Annually each September, the DMV schools of architecture descend upon the National Building Museum (NBM) for an 8-hour design charrette. Organized by AIA Northern Virginia, AIA Potomac Valley, AIA DC and AIA Baltimore, the 2025 Interschool Student Design Competition (ISDC) was held on Sunday, September 28. The event was truly a collaborative effort between not only the AIA chapters but also the six participating schools: Catholic University of America, Howard University, Morgan State University, University of Maryland, the University of the District of Columbia and Virginia Tech’s Washington Alexandria Architecture Center. The event was hosted by NBM and sponsored by NCARB, whose support made the event possible.

This year’s program theme was provided by Howard University: “Downtown Culture: Bridging the Gap Between National, Civic, and Local Community Activation of the Public Realm” in relation to Washington, D.C.’s Freedom Plaza. For the competition, students were tasked with proposing a design for Freedom Plaza that aligned with its dual personality as a civic stage and local venue.

PROGRAM

SUBMISSIONS

This year we were honored to have architecture critic Philip Kennicott; Senior Art and Architecture Critic of The Washington Post, Karin Schierhold; Urban Planner for the National Capital Planning Commission, Nicholas R. Respecki, AIA, NCARB, ICE-CCP; Senior Manager of Programs and Quality Assurance for NCARB, and Gullivar Shepard; Partner at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc as the ISDC jury. After deliberations, the jury selected Cool & Collected for First Place, The Breach – Creation Through Division for Second Place, and The People’s Plaza for Third Place. The People’s Plaza was also awarded the People’s Choice. The Faculty Choice Award was awarded to Art is Freedom Plaza. Congratulations!

Thank you again to our Kick-Off Speaker, Scott Archer, AIA, AICP, LEED AP ND, who is the Principal of Land Collective. Thank you also to our AXP Supervisor for this event, John O’hara, AIA, NCARB, who is Manager of Assessments at NCARB.

– Jessica Somgynari, Volunteer, Interschool Student Design Competition

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