Student Design Challenge
Showcasing the profession’s future leaders & designers by recognizing the outstanding work of Texas middle & high school students.
The Texas Society of Architects and the Education Outreach Committee are proud to host the annual Student Design Challenge. This challenge is designed to recognize the incredible work done at the middle and high school levels in Texas and to showcase our industry’s future leaders and designers. Designs of all types are acceptable, including buildings, structures, community centers, temporary housing, and transportation. Theoretical design solutions such as cell phone apps, events or festivals, and any other non-traditional design solutions are acceptable.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Honorees will be announced at TxA26 Annual Conference & Design Expo in San Antonio between October 15–17.
Examples
See these projects below to help spark ideas. Remember, this competition is open to your interpretation of the theme and your own creative design solution.
Houston
Belton
Houston
Dallas
2026 Student Design Challenge
The Texas Society of Architects (TxA) and the Education Outreach Committee are excited to continue the TxA Student Design Challenge. Students in grades 6-12 for the Fall 2026 school year are encouraged to submit their designs through September 30, 2026. Finalists and winners will be recognized at TxA26 Annual Conference and Design Expo, which will take place in San Antonio on October 15–17, 2026.
The Brief
GATHER [verb]: to collect, accumulate, or bring together people or things, or to infer information
“Architecture can’t force people to connect, it can only plan the crossing points, remove barriers, and make the meeting place more useful and attractive.”
—DENISE SCOTT BROWN
As architects, our job is to not only design buildings, but to create spaces. Spaces for business, spaces for housing, spaces for learning, and spaces for gathering. Poorly designed gathering spaces discourage engagement, erode trust, and diminish the shared experiences that are vital to our well-being. When spaces fail to serve communities, they can stifle connectivity and reinforce inequity. We need strong places that allow people to gather. What does it mean for people to gather? Why is it important for communities to gather?
Creative Process:
Research your local community (ex. school, neighborhood, city, etc.).
Create a collage, process diagram, and/or creative document detailing the community. Gather the essence of the community.
Identify something unique and valuable about the existing community.
Adapt, create, and build upon the Community’s existing strengths.
Design an intervention to address the needs of the community—tell us about how the community comes together!
Points for Thought:
Third space (a welcoming social space beyond home and work, where everyday life unfolds and people come together to connect and interact): Consider a site in your community where a third space does not exist but would benefit the community.
Decommissioned/non-functional spaces: Was there a previous space that historically activated your community? Why does it no longer meet the community’s needs?
PROJECT ELIGIBILITY
To be considered for selection as a TxA 2026 Student Design Challenge finalist, projects must be submitted in accordance with the following requirements:
Projects can be submitted by either an individual student or a group of students (maximum four) currently in either middle school or high school in the state of Texas.
Projects must be submitted in their appropriate category based upon their current grade as of August 2026: Middle School Category (Grades 6 – 8) or High School Category (Grades 9 – 12)
If a group of students that contains multiple grades submits, they must submit into the category of their oldest (by grade) student.
Each project must have a supervisor, such as a teacher, counselor, parent, etc. Supervisors are encouraged to support and engage with students about their submissions, but cannot submit the project on the student’s behalf.
Students may enter the challenge as both an individual entrant and also in a student group submission. No student may be included in more than one group submission.
Do not identify the entrant(s) or school on the slides, images, or in any text in your presentation so judges can remain impartial.
Selection & Criteria
All submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the TxA Education Outreach Committee, which will select the finalists in each category for final review by jurors using the following criteria:
Meets Submission Criteria (5 pts)
Design & Process (5 pts)
Quality & Craftsmanship (5 pts)
Meets Design Challenge Brief (5 pts)
Awards
Middle School | Most Outstanding Project
High School | Most Outstanding Individual
High School | Most Outstanding Group
Either Category | People’s Choice
Jury
All submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the TxA Education Outreach Committee. The committee will select the finalists in each category for final review by the jury. The jury will be reviewing the finalists’ submissions and presentations during the TxA Conference in October. The finalists will be asked to submit a pre-recorded video which will be shared live at the conference. Jurors will base their decisions on the entrants’ design submissions and final presentations. Jurors will deliberate at the conference and announce the winners to those participating in the live session. Once the final selections have been made, winners will be notified and then announced publicly on our blog.
2025 Student Design Challenge
The Texas Society of Architects 2025 Student Design Challenge, themed “Cultivate” saw 164 submissions (160 high school and four middle school submissions) come in from 43 schools across 28 Texas cities. We received 105 individual projects and 55 team projects.
Seven finalists presented at our TxA25Annual Conference & Design Expo in Dallas on October 31, 2025, and jurors selected three winning projects. Thank you to all who entered and congratulations to the winners!