The AIAS supports and sponsors design competitions to contribute to the education of all students. Competitions present unique opportunities to investigate and utilize building materials and design techniques from different perspectives or those that the student might not be familiar with already. Furthermore, participants can compete among students from a broad range of programs and be evaluated by diverse juries of experts. Competitions can also assist instructors with developing a repertoire of design challenges to use in studio courses.

Sponsored by AARP and the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), the 2007-08 Ethel Percy Andrus House of Freedom program will challenge students to learn about universal design and designing for an aging population while creating a single family home. Total prize money is $7,225, including $2,500 for the winning design.

Sponsored by Kawneer and administered by the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), the program will challenge students to learn about building materials, specifically architectural aluminum building products and systems and their assembly in the design of a pediatric outpatient rehabilitation center and family support facility. While open to any student, the competition is designed for advanced students. Total prize money is $7,225, including $2,500 for the winning design.

Sponsored by the Vinyl Institute and administered by the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), the 2007 program challenged students to learn about materials, specifically vinyl building products, and their assembly in the design of a bus stop for the Milwaukee County Transit System. Participants will gained knowledge about building materials and products while exploring the AIAS FORUM 2007 theme, "Architecture in Montion." Visit the Web site for details.

How would you like to be noticed by distinguished design educators and professional designers? Win a trip to Boston for the AIA National Convention in May? Meet and talk to prospective employers who are looking for good architectural designers? Maybe even land your designs on a national publication or company website?

Take the VectorWorks 2008 Design Your Future Challenge, and you can!

Here’s how it works: You will use one of three templates from our site and build on it, creating a design that’s judged on three categories: interior environment (ambiance), functionality, and design integration. The design with the highest score in each category wins an all-expenses-paid trip to the AIA 2008 National Convention and Design Exposition in Boston, MA, May 15-17. Each winner will present his/her design to a panel of accomplished design educators and professionals, who will select a grand prize winner for overall design excellence. The winning project will be featured in a national publication and in Nemetschek North America’s company newsletter (the eDispatch). Additionally, NNA will publicize the winner on its Web site and in a press release to the architectural community.

So, check out the templates and start designing your future now, with VectorWorks 2008. First stop, Boston.

Jointly sponsored by the American Chemistry Council (APC) and the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), the program challenged students to learn about materials, specifically plastics and plastic composites construction materials, and their assembly in the design of a transportation hub. Participants built knowledge about building materials and products and sustainable design. While open to any student, the competition was designed for advanced students. Total prize money was $7,225, including $2,500 for the winning design. Visit the Web site to see the winning entries.

Builders, architects, design professionals and students are invited to showcase their skill and ingenuity by creating an innovative solution to the second annual Custom Builder Design Challenge, presented by Custom Builder Magazine, a national trade publication.
This year, the Challenge is to design a second home of no more than 2,400 square feet for an empty-nester couple on a 60-by-150-foot, wooded lakefront lot. Judges will use floor plans, front and rear elevations, plats and, where appropriate, interior elevations and renderings to select first-, second- and third-place winners, plus a design deemed to be the best effort by a student.
All entries must be original designs, never before built.