The 2025 Forge Prize

Submissions are now closed. Keep an eye out for an announcement of our three finalists!

This competition, established by The American Institute of Steel Construction in 2018, recognizes visionary emerging architects, architecture faculty, and graduate students for design concepts that embrace innovations in steel as a primary structural component.

In short: We’re looking for your version of the future. What will people build with, live in, work in, or play in?

The Forge Prize is a unique opportunity to experiment with a conceptual design without limit to scope or complexity--the sky really is the limit here, and the industry is paying attention.

Three finalists will each win $5,000 and work with a steel fabricator before presenting their ideas to the judges--streamed live on YouTube on March 18, 2025, at noon Central. The winner will receive the $10,000 grand prize, and their work will be displayed at the 2025 Architecture in Steel conference, April 2-4 in Louisville, Ky.!

The work of last year’s Grand Prize winner, Emily Baker of the University of Arkansas, was featured at the National AIA Convention.

“The Forge Prize empowers emerging designers to create freely with no set site and or project type. AISC supports each finalist by providing guidance from real-world steel industry leaders. This collaborative approach pushes each design’s materialization and helps further our AEC industry."

-2020 Forge Prize judge Rebekah Gandy, AIA, LEED AP, CDT

Here’s how it works:

The Forge Prize has two stages. Three finalists emerge from the first stage, which is open to designers, teams of designers, or interdisciplinary teams led by an architect based in the U.S.:

Emerging practicing architects (those licensed for less than 10 years or on the path to licensure);
Tenured or tenure-track architecture educators who have taught for less than 10 years in a university-level architecture program in the U.S.;
Adjunct architecture educators who have taught for less than 10 years and have been licensed for less than 10 years or are on the path to licensure;
Graduate-level architecture students enrolled in a university-level, U.S.-based architecture program.

These three finalists each win a $5,000 cash prize--and they’ll all get free registration and travel support to attend the 2025 Architecture in Steel conference!

Those finalists will work with a leading steel fabricator to further refine their concepts before the final round, in which they’ll present their designs to a jury of groundbreaking architects and the whole world--live on YouTube on March 18, 2025.

The winning designers/architects will have an installation about their winning design at the conference and take home the $10,000 grand prize!

What you’ll need to enter:

We’re going to ask you for a few narrative elements (500 words maximum) so you can walk us through your concept.

Specifically, we’ll want to know:

What challenge did you set out to solve, and how does your design do that?
Why is steel a good choice for this design?

We’ll also ask you to show off your concept in images and, if you wish, animations. You must upload between five and 10 media elements (jpg, tif, png, or mp4) with credit info.

What you should know about entering:

By entering, you’ll agree to a media usage policy (outlined on the file uploads page of the entry form) and commit to attending Architecture in Steel at NASCC: The Steel Conference, April 2-4 in Louisville, Ky. if your project is selected as a finalist.

The 2024 Forge Prize Presentations

Relive the excitement of the 2024 Forge Prize virtual presentations! Follow along as our finalists presented three outstanding projects for a chance to become the 2024 Forge Prize winner.

“The Forge Prize is a unique platform for emerging architects to develop innovative design concepts and collaborate with steel industry leaders to refine their ideas. The resulting proposals educate and inspire new applications using steel as a versatile construction material.”

-2020 Forge Prize judge Matt Dumich, FAIA

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