WALL ASSEMBLY
COMPETITION
Wall Assembly Competition
Student Edition
We've completed the 2023
competition. Join us next year!
4th Annual -
What is Wall
Assembly 2023?
We put your wall assembly head to head against student submissions gathered from across North America.
Wall Assembly Competition is a single-stage international student building science competition held annually by BS* and Beer of Kansas City and The School of Apprenticeship and Skilled Trades at George Brown College.
Participants are tasked with designing a wall assembly for their given climate zone while considering six criteria with a focus on applied building science.
The inaugural 2020 competition, created as a way to combat boredom during the global lockdown pitted 16 assemblies against each other from professional Builders and Architects. This pilot year ran as a bracket with judging by the Instagram community to select a winner. Beginning in 2021, the competition placed emphasis on the work of skilled-trade, architectural, and design students from across North America. The competition now runs with a prestigious judging panel who elevates each submission with a defined rubric, and finally ward prizes donated by our amazing sponsors.
For 2023, we will be back for an exciting 4th running of the Wall Assembly Competition with a continued mission to champion the ideas of young tradespeople, designers and architects.
Wall assemblies are a pivotal aspect of envelope design in residential construction and the foundation of many students' initial application of building science. While the focus of the competition remains wall assemblies, critical attention must be paid to the connections and proposed assemblies of adjoining foundations, floors and roofs.
The competition is open to any high-school, college or university student in North America. There is no fee to enter.
Prizes
We have over $20,000 in cash prizes, educational workshops, memberships and top notch building materials to award you!
Big thanks to all of our dedicated and
supportive sponsors for making this possible.
1st Prize
- $1500 cash
- Passive Design/Build Class + Pod Workshop
+ CPHT certification exam by EMU Systems ($2,350 value).
- Complimentary one-year membership to Fine Homebuilding and Green Building Advisor.
2nd Prize
- $750 cash
- Passive Design/Build Class + CPHT certification exam by EMU Systems ($1,400 value).
- Complimentary one-year membership to Fine Homebuilding and Green Building Advisor.
3rd Prize
- $500 cash
- Passive Design/Build Class + CPHT certification exam by EMU Systems ($1,400 value).
- Complimentary one-year membership to Fine Homebuilding and Green Building Advisor.
Fine Homebuilding Memberships
Did not win a prize? Fine Homebuilding still supports you! The first 50 entrants will receive a complimentary one-year digital membership to Fine Homebuilding.
Submissions can be made by any current student as an individual, group, or class submission.
The entries must be submitted electronically as two separate PDF files not exceeding 10MB each. Each entry should contain, in order, the following documents (in English):
Document One: 8.5" x 11" - Project Summary
- 1-2 page(s) maximum (see template example)
- A maximum of 150-word text describing the project
- A maximum of 100-word text describing each response
to the six criteria
Document Two: 8.5" x 11" - Images and Drawings
- 5 pages maximum, with one image/drawing* per page
- Up to 4 views, drawings or images of your wall assembly (section, axonometric, perspective, photos of the mockup, etc.)
- A perspective of the wall assembly in its entirety (from the footing to the roof)
Submission
Guidelines
Scholarship Funds
Through the incredible support of our sponsors, we also offer funds to students who have communicated training and education goals to advance their design and building skills. This year we have $5,000+ to award students to support their career development!
All entrants who complete the 'Scholarship Submission' letter will be eligible for education funding. You do not need to win a prize to be eligible.
Education
Awards
Didn't win the competition? Our sponsors still want to support you!
Evaluation
Criteria
Performance:
An evaluation of the control layers to assess thermal performance & potential air-tightness
Buildability:
Ease of workability or installation on the jobsite and availability of material spec’d
Durability:
The longevity of the assembly given water shedding and vapor control, with a focus on reparability
Embodied Carbon:
Based on an 8’ wide by 10’ tall mock wall assembly and totaling the embodied carbon of the complete assembly
Cost:
Including labor and material (with the inclusion of special equip. like cranes for pre-built assemblies)
LCA:
Does the assembly allow for future
remodeling, and when the assembly is finally deconstructed what is the level of reuse, recyclability & toxicity of materials
Note:
Note: Criteria will be analyzed according to the submission’s local climate zone and material/labour economy
Meh OK Good Great
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Competition
Format & Dates
April 6th, 2023 - Launch on BS* and Beer
- Launched with the BS* and Beer crew on April 6th.
May 19th, 2023 - Submission Deadline
- May 19th 2022 at 11:59pm CST
- Email submissions to sweet16@wallassembly.com
May 22nd, 2023 - Selected Entries Revealed
Aug 17th, 2023 - Live Final and Winners Announced:
- Live Final hosted by Fine Homebuilding on August 17th at 6pm EST
- The winning wall assembly will be selected live during the show by the judging team, and amazing prize packages provided from our sponsors.
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Silver Sponsor
Media Sponsor
