The AIA is hosting its first ever design competition on Facebook—the AIA Facebook Young Designers Challenge. The competition is targeting emerging professionals, and is open to all AIAS members, all Assoc. AIA members, and all AIA young architect members. (The AIA defines young architects as being licensed 10 years or less.)

The AIA is asking designers to submit new, unbuilt building projects that address America’s most pressing design needs for the 21st century. This can include, but is not limited to: sustainability, public infrastructure, affordable housing, retrofitting suburbs and other resource-intensive built environments, urban farming, and rehabilitating dilapidated urban cores. This requirement is intentionally flexible. The most important factor is that each design offers an innovative solution to a concrete and unsolved problem. The winning designer will be announced in AIArchitect with a feature article on their design in January.

Let’s see what tomorrow’s generation of architects has to offer America today!

RULES

1. To enter the competition and to vote for a winner, you must join the AIA’s Facebook group page and then sign in as a guest of the Facebook Young Designers Challenge event. Voting is open to everyone--participants, non-participants, AIA and AIAS members, non-members, the general public, etc. The one limitation is that entrants are not allowed to vote for their own designs.

2. All entrants must upload a maximum of four images or renderings of their project to the photos section of this event page, below. Alternatively, fly-through rendering videos (no longer than four minutes each) can be uploaded to the video section of this event page. A written project brief (maximum 500 words) that explains how each project deals with one of America’s most pressing design needs should be placed in each image or video caption field with each photo or video. These briefs must also include the project’s title, the designer’s name, and their e-mail address. Entries that fail to do any of this will be disqualified.

3. All competitors must read the competition’s entrant release form, posted below. To signal that they have read this form and concur with it, entrants must post it to the bottom of one of their written project brief descriptions and electronically fill out the applicable sections. Any entries that fail to do this will be removed from competition.

4. All entrants must be AIAS members, Assoc. AIA members, or AIA young architect members. (The AIA defines young architects as being licensed 10 years or less.) Entrants who do not meet this qualification will be disqualified from the competition.

5. The top vote winner will be featured in an AIArchitect article on January 15, 2010, and will also receive a free registration to the 2010 convention in Miami. This winner must agree to an interview by AIArchitect staff either by phone or in person the week of Jan. 4, 2010. Several other top vote winners will be featured in a smaller honorable mention article. AIArchitect staff reserves the right to subdivide entries into various categories as they see fit.

6. All entries must be of new, unbuilt projects.

VOTING

To vote for the winner, or ask a question of the competition administrator, e-mail facebookdesigncompetition@aia.org. Each person may only vote for one entry. In the event of a tie, the competition administrator will call for a tie breaking vote. When voting, keep the competition’s primary challenge in mind: and innovative solution to a concrete and unsolved design problem facing the nation. Think of how each design synthesizes and addresses its program, structure, form, materials, site, and circulation patterns, as well as its sustainability.

TIMELINE

The competition closes on December 11. No more entries will be accepted after this day. Voting begins the next day. That’s when you should start lobbying everyone you know to sign up for the event, take a look around, and take a vote. Voting will be closed on Jan. 4, 2010 while the ballots are tallied. The top vote winner will be contacted in the first week of January by AIArchitect editorial staff for an interview about their project. The ensuing article will be published in the January 15 issue of AIArchitect.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ENTRANT RELEASE FORM- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

By making a submission, the entrant agrees that the information or materials submitted by the entrant are complete and accurate. The entrant further agrees that he or she shall indemnify and hold harmless The American Institute of Architects (“AIA”) from and against all claims or damages arising out of the use of any information or other materials supplied by the entrant. All errors or omissions are the sole responsibility of the entrant.

The Entrant further certifies that he or she:

1. Obtained all permissions, as evidenced by the signatures below, necessary to permit AIA to use and publish any information, Work or other materials submitted by the Entrant in connection with the contest, including from any individual, architect, contractor or copyright owner.

2. Enclosed with the submission a copy of AIA’s Copyright Release Form signed by the copyright owner(s) of any copyrightable material, including text, drawings, photographs, graphics, plans, slides, books, transparencies and brochures (the “Work”), granting AIA permission to use the Work as it deems appropriate in connection with this contest, including publicizing the program itself. If a Work is owned by more than one copyright owner, each copyright owner must sign a separate AIA Copyright Release Form. AIA will only accept an AIA Copyright Release Form signed by the copyright owner(s)

3. Obtained permission for AIA to use the Works without financial or other obligation and will pay any licensing fees or royalties charged by the copyright owner.

4. Is a member of AIAS or the AIA; and if an AIA member, he or she has been an AIA or Assoc. AIA member for no longer than 10 years;

5. Has or will submit/upload

a. an entry that is a new, unbuilt project;
b. a maximum of four images or renderings of his/her project; or fly-though rendering videos (no longer than four minutes each);
c. A written project brief (maximum 500 words) that explains how each project deals with one of America’s most pressing design needs should be placed in each image or video caption field. These briefs must also include the project’s title, the designer’s name, and their e-mail address.


Failure to comply with any of the above requirements may result in your submission being ineligible to be considered for the contest.

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Date _________________________________________________________________________

(If Applicable)

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