Alcoa Kawneer and AIAS Announce 2012 Student Design Competition

Alcoa's Kawneer business and The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) announce today the Enlightening Libraries: Student Design Competition. Sponsored by Kawneer and administered by the AIAS, this competition will challenge students to redesign a dated public library that is an effectively urbanized, collaborative community space appealing to all generations and integrating the most recent technologies. Total prize money is $7,750, including $3,000 for the first place winning design team.

The competition, now in its seventh year, challenges students to learn about building materials and techniques, specifically architectural aluminum building products and systems, while demonstrating an understanding of sustainable design. Participants are required to integrate a variety of Kawneer products, from entrances and framing systems to windows and curtain wall systems as they relate to efficient community spaces, to develop a new-age library that embraces an atmosphere of enlightenment and learning.

A jury of four architectural professionals will evaluate submissions based on ingenuity and originality as well as design clarity and the ability to create an aesthetic that compliments the community and environment. Appropriate use of materials, including light shelves and sunshades that enhance natural light, will be key factors in the evaluation and selection of winning designs.

Developed to engage architecture and design students from schools worldwide, contest submissions can be the work of an individual or a group of up to four students. Students interested in participating in the competition must register no later than October 14, 2012. Submissions must be made digitally via the competition website on or before November 29, 2012. Winning entries will be published in the Spring 2012 issue of Crit, Journal of the AIAS and will be on display at the 2013 AIA Convention and Design Exposition in Denver, Colorado, June 2013.