The sprint was organised by the MOME Society & Action Lab and the MOME Architecture MA programme of the Centre for Architecture, in partnership with the British Council Hungary and the Global Housing Design Programme at the Liverpool School of Architecture. Rather than framing water as an engineering problem alone, the programme explored its role in shaping communities and shared spaces, looking at how collective housing can offer practical, sustainable responses. 

On the final day, the teams presented their work at a public symposium. The winning project Spring Home was developed by Jade Smith (University of Liverpool), Eszter Iván and Xiaohan Chen (MOME), and Aitkul Kyzzhibek and Aziza Tomiris Shaimbetova (University of Pécs). Their proposal focused on small-scale public space interventions that actively involve local residents, brings new energy to urban life, strengthen community connections, and support long-term, sustainable urban regeneration. 

At the centre of the winning proposal is a water-based network that rethinks how rainwater can be collected and reused. The team designed a visible system of colourful pipes and channels that run through the site. These feed water playgrounds and community gardens, making the presence and impact of water visible and tangible in the city. 

A certificate of merit was awarded to Co-operative Systems, designed by Aysu Baghirova (University of Pécs), Eszter Hegedűs (MOME), Eszter Kincses (BCE–ELTE), Lilly Elizabeth McBrayer (MOME), and Kinga Mód (MOME). Working in the Böszörményi Road area, In the Böszörményi Road area, the team responded to flash flooding and unsustainable water use with straightforward, easy-to-understand water systems designed to involve residents in local water management. The proposal combines rainwater retention with a climate-responsive garden and a shared meeting space, strengthening cooperation and knowledge-sharing within the community. 

A further certificate was awarded to Hegyvidék Educational Social Hub, developed by Cho Man Huen (MOME/CityUHK), Natalia Kukiela (University of Liverpool), Lilla Kata Sárközi (ELTE), Gerda Júlia Tóth (MOME), and Evelin Turony (BME). The team developed a housing co-operative built around a nursery school, offering affordable homes for early-career teachers with water used as an informal learning tool. At the heart of the proposal is a community infrastructure grounded in degrowth principles and built around deliberate rainwater collection and an ecologically self-sustaining pond. 

The entries were evaluated by an international jury comprising urban historian and urban studies specialist Dr Orsolya Sudár, Chief Architect of Budapest Zoltán Erő, architect and systems researcher Boglárka Jakabfi-Kovács, Director of the British Council Hungary and Slovakia Georgina Szilágyi, and graphic designer and doctoral candidate Elisa Raciti.  The jury brought together experts from across architecture, urbanism, social research, visual communication and cultural diplomacy. 

The professional concept of the event was developed by Erzsébet Hosszu, Johanna Muszbek, Zsuzsanna Gál, and Balázs Marián, with project management by Kinga Dér. The sprint and symposium combined intensive design work with international knowledge exchange, as students, lecturers and professionals worked side by side to rethink our relationship with water. 

Co-operatives: Living with Water Collectively reflects how MOME responds to contemporary social and environmental challenges: through international collaboration, across disciplines, using design as a way to test ideas in real conditions. The programme explored how water – and the spaces organised around it – can support more collective and sustainable ways of living.