2026 Steel Design Student Competition

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) is pleased to announce the 26th Annual Steel Design Student Competition for the 2025-2026 academic year. Administered by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (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 a long-span steel structure, with special emphasis placed on innovation in steel design.

The OPPORTUNITIES

Community Dance Center & Open

The 2026 Steel Design Student Competition will offer architecture students the opportunity to compete in two separate categories:

Category I: Community Dance Center

Design a Community Dance Center in an area of your choice. Students are invited to submit design proposals that address how this program can contribute to the community as a more integral part of the civic fabric.

Category II: Open

Offers architecture students the opportunity to select a site and building program using steel as the primary material. This competition category permits any building type other than a Community Dance Center.

Students may not enter both categories of the competition.

The competition allows students to explore the many functional and aesthetic uses for steel as a building material and structural system. Steel is an ideal material for multi-story building because it offers the greatest strength-to-weight ratio. In addition, steel can be constructed quickly and for all project site types with the use of labor-saving prefabrication methods such as kit-of-parts, panelization, and modular construction. A building built with steel is potentially more flexible and adaptable to allow for a change in program, occupancy, and loading needs over time.

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