Competitions
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 compete among students from a broad range of programs and are evaluated by diverse juries of experts. Competitions can also assist instructors with developing a repertoire of design challenges to use in studio courses.
Since the 1970’s, the sponsors have included: AARP, American Institute of Steel Construction, American Life Insurance Co., American Plastics Council, Apple, Cadkey, Copper Development Association, International Corrugated Packaging Foundation, International Masonry Institute, Graphisoft, GE, Jeld-Wen, Kawneer, Lego, McDonald’s, Modular Building Institute, National Endowment for the Arts, National Science Foundation, National Roofing Contractors Association, Sheet Metal Workers, Trespa, US Information Agency, and the Vinyl Institute.
IBHS/AIAS Fortified: Keep a Lid on It!
Design a roof, with attachments that will resist hurricane force winds. The winning entry will be built and tested in the IBHS testing facility!
As hurricane wind speeds climb, the roof is the first area where damage typically occurs. In residential and light commercial buildings with pitched roofs, when roof cover is lost, water frequently pours in through gaps between the roof decking or sheathing; this water can easily soak attic insulation. This could cause ceiling collapse, which will ruin most building contents on which the wet insulation and wall board fall. In recent hurricanes, there have been large numbers of homes where the homeowners have been forced to move out while their home was gutted and rebuilt on the inside because water entry caused significant damage despite the fact that the structure remained intact and no roof sheathing was lost. Similarly, the re-opening of light commercial buildings is frequently delayed by efforts to repair roofs and dry out and repair the interior of the building. For commercial buildings with flat roofs, roof cover damage frequently starts at the edge of the roof or where roof-top mechanical equipment is dislodged. Again, damage in these areas frequently allows large quantities of water to enter the building.
website: ibhs.aias.org
Submission Deadline: June 1st
Grand Prize: $1500
AARP/AIAS Aging In Place: Kitchens!
Pulling from the methods of universal design, AIAS and AARP are looking to students to create attractive, flexible and user-friendly kitchen designs that utilize the basic ideas of accessibility, livability and sustainable design. AARP surveys show that nearly 90% of the 50+ population want to stay in their homes and communities as they age, where they have strong social networks and a sense of familiarity. Additionally, AARP research shows that "Boomers" are following the trend of their parents’ generation, wanting to stay in their current home or community as they age. Designing a home to serve everyone from grandchildren to adults benefits everyone and promotes long-term residence that leads to vibrant communities and neighborhoods.
website: aarp.aias.org
Registration Deadline: April 15
Submission Deadline: June 1
Grand Prize: $6000
Tips for Laying Out Your Competition Boards
- Grab the Interest of the Audience: Provide a clear, succinct statement of what makes your design great. Very clear. Very succinct. Judges facing heaps of entries paw through them at a furious rate, and the brilliance may not leap to the glazed-over eye.
- Identify Your Message: Determine the purpose or main concept of your design boards. Do you want to advertise a specific element of you design? Explain how your design process came about? These key pieces of information will influence the overall design.
- Utilize the Power of Branding: Consider what important text and images you might like to include in the design boards, such as the name of project, design process, any explanations that can't be understood with images, a single large photograph or image or a series of smaller images.
- Be Clean and Concise: Narrow down your list of potential elements to a few key images and words. Design boards should contain as few elements as possible, to deliver a single message that's easy to spot from a distance.
- Make it Readable: Try resizing the text and images to emphasize and focus on the design board's most important message. Select a font for the text that is easy to read from a distance and matches the theme of your project. A general rule of thumb to follow is that your design boards should be readable from 10 feet away when projected on a 10 foot wide screen.
- Keep it Subtle: Choose a color scheme that suits the purpose and audience of the competition. Avoid using too many colors on the same design board.
- Be Creative: Experiment with different arrangements of these elements in your layout software, or print them out and arrange them on a flat surface of piece of poster board. Try overlapping elements, as well as putting them side by side or in a sequential order.
- Final Thought: Remember that your design boards have to express everything you would say to the jurors in person. Look at your design boards like a magazine article. By the last page does the reader get a full understanding of your project or are they left with questions?
