AIAS and Kawneer Announce 2008 National Student Design Competition
Architecture Stars of the Future Design a Library for the 21st Century with LEED Certification in Mind WASHINGTON and NORCROSS, GA – The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and Kawneer Company, Inc., announced today the third annual national student design competition. The competition, sponsored by Kawneer and administered by AIAS, will 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,” said Catherine Lux, director of membership services, AIAS. “These competitions present unique opportunities for students to learn new design techniques. Kawneer’s dedication to industry education - whether students, customers or architects - is evident in the services they provide, and partnering with Kawneer for the competition enables these students to further familiarize themselves with products and design principles that are essential in today’s building environment.” Participants will be 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. “Kawneer is committed to providing products and solutions that enable architects to achieve performance and aesthetic goals for their projects, as well as enhance the sustainability of those buildings,” said Karen Zipfel, director of marketing for Kawneer North America. “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. We are excited to be a part of this competition again and look forward to seeing the completed designs.” 
3 June, 2008
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. Previous year’s competitions challenged students to design a pediatric outpatient rehabilitation center and family support facility, and a hurricane resistant campus-based recreation center. 2007’s competition winner was the University of Kentucky’s Danny Ruberg, who took home first place for his innovative design, which demonstrated a good use of green space and architectural aluminum products.
2007’s winning projects can be viewed on the AIAS Web site at www.aias.org/kawneer.
