HSDC Finalist Vying for AIA People’s Choice Award
Glasstown Green - Aurora Center
2025 HSDC Project featured in AIA’s national celebration of K–12 student design work.
AIA has launched a new national celebration of K–12 student design excellence, bringing together standout projects from AIA chapters and foundations across the country, including one of AIA Toledo’s 2025 High School Design Competition (HSDC) senior winners, Ilya Prytup. This initiative elevates local student work to a national platform and invites the public to participate by voting for their favorite project.
The design brief for AIA Toledo’s HSDC challenged students to design a Learning Center for the Aurora Project campus in Toledo’s Vistula District. Aurora Project, which had outgrown its space, provides comprehensive housing and life skills instruction to empower homeless women and children to become self-sufficient and independent. The expansion project is intended to enhance the services offered by the nonprofit organization and benefit the community it serves.
Members and community supporters are encouraged to explore the gallery of submissions, which showcases the creativity, problem‑solving, and design thinking emerging from classrooms nationwide. Each project reflects the unique challenges and opportunities presented by local competitions, while collectively demonstrating the impact of early exposure to architecture and the built environment. By spotlighting young designers and their work, AIA continues to champion pathways into the profession and inspire the next generation of architects.
The project receiving the most votes will earn the People’s Choice Award and a $1,000 prize. Voting is open now, and supporters may cast one vote per day through June 13.
AIA Toledo is proud to see both our student’s work and the Aurora Project recognized on a national stage and invites our members to join in celebrating this achievement by reviewing the submissions and participating in the voting process.
Voting is open through June 13.
ABOUT HSDC
As the longest running program of its kind in the country, the High School Design Competition has a rich legacy. The idea was born in 1949 when a drafting teacher at Macomber Technical High School approached architects at Bellman, Gillett and Richards about exposing his students to the workings of the architectural profession. Later that year, the Toledo Chapter of the American Institute of Architects voted to approve the “Toledo High School Architectural Competition”, with initial funding not to exceed $100. The first competition was held in 1950, with 23 students from Waite, DeVilbiss, and Macomber High Schools participating. Their design challenge was a parking lot office and the first-place prize was $10.
Contact us to learn how your school or student can participate.