MCA Announces Student Design Competition

The Metal Construction Association, Glenview, Ill., is holding its 11th annual Student Design Competition. This year’s conceptual project is to design a Maritime Museum and Historical Center for Chicago’s Northerly Island, which is located on the shores of Lake Michigan just south of downtown. The center will house interactive displays and programs, classrooms, a research library and a restaurant.
The annual competition offers students in schools of architecture worldwide a chance to learn about designing and building with metal. Entrant smust address architectural, structural functional, cultural, and environmental issues in the design of a project that uses metal as a structural and design element. All concepts must also follow the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED building standards that encourage environmental stewardship.
The key requirement for all entries is to include metal as the primary structural material and in architectural applications. Other materials can be specified in the design. Individuals or groups of students can submit designs, but each entry must have a faculty sponsor. All entries are judged by a panel of architects and planners who select the top three designs. The association provides financial awards for the winning entries.
The deadline for submissions is Nov. 10. For more information about the contest, to download 2008 entry forms or view images of previous winning designs, visit www.metalconstruction.org.