CHALLENGE

The 2024 Architecture at Zero competition focuses on decarbonization, resilience, and equity.  The competition challenge  is to design a new building on a middle school campus in East Los Angeles (East LA), California.  The new building will replace relocatable classrooms and includes science labs, art classroom, maker space, outdoor learning environments, and a teacher workroom. While the competition program location is Griffith STEAM Magnet Middle School, note that this is an ideas competition and is not a “real” project.

There are four parts to this competition:

1) Entrants will create an overall site plan to accommodate the program. Entrants are encouraged to highlight any energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy storage, and carbon reduction strategies or systems shown.

2) Entrants will design the building in detail, demonstrating how the design will result in lower carbon emissions and embodied carbon, and addressing the requirements of the California Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards. In order to indicate how the building design will result in lower carbon emissions, entrants will provide required documentation and may also include supplementary documentation.

3) Entrants are asked to describe how this project will build resilience. Entrants will be asked to complete a table outlining the inclusion of climate adaptation strategies and indicate on the site plan or section aspects of design strategies that support resiliency.

4) Entrants are asked to consider how their design addresses equity for the community. Entrants will be asked to write a short essay and indicate on the site plan or section aspects of design strategies that support equity.

Entries are judged holistically on their submission including the material highlighting the decarbonization, resilience, and equity aspects of their project.  A Technical Review Panel will convene to consider the decarbonization strategies of each entry. This Technical Evaluation is then provided to the Jury for consideration.  The Technical Evaluation is not the sole criterion on which entries will be judged but acts as a complement to the overall project design evaluation.

Entries are weighed individually, not in competition with others. Jury decisions will be based solely on the materials submitted. Criteria include quality of design, resolution of the program or idea, innovation, thoughtfulness, and technique.  See jury panelists and judging criteria here.

Winners will be announced in January, 2025, at an online event. Details forthcoming.

DEADLINES

The submission deadline is December 16, 2024, at 6:00 pm PST.

Please note that the Architecture at Zero competition uses an electronic registration process. If you are submitting multiple projects, you will need to register each project separately.

By submitting a project, the entrant agrees to all Terms and Conditions outlined in the Architecture at Zero Terms and Conditions.  In any public use of the submissions, credit will be given to the design team. All submissions are final.

Competition Planning team

Margie O’Driscoll, Competition Advisor
Geraldine O’Brien, Competition Administration

Los Angeles Unified School District:
Carlos Madrigal, Principal, Griffith STEAM Magnet Middle School

Joel Escobar, Assistant Principal, Griffith STEAM Magnet Middle School

Christos Chrysiliou, FAIA, LEED AP Chief Eco-Sustainability Officer, LAUSD

Julia Eiko Hawkinson, AIA, ALEP, LEED AP BD+C, O+M, WELL AP, Senior Facilities Development Manager, Los Angeles Unified School District

Southern California Edison:
Dustin R. Johnson
Dave Intner
Andrew Lee