Competition organised by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture

The 2024 Steel Design Student Competition will offer architecture students the opportunity to compete in two separate categories:

  • CATEGORY I: STEEL INNOVATION CENTER: Design a Steel Innovation Construction Center in downtown St. Louis, MO. The site is part of the Construction Innovation District & Master Development just south of the Gateway Arch. Program spaces include areas for exhibition, fabrication, training, and community outreach. Steel is the primary material.
  • CATEGORY II: OPEN: Category II 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.

Eligibility: Because the support of AISC is largely derived from steel companies whose markets are mainly in the U.S., the ACSA/AISC Steel Design Student Competition is open to students and/or student teams from ACSA Full and Candidate Member Schools, as well as ACSA Affiliate Members Schools from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

An ACSA member school, faculty sponsor is required to enroll students by completing an online registration form prior to registration by April 10, 2024. All student entrants are required to work under the direction of a faculty sponsor. Entries will be accepted for individuals as well as teams. Teams must be limited to a maximum of five students. Submissions should be principally the product of work in a design studio or related class.

Prizes: The design jury will meet in Summer 2024 to select winning projects and honorable mentions. Winners and their faculty sponsors will be notified of the competition results directly. A list of winning projects will be posted on the ACSA web site and the AISC web site at www.aisc.org. Winning students and their faculty sponsors will receive cash prizes totaling $20,000 with distribution as follows:

CATEGORY I: STEEL INNOVATION CENTER

  • Student(s), First Place: $4,000 USD
    Faculty Sponsor(s), First Place: $1,500 USD
  • Student(s), Second Place: $2,000 USD
    Faculty Sponsor(s), Second Place: $1,000 USD
  • Student(s), Third Place: $1,000 USD
    Faculty Sponsor(s), Third Place: $500 USD

CATEGORY II: OPEN

  • Student(s), First Place: $4,000 USD
    Faculty Sponsor(s), First Place: $1,500 USD
  • Student(s), Second Place: $2,000 USD
    Faculty Sponsor(s), Second Place: $1,000 USD
  • Student(s), Third Place: $1,000 USD
    Faculty Sponsor(s), Third Place: $500 USD

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) is pleased to announce the 24th Annual Steel Design Student Competition for the 2023-2024 academic year. Administered by the ACSA and sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), the program is intended to challenge undergraduate and graduate 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.