ANFA Introduces Its Inaugural Student Design Competition

Since its founding two decades ago, the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) has strived to promote and advance the linking of neuroscience research to a growing understanding of human responses to the built environment. As a former legacy project to the national American Institute of Architects Convention, the nonprofit organization has continued to benefit from expanded research within the neuroscience community and seeing how it helps inform the architecture industry.

To recognize its 20th anniversary, ANFA is hosting the inaugural John P. Eberhard Student Design Competition, which honors key founding member and founding president John P. Eberhard. In correspondence with the academy’s mission, the goal is to cultivate opportunities for students to become more interested in both architecture and neuroscience and foster the dynamic conversation between the two fields.

How to Enter ANFA’s Student Design Competition

Launched at the start of 2024, the John P. Eberhard Student Design Competition asks student applicants to design a community center that would ideally be located on the Salk Institute campus, which is connected with ANFA and boasts international recognition in the architecture field. As part of the competition, students will be asked to explain how the building functions as well as how neuroscience was incorporated into the project design.

The competition includes two entry categories: the Architecture category, which asks students for a standalone building design, and the Interior Design category, which asks students to design a space within a structure provided by the competition. Eligible applicants include students participating in college or university level programs associated with architecture, interior design or neuroscience programs.

Learn more about the competition here. Submissions close on June 15, 2024.