Architecture students won the American Institute of Architects - San Francisco’s (AIASF) competition

Four students from the Department of Architecture have won the 2021 Future of Classroom Competition, organized by the American Institute of Architects - San Francisco (AIASF). It was an idea-generating competition spearheaded by AIASF’s Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE).

This year’s recipients include two awardees: Berliner Architects from the USA in the Professional Category; and Team Delta from Brac University in the Student Category. Students from various institutions all over the world submitted their ideas in this competition, where BracU's team turned out to be the best.

The winning team from Brac University including Sohana Khan, Mahzabin Marium, Syed Tawsif Munawar, and Ishrak Shalih Talukder, developed “The Classroom for Future in Rural Context of Bangladesh.” The team explored ideas of creating flexible, resilient classrooms for elementary grade students in the context of rural Bangladesh. Their concept employs local vernacular forms and traditional modes of teaching to address the current pandemic, along with many other demands, noting that “before the pandemic hit, the students went to schools which were quite far from their houses. So, a new learning environment can be created, which will be play-based learning.”

AIASF is a part of the American Institute of Architects, serving for nearly 150 years, is committed to enhancing the quality of life in the Bay Area by promoting excellence in architecture, design, and the built environment. AIASF represents members practicing architecture, as well as allied community professionals in San Francisco and Marin counties. In September 2021, AIASF is celebrating its 18th Annual 'Architecture + the City Festival', where the competition was a part of it.

The 2021 Future Classrooms Competition was envisioned as an opportunity to broaden the conversation around how people teach and learn, and the environments that support the same. Participants were encouraged to think big picture about the long-term implications of creating safe space and submit a vision for the classroom, school, or campus of the future with an eye to potential topics of community building, equity, health, and wellness, personal vs. shared space, flexibility, resilience, and technology.

All projects were juried virtually by four esteemed experts in education and architecture. Jurors included Mark Cavagnero, FAIA, Principal of Mark Cavagnero Associates; Dr. Shabnam Koirala-Azad, Dean of the School of Education, San Francisco State University; Tom Rockwell, Senior Creative Director for Global Collaborations, Exploratorium, and Brett Schilke, Faculty at Singularity University, Founder of Irresistible Futures Lab, and Education Strategist at the Center for Humane Technology.

Waziuddin Saud Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi architect living in the USA sponsored the entry.