway : 3X3

Full Cost : 17,797$

Front.


Rear.


From above.

Lot: 2x2
Bathroom: 5x4
Bedroom: 5x5
Livingroom:5x9
Kitchen. 6x4

Total purchase cost: 15.691

Description of House and Lot:
Well planned house in mediterranean style with driveway.The house has one spacious livingroom that comes with fireplace and doorway to a roofed patio. The modern kitchen, complete with modern appliances and diningarea, opens up to the livingroom and makes the rooms feel bigger. The bedroom with its soft carpet, has a bathroom "en suite", including shower and bathtub. The interior is decorated in both deep and lighter earthtones with floors and wallpapers of highest quality.
The exterior has a well kept lawn with plenty of interesting plants. The price is amazing, considering the high standard.