Housing Education Prize - Call for Course Proposals: Advancing Housing Education in Architecture

American Institute of Architects (AIA), Housing and Community Development (HCD) Knowledge Community and ACSA announce a competitive call for Housing in Architectural Education. The Housing Education Prize is a call for proposals for innovative courses and educational activities focused on housing in schools of architecture. The prize recognizes the importance of good education in housing design to produce architects ready for practice in a wide range of areas and able to be capable leaders and contributors to their communities.

Schools of architecture play a critical role in shaping how future architects understand, design, and advocate for housing. As housing challenges grow in scale and complexity—spanning affordability, equity, climate resilience, construction innovation, and community well-being—architectural education must prepare graduates not only for professional practice, but for leadership and meaningful civic engagement.

We invite proposals for courses that foreground housing as a central and generative area of architectural education. Proposed courses should emphasize the importance of rigorous, practice-informed housing education in preparing students to operate across a wide range of professional contexts, including design practice, development, policy, advocacy, research, and public service. Courses should equip students with the tools to engage housing as both a technical and cultural project, and as a core responsibility of the architectural profession.

Proposals may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• Housing design as a foundation for professional competency
• Housing across scales: from dwelling units to neighborhoods, cities, and regions
• Social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental dimensions of housing design
• Community-engaged and participatory housing practices
• Housing policy, regulation, finance, and development processes
• Construction systems, material innovation, and delivery methods for housing
• Equity, access, and ethics in housing design and education
• Housing as a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration and leadership

We welcome proposals for required courses, electives, design studios, seminars, or hybrid formats. Submissions should articulate clear learning objectives, pedagogical approaches, and anticipated outcomes, and should demonstrate how the course prepares students to be effective practitioners, collaborators, and leaders capable of contributing positively to their communities.

Competition details