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Student Competitions

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Since 2015, the Chicago Architecture Biennial has hosted competitions to encourage middle and high school students to explore their ideas about how design can play a role in creating shared spaces and improving communities. Competitions invite submissions that address architecture and the built environment from a wide range of disciplines including design but also the humanities, visual and performing arts, and STEM fields. Through six competitions, the CAB has engaged more than 2,000 students.

Past Competitions

Fall 2021

The Fall 2021 bp Student Ideas Competition invited young people to respond to one of the following prompts:

Design a collective space for exchanges / exchanging

Design a collective space for plants / planting

Design a collective space for commons / commoning

Winners were determined by our panel of distinguished jurors:

Paula Acevedo | Co-Director, El Paseo Community Garden

Joseph Altshuler | Cofounder, Could Be Architecture and Assistant Professor, UIC School of Architecture 

David Brown | 2021 Artistic Director, Chicago Architecture Biennial

Susan Friel | Arts Education & Engagement, Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events (DCASE)

Abigail Motsch | bp America

Craig Stevenson | Designer, Open Architecture Chicago

View the virtual Awards Ceremony here.

The competition was sponsored by bp America.

Winners

1st Place | Pullman Technology Center by Jadon Carter
1st Place | Wonderland by Zoe Meyer, Helen Prekop, and Amina Riendeau
1st Place | Mini Golf Learning Center (MGLC) by Alejandro Camarena Marques and Violeta Ponce Maldonado
2nd Place | Memorial Greenhouse by Aiden Feinberg
2nd Place | Project 404 by Melissa Torres, Maya Allen, Kayla Andrews, Natalia Arreguin, Lidia Barraza, Michael Cortez, Aerin McGee, Nyaiara Morris, Aidan Ratcliffe, Steven Shavers, Donyae Smith, Kassidy Tate, Jada Boyd, Ashton Hutchinson, Xavier Jones, Catahjari Murphy, Gemyah Walker, and Lavonte Williams
2nd Place | The Veggie Spa by Jackie Maciuszek
3rd Place | Art Park by Amira Moultrie
3rd Place | Artistic Center for Enrichment (A.C.E.) by Keiara Taylor, Addison Morley, and Enjoli Sally
3rd Place | Garden of Books by Ariel Buckmaster
Youth Council Award | Southside-Pedway by

Connor Blandford

Honorable Mention

Chi Garfield Park by Sven Morado
The Chicago "Librasium" by Jacob Thalheimer and Rogelio Resendiz
Veggies on the Shore by Jack Danby
Cornerstone Park by
Lunar Garden by Michelle Apolinar
Common Garden by Esmeralda Villalobos
Maple Community Center by Kimberly Ruiz
Jefferson Park Band Shell Commons by Julia Antonoglu
Little Village Community Trade Park by Alejandro Jimenez
Safe Space by Payton Brown, Ariel Eldridge, Laniyah Epps, Madison Mason, Makiah Parnell, and Anthony Pinson
EcoGreen by Alis Chirila
Spring 2021

The Spring 2021 Student Ideas Competition invited young people to respond to the following question:

How can existing urban spaces be reimagined to better reflect the needs and interests of local residents?

Winners were determined by our panel of distinguished jurors:

Kimberly Dowdell | Principal, HOK
Melissa Mister | Chief Program Officer, After School Matters
Caroline O'Boyle | Director of Programs and Partnerships, Trust for Public Land
Walmer Saavedra | Executive Director, Human Scale
Taylor Staten | Founder, TnS Studio
Tricia Van Eck | Founder and Artistic Director, 6018North
Gibran Villalobos | Assistant Curator, Performance and Public Practice, MCA
Tanner Woodford | Executive Director, Design Museum of Chicago

View the virtual Awards Ceremony here.

Winners

1st Place | The Floating Village by ACE Chicago Team 5
2nd Place | Perspective Tower by Owen Somers
3rd Place | Grocery Garden – A Bodega for North Lawndale by Rosina Iniguez, Ian Hudson, and Jason Hart

Honorable Mention

Arts Center at North Lawndale by Chloe Acosta, Maya Diaz, Angelynn Jimenez, Montserrat Lopez, Daveon Merrick, Devin Otto, Dominic Ridarelli, Max Rojas, Nicholas Tam, and Michael Wangler
Arts N Parts - North Lawndale by Sebastian Aguilar-Ripley, Ayomide Ajayi, David Davila, Alejandro De la Fuente, Marshall Ellis, Thomas Lawless, Eduardo Mora, Earl Christian Valzado, and Wynton Wright
Austin 2.0 by Ari Bates, Lazaria Brewer, Denim Cole, D'aja Dudley, Tyshawn Harris, Thelonious Johnson, Kenyatta Jordan, Keeontaye Mack, Stephanie Nelson, Jamesha Sumler, and Tiya Walls
Chicagrow by Kaleia Maxey and Sabine Ramirez
Modular Reimagination by Fernando Cisneros, Daniel Morales, and Elias Frey Reschly
Safe Pedestrian Pathway Near South Shore's Grand Crossing by Sandra Varona
Steam Park by

Mia Fritsch-Anderson and Nina L.

Fall 2019

The Fall 2019 bp Student Ideas Competition invited young people to respond to the following challenge:

Design a safe community space where young people can share ideas and take action on a local or global issue. Your space can be a physical place, an object, or an event.

Winners were determined by our panel of distinguished jurors:

Catherine Baker | Principal, Landon Bone Baker Architects

Juan Jimenez | Head of Control, Compliance, Financial Risk & Functions, bp America

Karen Rigg | Project Architect, Partners by Design, Inc.

Lydia Ross | Director of Public Art, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

Carrie Shepherd | Reporter, WBEZ

Helen Slade | Executive Director, Territory

RaMona Westbrook | President, Brook Architecture, Inc.

Asif Wilson | Associate Dean, Harold Washington College

View photos of the Awards Ceremony here. 

The competition was sponsored by bp America and presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Center. 

Winners

1st Place | Container House by Jaime Morales
2nd Place | AstroVision by Dajanae Barbee, Sherwanna Liddel, Angelus Garay, Jayla Reese, Breanna Pitts
3rd Place | Zoom Care by Nathan Sanchez, Tomiah Westbrook, Enrique Badillo

Honorable Mention

Chicago International Climate Change Center by Daniel Morales
The Falling Woodlands by Linnea Jones
HPS Speak Out Center by The Masai Intellectuals: Adriana Hardin, Jordyn Posada,and Boubacar Seck
Life Changers United // Moral Justice by Jeremiah Goodman, Christopher Lee, Markiya O’Neal,Lacharia Reasnover, Kenari Seals, and Tamara Wright
The Nest by Fionn Hui
Planet B by Angela Ponce Solano
The Royal Haus by John Babatunde, Brooklynn Daniels, A’lona Davis and Angela Hall
Teen Homeless Shelter on Laramie by Arturo Arroyo, Jason Guyette and Elias Kranicke
Visionary by Cedric Cade, Jessica Peters, Lacharia Reasnover,Jamar Roberts and Damien Underwood Jr.
Zari’s Roller Skating Rink by Azari Miller
Spring 2019

The Spring 2019 bp Student Ideas Competition invited young people to respond to the following question: 

How would you transform a vacant or underused space in your community?

Winners were determined by our panel of distinguished jurors:

Geoffrey Baer | Television Personality, Host, and Producer, WTTW Chicago

Lisa M. Daugherty | President & CEO, Lake Area United Way

Roark Frankel | Director of Planning of Construction, Obama Foundation

Vivian Garcia | Manager of The 606, Chicago Park District

Mejay Gula | Lecturer and Gallery Curator, Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Luis Ramirez | Graffiti Artist and Muralist

Ian Spula | Program Operations Specialist, Chicago Architecture Center

Anthony Wells | Chief of Staff, bp America

View photos of the Awards Ceremony here. 

The competition was sponsored by bp America. 

Winners

1st Place | Blackwell Hospital by Jessica Chaidez
2nd Place | Engineering Museum for North Aurora Youth in Minority Ethnic Groups by Michelle Wang
3rd Place | Angolo Verde by Leslie Sadkowski

Honorable Mention

The Ashburn Community Center Project by Camryn Gosa
Blackstone Barks by Sandra Varona
Brighton Park Community Center by Elias Reschly, Fernando Cisneros, and Daniel Morales
Comer Recreational Recharge Center by Austin Honeycutt, Michael Slater, Jeremiah Jones, and Zion McKinnie
Eco Friendly Park for Kids with Disabilities by Sadie Smith and Lily Gonzalez
Homeless Houses by Rasa Keenan Braswell
The LightBox by Shelby Palmer
Lindblom Community Innovation Center by Team Stagger: Steve Wilson and Diana Miller
Shine by Baoyi Chen
Team Abandoned Closes The Adventure Gap by Ashley Baker-Shaw, Kyra Lee, Jelani Miller, and Yaree Wilson
Fall 2017

The 2017 bp Student Design Competition invited young people to respond to challenges in the following two categories:

Architecture: Design a new Chicago Public Library branch.

Graphic Design: Design a Chicago neighborhood bus shelter advertisement.

Winners were determined by our panel of distinguished jurors:

Jeremy Dunn | Director, Teen Services, Chicago Public Library

Eleanor Gorski | Deputy Commissioner, City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development

Kevin Hall | Director of Planning, Design and Engineering, Chicago Housing Authority

Elizabeth "Lee" Kelley | Public Art Administrator, Chicago Transit Authority

Kerl Lajeune | Senior Designer, Public Building Commission of Chicago

Jason Lesniewicz | Director, Cultural Tourism, Choose ChicagoRashaan Meador | Senior Program Coordinator, Chicago Public Schools

Derk Wehner | Head of Operations, bp America

The competition was sponsored by bp America and presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Center.

Winners

1st Place: Architecture | Little Italy Library by Uriel Gutierrez
1st Place: Graphic Design | Back of the Yards by Roberto Duarte
2nd Place: Architecture | Little Italy Library by Miguel Rodriguez
2nd Place: Graphic Design | Humboldt Park by Lesbeth Droz
3rd Place: Architecture | Little Italy Library by Autumn Woodley
3rd Place: Graphic Design | Little Village by Manuel Diaz

Honorable Mention

Boystown by Phoenix Wojnarowski
Bronzeville by Mary Coats
Chinatown by Dellandara Delgado
East Side by Jovanni Chavez
Little Italy Library by Junteng Chen
Little Italy Library by Cesar Teliz
Little Italy Library by Galilea Ines
Little Italy Library by Brenda Gutierrez
Little Italy Library by Tasima Allen, Janise Poole, Roger Space, Kadeijah Bailey, and Xavier Dennis
Little Italy Library by Milena Marchan
Little Italy Library by Roberto Arroyo
Little Village by Jimena Saldana
Little Village by Emmanuel Gomez
Pilsen by Christian Cerna
Fall 2015

The Fall 2015 bp Design Competition invited young people to respond to the following challenge:

Design a pocket park less than a half-acre in size and within a 10-minute walk of every home in the Dunning, Chicago Lawn, or Roseland community areas of Chicago.

Winners were determined by our panel of distinguished jurors:

Richard C. Bumstead | University of Chicago

Khatija Hasmy | Chicago Park District

Sarah Herda | Graham Foundation 

Rashaan Meador | Chicago Public Schools

Michael J. O'Brien | bp America

The competition was sponsored by bp America and presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Center.

Winners

1st Place | Daniel Burnham Park by Aylen Pacheco
2nd Place | Komensky Park by Christopher Mena
3rd Place | Abstract Park by Jose Ruan

Honorable Mention

Energetic Generation by Shalaya Rayford
The Flame Park by Julissa Ortiz
Infinite by Robert Greer
The Lounge by Ivan Loeza
Rye Park by Anthony Alcantar and Isabel Chavez
Space Fusion Park by Diana Licea and Julia Lopez
United Divine by Gisselle Juarez
Unitwine by Monica Castaneda