AIAS and Kawneer Announce 2008 National Student Design Competition

The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and Kawneer Company, Inc., have announced the third annual national student design competition. The competition, sponsored by Kawneer and administered by AIAS, is designed to challenge students to learn about building materials, specifically architectural aluminum building products and systems, in the design of a library. The competition is open to all students of architecture and design in North America, with winning students/teams and their AIAS chapter receiving cash prizes totaling $7,225, including $2,500 for the winning design.

“The AIAS frequently supports and sponsors design competitions to enhance the education of all students,” says Catherine Lux, director of membership services, AIAS. “These competitions present unique opportunities for students to learn new design techniques.”

“The AIAS design competition was developed to help spark creativity among the next generation of architects, and this year we are asking them to think about how the design choices they make can impact the future,” explains Karen Zipfel, director of marketing for Kawneer North America.

Participants are required to research, respond to and highlight the unique aspects of designing a library for the 21st century that serves the selected site and community. As publicly funded buildings, libraries need to be as energy efficient as possible, so participants will be challenged to design a facility utilizing the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building standards. Competition objectives include developing knowledge about materials, products and installation that can help earn LEED certification points, as well as creating a facility that looks to the educational, cultural and service needs of the community for the present and the future. Submissions will be evaluated based on ingenuity and originality, as well as appropriate use of sustainable products and design clarity.

Three winning designs and three honorable mentions will be selected by the competition’s jury, and winners will be announced December 8, 2008, via the AIAS website. The winning projects will be exhibited at the AIAS Forum 2008 in Denver, December 29, 2008–January 1, 2009, and at the 2009 AIA Convention and Design Exposition in San Francisco, April 30–May 2, 2009. In addition, the winning entries will be published in the Spring 2009 issue of Crit, the Journal of the AIAS and the AIAS chapter at each school will also receive a cash grant.

The registration deadline for the competition is Monday, November 3, 2008.

CLICK HERE to see the 2007 winning projects in this competition.

CLICK HERE for more information on this year’s competition.

Not receiving your own FREE copy of the Architects' Guide to Glass and Metal e-newsletter?
CLICK HERE to subscribe today.

Not receiving your own FREE copy of the Architects' Guide to Glass and Metal magazine?
CLICK HERE to subscribe to Architects' Guide to Glass & Metal magazine.