Winners of the 2023 Architecture At Zero competition recognize innovative proposals from students and design professionals

The 2023 edition of the Architecture At Zero celebrates another successful year of innovation and competition as student and professional teams submit their design proposals to help reimagine a teaching and innovation farm lab in Allensworth, CA. What makes this competition brief distinct is the competition's site is connected to a historic California town. The town of Allensworth was established in 1908 by Allen Allensworth and was the first of its kind in the state of California to be founded, governed, and financed by the Black community in the area.

The competition, which was open to students and design professionals worldwide, was asked to "design an agriculture center and design housing for farm students on the site." The goal was for design proposals to not only reimagine a new site but to help "connect the history of California’s first Black town to its present aspiration to become a destination for sustainable agriculture and Black history."

After much deliberation, the esteemed jury selected 9 projects to be awarded recognition in three categories: Honor Award, Merit Award, and Citation Award. A total of $25,000 would be distributed amongst the winning teams. 

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WINNERS

Citation Award: Think Outside the Box by Oaks Christian School student team (Westlake Village, CA)

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT WINNERS

Merit Award: frAm3 by University of Tennessee student team (Knoxville, TN) 

Citation Award: Farm Forward by Wrocław University of Science and Technology (Wroclaw, Poland)

GRADUATE STUDENT AWARD WINNERS

Honor Award: The Parasol Agricultural Center by USC student team (Los Angeles, CA)

Merit Award: Biotic Diffuser by University of Tennessee student team (Knoxville, TN)

Citation Award: ECOZONE by Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (Wroclaw, Poland)

PROFESSIONAL AWARD WINNERS

Honor Award: Allensworth Passage by Smithgroup (San Diego, CA)

Merit Award: Resilient Roots by HMC Architects (San Diego, CA)

Citation Award: (Re)Produce by BAR Architects & Interiors (San Francisco, CA)

This years jury consisted of Allison Williams, FAIA, Mary Ann Lazarus, FAIA, Paul Torcellini, PhD PE, Lance Collins, AIA. To learn more about Architecture At Zero click here.