The competition, which kicked off on January 13, is designed to simulate a real-world design, planning, and development project.

This year, the competition enters its 18th year. According to the ULI competition website, "The ULI Hines Student Competition is part of the [Urban Land] Institute’s ongoing effort to raise interest among young people in creating better communities, improving development patterns, and increasing awareness of the need for multidisciplinary solutions to development and design challenges." 

Six teams from Georgia Tech entered this year's competition. Each team must have five graduate students from at least three different disciplines to be eligible to compete.

The assignment for this year's competition explored the redevelopment of a site in Miami with the Florida East Coast Roast Railway splitting the site into the Wynwood and Edgewater neighborhoods. Student groups imagined that the Tri-Rail would begin providing commuter rail service to downtown Miami in 2021. They were tasked with redeveloping the parcels in the site area to accommodate a station in Midtown Miami, and turning the site into “a thriving, mixed-use, transit-oriented neighborhood.”

The Georgia Tech teams selected as an honorable mention submitted projects titled, “ETS” and "SPACES."

Team ETS

On Team ETS were Master of Architecture (M.Arch) students, Zachary Brown and Rand Zalzala, Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) student Brock Thompson, and Master of Science in Urban Design (MSUD) students, George Doyle and Eleni Kroi. Building Construction and City Planning part-time lecturer John Threadgill was the faculty advisor for this team. Designer II at Portman Architects, T. Coston Dickinson, was the professional advisor for ETS. 

"The importance of the ULI Hines Student Competition for graduate students is the nature of its interdisciplinary emphasis,” said Doyle. “This competition immerses a diverse group of graduate students with unique post-undergraduate backgrounds and skillsets that allow new ideas and the byproducts of these ideas to become tangible solutions to real-life issues needing resolution or mitigation.”

Team SPACES

On Team SPACES were M.Arch students, Conner Smith and Wanli Gao, Master of Real Estate Development student Nicholas Ferran, MCRP student ShuHui “Giselle” Zhen, and MSUD student, Joel Jassu. School of Architecture professor of the practice, Brian Bell was faculty advisor for SPACES. Associate principal at Perkins&Will, Jeff Williams, AICP was the professional advisor for the team. 

“We had 30 students from across the Institute participate this year on six teams,” said Ellen Dunham-Jones, professor and director of the MSUD program. “I know it’s cliché to say they’re all winners, but seriously, it’s pretty awesome what their collective efforts were able to produce and the learning that went on. The fact that two of the six were recognized by the jury for honorable mentions is icing on the cake! We’ve had 12 placements, including four finalists in nine years. I couldn’t be prouder!”

The work from all six teams is currently on exhibition in the Cohen Gallery located on the second floor of the College of Design’s Architecture East Building.

Click here for the ULI Hines Competition press release.