Skokie, Ill. — The Portland Cement Association (PCA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) announced the 2008 "Concrete Thinking for A Sustainable World" international student design competition. Sponsored by PCA and administered by ACSA, the contest challenges students to investigate innovative applications of portland cement-based materials to achieve sustainable design objectives.

The competition is open to all ACSA-affiliated schools.

For the competition's third year, students may design a recycling center that can serve as a cornerstone for educating local communities about the positive impact of materials reuse.

"We all have to do our part when it comes to being environmentally responsible," said David Shepherd, AIA, director of sustainable development for PCA. "A recycling center is a great way to underscore the competition's goal of encouraging students to think about inventive solutions for sustainable design that benefit the environment and the greater community."

Students are required to use design idea(s) from their studio work to illustrate enhanced building performance resulting from the use of portland cement-based material as a key element. The competition offers two separate entry categories, each without site restrictions, for maximum flexibility:

Recycling Center: Design an environmentally responsible Recycling Center focused on reusing today's materials to preserve tomorrow's resources. Students are encouraged to include numerous public and non-public zones within their design.

Building Element: Design a single element of a building that provides a sustainable solution to real-world environmental challenges. Design concepts can focus on, but are not limited to, such sustainable design objectives as:

• durability,
• recyclability,
• reduced site disturbance,
• storm water management,
• heat island effect,
• optimized energy performance,
• indoor air quality,
• material use reductions, and
• recycled content use.

Winning students, their faculty sponsors, and schools will receive cash prizes and software totaling nearly $50,000. The prize includes a complete package of StructurePoint, concrete design software, a retail value of $9,745, for each winning school. The design jury will convene in June 2008 to select winning projects and honorable mentions.

The deadline to register for the competition is February 8, 2008, and the deadline to submit final entries is May 14, 2008.

For a complete competition program guide, please visit www.acsa-arch.org.