The 2025 Forge Prize

Three finalists are going head-to-head for the $10,000 grand prize--live on YouTube!

Will the winner be a modular housing solution? A foldable living wall planter system? A pedestrian bridge that brings visitors close to the surface of a lake?

Only one of these visions will win the 2025 Forge Prize!

Tune in live at youtube.com/aisc on March 18 at noon Central to watch the finalists present their ideas to the judges.

The Forge Prize, presented annually by the American Institute of Steel Construction, recognizes visionary emerging architects, architecture faculty, and graduate students for design concepts that embrace innovations in steel as a primary structural component.

The competition is a unique opportunity to experiment with a conceptual design without limit to scope or complexity--the sky really is the limit here, and the industry is paying attention.

Three finalists will each win $5,000 and work with a steel fabricator before presenting their ideas to the judges--streamed live on YouTube on March 18, 2025, at noon Central. The winner will receive the $10,000 grand prize, and their work will be displayed at the 2025 Architecture in Steel conference, April 2-4 in Louisville, Ky.!

About the Designs

Transforming Galvanized Sheetmetal Waste Streams into a Modular Living Wall Planter System

The University of Texas A&M’s Ahmed Ali proposed “Transforming Galvanized Sheetmetal Waste Streams into a Modular Living Wall Planter System,” which involves folding and assembling steel elements that would normally be cleaned and recycled. His steel fabricator partner is Tony Baffone of MSI Fab, LLC in Newark, Del.

Growing Rowhouses

Ho-gyeum Kim’s housing proposal in New York, “Growing Rowhouses,” explores a housing solution using modular structural steel construction that occupies the space in the rear-yards of established blocks. Kim is partnered with Ralph Barone of Barone Steel in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Pedestrian Bridge of Echo Lake

Kaikang Shen submitted the proposal, “Pedestrian Bridge of Echo Lake,” a short-span bridge that encourages visitors to the park to engage with the water in new ways. Shen’s partners are Phil Schlosser and Barry Gossler of Schlosser Steel in Hatfield, Pa.

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