2026 TIMBER IN THE CITY 6: Winners Announced
Press Release
Winners Announced for the
2026 TIMBER IN THE CITY 6: Urban Habitats Competition
Students and Faculty Recognized for Innovative Designs Using Lumber
Washington, D.C., September 28, 2026 鈥 and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) are pleased to announce the winners of the Timber in the City 6: Urban Habitats Competition.听
The sixth installment of the Timber in the City Competition challenged students to explore how wood construction can help address the need for more attainable housing in urban communities. Focusing on the 鈥渕issing middle鈥 between single-family homes and high-rise apartments, participants developed thoughtfully designed, replicable housing solutions that increase residential density while responding to the scale and character of existing neighborhoods.
The 14 winning projects demonstrate how wood-based building systems can support more efficient and affordable housing delivery through strategies including prefabrication, streamlined construction, reduced on-site labor, and adaptable building typologies. Together, the projects illustrate the potential for wood to help cities expand housing supply while also improving building performance and reducing environmental impacts.
This year鈥檚 competition focused on three prize levels: Small Building, Medium Building, and Large Building. The jurors chose First and Second prize winners for each level, along with additional Honorable Mentions. The award recipients of the 2026 Timber in the City 6: Urban Habitats Competition are:
SMALL BUILDING (under 1,000 sq ft)
First Prize: The Neighborwood: Filling the missing middle in OKC
Students: Micah Simmons & Zach Matthews
Faculty: Seung Ra & Blake Mitchell
Oklahoma State University
Second Prize: Shared Grain
Students: Nate Ifft & Matt Kanter
Faculty: Seung Ra & Blake Mitchell
Oklahoma State University
Honorable Mention: Redbud
Students: Jacob Varnell & Hannah Graham
Faculty: Seung Ra & Blake Mitchell
Oklahoma State University
Honorable Mention: Generations for Timber
Students: Penzie Brown & Madison Kennedy
Faculty: Seung Ra & Blake Mitchell
Oklahoma State University
Honorable Mention: Interwoven
Students: Sydnee Taylor & Katie Markmiller
Faculty: Seung Ra & Blake Mitchell
Oklahoma State University
MEDIUM BUILDING (up to 10,000 sq ft)
First Prize: Vertical Grain: Attainable Housing in Gastown
Student: Kiera Pedrazoli
Faculty: Peter Raab
Texas Tech University
Second Prize: Timber Stitch
Students: Janis Wegner & Oliver Batzli
Faculty: Dillon Pranger & Catherine Baker
Illinois Institute of Technology
Honorable Mention: Three Ply
Students: Sundus Abu Reyal, David Mba, Quincy Rackley & David Peterson
Faculty: Marc Manack
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Honorable Mention: Ensemble of Living
Student: Kaoutar Baddy
Faculty: Greg Snyder
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
LARGE BUILDING (up to 20,000 sq ft)
First Prize: Folded Timber
Student: Holly Fox
Faculty: Peter Raab
Texas Tech University
Second Prize: The Village Joinery
Students: Dylan Fujii & Amari Robertson
Faculty: Tom Collins & Pam Harwood
Ball State University
Honorable Mention: Shared Ground
Student: Ruthie Burgess
Faculty: Kathryn Hunt
University of Memphis
Honorable Mention: Terracewood
Student: Mary Basily
Faculty: Chad Kraus
University of Kansas
Honorable Mention: Cara(casas)
Students: Jorge Ramirez & Alberto Badra
Faculty: Mark McGlothlin
University of Florida
See the entire projects and get more information HERE.
The competition jury included:
George H. Berghorn, Michigan State University
Anyeley Hallov谩, Founder, Adre
Paul Mayencourt, University of California, Berkeley
About Think Wood
Think Wood is a communications campaign that provides commercial, multifamily and single-family home design and build resources to architects, developers, and contractors. Think Wood鈥檚 primary funder is the Softwood Lumber Board. SLB is an industry-funded initiative and was established to promote the benefits and uses of softwood lumber products in outdoor, residential and non-residential construction. Programs and initiatives supported by the SLB focus on increasing the demand for softwood lumber products in the United States. For more information, visit
About the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA)
The mission of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture is to lead architectural education and research. Founded in 1912 by 10 charter members, ACSA is an international association of architecture schools preparing future architects, designers, and change agents. ACSA鈥檚 full members include all of the accredited professional degree programs in the United States and Canada, as well as international schools and 2- and 4-year programs. Together, ACSA schools represent 7,000 faculty educating more than 40,000 students.
ACSA seeks to empower faculty and schools to educate increasingly diverse students, expand disciplinary impacts, and create knowledge for the advancement of architecture. For more information, visit www.acsa-arch.org.
Requests for press materials, including high-resolution images, can be obtained from our media contact.
Questions
Hanifah Jones
Digital Marketing & Communications Manager
202-785-2324 x 5
hjones@acsa-arch.org