The American Institute of Architects is hosting its first ever design competition through Facebook. Aimed at emerging professionals the contest is open to all AIAS members, Associate AIA members, and AIA young architect members (defined as those licensed for 10 years or fewer).
The AIA is asking for submissions of unconstructed building projects that focus on intentional flexibility in meeting America’s pressing design needs for the 21st century. Entries must offer an innovative solution to a concrete and unsolved problem. Foremost on the list are issues of sustainability, public infrastructure, affordable housing, retrofitting suburbs and other resource-intensive built environments, urban farming, and rehabilitating dilapidated, urban cores.
All entrants must submit written project brief of no more than 500 words to explain how their project addresses one of the above concerns along with four images of their project.
Contest opened on September 18th, 2009
Deadline: December 11, 2010
Entry forms and further information can be found on AIA’s Facebook page.
Entry Rules:
1. To enter the competition and to vote for a winner, you must join the AIA’s Facebook group page and then sign in as a guest of the Facebook Young Designers Challenge event. Voting is open to everyone–participants, non-participants, AIA and AIAS members, non-members, the general public, etc. The one limitation is that entrants are not allowed to vote for their own designs.
2. All entrants must upload a maximum of four images or renderings of their project to the photos section of this event page, below. Alternatively, fly-through rendering videos (no longer than four minutes each) can be uploaded to the video section of this event page. A written project brief (maximum 500 words) that explains how each project deals with one of America’s most pressing design needs should be placed in each image or video caption field with each photo or video. These briefs must also include the project’s title, the designer’s name, and their e-mail address. Entries that fail to do any of this will be disqualified.
3. All competitors must read the competition’s entrant release form, posted below. To signal that they have read this form and concur with it, entrants must post it to the bottom of one of their written project brief descriptions and electronically fill out the applicable sections. Any entries that fail to do this will be removed from competition.
4. All entrants must be AIAS members, Assoc. AIA members, or AIA young architect members. (The AIA defines young architects as being licensed 10 years or less.) Entrants who do not meet this qualification will be disqualified from the competition.
5. The top vote winner will be featured in an AIArchitect article on January 15, 2010, and will also receive a free registration to the 2010 convention in Miami. This winner must agree to an interview by AIArchitect staff either by phone or in person the week of Jan. 4, 2010. Several other top vote winners will be featured in a smaller honorable mention article. AIArchitect staff reserves the right to subdivide entries into various categories as they see fit.
6. All entries must be of new, unbuilt projects.
