Competitions

The Chicago Architecture Center’s local and national design competitions enlist teens to solve real-world design challenges while also developing quality portfolio pieces for college or career applications.

Competitions culminate in a public showcase where a jury of professional architects and designers award top prizes.

Annual Competitions

Newhouse Architecture + Design Competition

Chicago-area high school students are invited to take part in this annual competition with multiple divisions that opens in January and concludes in May. Participating teachers may request classroom visits and curriculum support from the CAC.

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Past Competitions

BP STUDENT IDEAS COMPETITION

The 2019 BP Student Ideas Competition at the Chicago Architecture Biennial invited young people to respond to the following prompt: Design a safe community space where young people can share ideas and take action on a local or global issue.

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National DiscoverDesign Competition

Compete with students nationally to propose solutions to real-world design challenges for the built environment. Use the design process to showcase your problem solving, critical thinking and design skills as you become part of an online community of peers and professional mentors. The competition opened in August 2018 and concluded in December 2018.

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