2017-2018 Steel Competition

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) is pleased to announce the 18th Annual Steel Design Student Competition for the 2017-2018 academic year. Administered by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), the program is intended to challenge students, working individually or in teams, to explore a variety of design issues related to the use of steel in design and construction. Steel must be used as the primary structural material and contain at least one space that requires long-span steel structure, with special emphasis placed on innovation in steel design.

THE OPPORTUNITY
The 2017-2018 Steel Design Student Competition will offer architecture students the opportunity to compete in two separate categories:

Category I AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Challenges architecture students to design AFFORDABLE HOUSING in an urban context of the student’s and sponsoring faculty’s selection.

Category II OPEN
Offers architecture students the opportunity to select a site and building program using steel as the primary material. This competition category permits the greatest amount of flexibility for any building type.

Students may not enter both categories of the competition.

The competition allows students to explore the many varied functional and aesthetic uses for steel as a building material. Steel is an ideal material for multi-story housing because it offers the greatest strength to weight ratio and can be designed systematically as a kit of parts or prefabricated to allow for quicker construction times and less labor, thus reducing the cost of construction. Housing built with steel is potentially more flexible and adaptable to allow for diversity of family structures and changing family needs over time.