Newhouse Architecture and Design Competition

CAC is excited to celebrate 42 years of showcasing the talents of Chicagoland high school students solving real-world architecture and design challenges.

Click here to apply today!

Named after the late Illinois Senator, Richard Newhouse, this competition allows students to practice design thinking and 21st-century skills like creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. It inspires teens to understand why design matters by researching, representing and redesigning the built environment to solve challenges that are communal and place-based.

The theme for the 2024 Newhouse Competition is the Accessible City.

What is an ‘accessible city?’

According to the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) World Congress and Summit of Local and Regional Leaders, an accessible city ‘is a place where everyone, regardless of their economic means, gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual identity, migration status or religion, is enabled and empowered to fully participate in the social, economic, cultural and political opportunities that cities have to offer.’

As Chicago continues to be a laboratory for city development, it is our responsibility to move into our future with a full understanding of the needs of city residents and how to create spaces and neighborhoods we need, want, and deserve.

To ensure the competition is accessible and equitable to all interested participants, this year’s divisions will range from small, medium, and large-scale projects.

Divisions:

Small: Design a BRT Bus Shelter: Due to the rapid increase in population and shifts towards urban migration, there is a rising trend across the world for mass transit. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a cost-effective and efficient way to move people throughout their cities.

Unlike typical bus stops, BRT stops are meant to be less frequent along routes, making the commute faster and accommodating more people. It is up to you to design a new type of transit shelter, decide how it will function and protect passengers from the elements and provide information and other amenities while they are waiting. A shelter is a structure that we may take for granted, but BRT shelters also have the potential to make our daily lives easier while also significantly impacting the way our streets look.

Medium: Architectural Photo Essay: The Chicago streetscape is constantly under construction. In an already dense city, any redevelopment program, large or small, has the potential to subtly or dramatically transform the look and feel of a neighborhood. But just as a new building changes the character of a community, so too does the removal of an existing building. In 2022 alone, the City of Chicago issued more than 800 wrecking permits. While one demolition project might afford space for a much-needed neighborhood amenity, such as a new grocery store or affordable housing, another project might erase architecturally, historically, or culturally significant resources. Photographs, along with our personal stories and memories, provide a powerful record of the buildings and places Chicago has lost over time.

Large: Design an affordable shipping container home: ‘Shipping container architecture’ is a growing form of design using steel intermodal shipping containers as the main structural element. The steel is not only strong but meant to withstand heavy loads and harsh weather conditions. Currently, the world has over 60 million shipping containers in use, making them widely available for alternative uses and a relatively inexpensive and sustainable building material.