2026 Design for Aging Competition: Winners Announced
Press Release
Winners Announced for the 2026 Design for Aging Competition
Students Awarded for Community-Centered Intergenerational Living Designs
Washington, D.C., September 24, 2026 – The and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) are pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Design for Aging Competition.
An Intergenerational Union: A Campus-Integrated Hub for Lifelong Learning and Active Aging Competition challenged students to design university-affiliated residences that foster community between seniors and young adults. The competition recognizes seven winning projects that integrate wellness, biophilic designs, and sustainable strategies to cultivate intergenerational connection, inclusion, and wellbeing. The jurors chose first, second, and third-place winners, along with four honorable mentions. Listed below are the winners for the 2026 Design for Aging Competition:
First Place: Common Ground: An Intergenerational Living Campus for Lifelong Learning and Active Aging
Students: Eden Worku, Rachel Mensah, Irvin Bonsu, Darren Marshalleck & Oluwadara Opadeji
Faculty: Carlos Reimers
Collaborator: Adesola Adenekan
Morgan State University
Second Place: A City Within A City
Students: Jacob Varnell, Hannah Graham, Monica Rubio & Nick Dague
Faculty: Seung Ra & Blake Mitchell
Oklahoma State University
Third Place: Bridging Care: An Intergenerational Community for Aging Through Courtyards and Connection
Students: Preston Haines, Mardia Rahman & Sudha Sapkota
Faculty: Lingyi Qiu
Texas Tech University
Honorable Mention: Charleston Crossover
Students: Julie Patterson, Kyle Marra-Ulfe, Penny Millward, MaKayla Koon & Kylee Arvidson
Faculty: Dina Battisto, David Pastre & Ashita Arora
Clemson University
Honorable Mention: Barrwang Place: Cultivating Scales of Community
Students: Anastasia Mitropoulos, Emma Ru He Dehghani & Elliot Samuel
Faculty: Rebecca Roke
Monash University
Honorable Mention: Reaching Out to Community: Hilltop Commons
Students: Cora Grayson, Fernando Parada, Makayla Colon, Sarah Goodwin & Marian Reed
Faculty: Carlos Reimers
Collaborator: Cameron Pope
Morgan State University
Honorable Mention: Living in Between
Student: Kelvin Chen Zheng
Faculty: Odile Compagnon & Stephanie Surjan
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
The competition juries included:
Keith Diaz Moore, University of Utah
JinHwa (Gina) Paradowicz, Perkins Eastman
Ashley Tannebaum, Boston Architectural College
Roderic Walton, Moody Nolan
View the projects and get more information HERE.
About the American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Founded in 1857, the American Institute of Architects consistently works to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. Through nearly 300 state and local chapters, the AIA advocates for public policies that promote economic vitality and public wellbeing. Members adhere to a code of ethics and conduct to ensure the highest professional standards. The AIA provides members with tools and resources to assist them in their careers and businesses. The AIA engages with civic and government leaders, as well as with the public, to find solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation, and world.
For more information, visit .
About the AIA Design for Aging (DFA) Knowledge Community
The mission of the AIA Design for Aging (DFA) Knowledge Community is to foster design innovation and disseminate knowledge necessary to enhance the built environment and improve quality of life for an aging society.
For more information, visit .
About the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA)
Leading Architectural Education and ResearchÂ
The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture is a nonprofit, membership association founded in 1912 to advance the quality of architectural education. The school membership in ACSA has grown from 10 charter members to over 250 schools in several membership categories. These include full membership for all accredited programs in the United States and government-sanctioned schools in Canada, candidate membership for schools seeking accreditation, and affiliate membership for schools for two-year and international programs. Through these schools, over 6,000 architecture faculty members are represented. In addition, over 500 supporting members composed of architecture firms, product associations and individuals add to the breadth of interest and support of ACSA goals. ACSA provides a major forum for ideas on the leading edge of architectural thought. Issues that will affect the architectural profession in the future are being examined today in ACSA member schools.Â
For more information, visit www.acsa-arch.org.
Media Contact
Requests for press materials, including high-resolution images, can be obtained from our media contact.
Hanifah Jones
202-785-2324 x 5
hjones@acsa-arch.org