April 16, 2025

AIA Architects League of Northern New Jersey Hosts the Women’s STEAM Interscholastic High School Architecture Tower Challenge

On Wednesday, April 9th, 2025 the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Architects League of Northern New Jersey (ALNNJ) members traveled to Hackensack High School to administer the Women’s STEAM Interscholastic High School Architecture Tower Challenge, a competition designed by AIA New Jersey K-12 Education co-chair, Joseph David, AIA, for teams of girls in grades 9-12. The ALNNJ received an Architecture Week grant from AIA National to sponsor this competition. AIA New Jersey Equity Chair, Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, was responsible for the planning and administration of the event. 

Joseph David, AIA, the mastermind behind the project, all materials, presentation, awards, and concept.

Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA with Hackensack High School Architecture Teacher Sonia Raza and Hackensack High School Engineering / CAD teacher Tania Feliz-Patron. This team was responsible for the planning and logistics of the day.

Architects League of Northern New Jersey Section of the American Institute of Architects Volunteers included L-R Past President Fay Logan, AIA; Past President Joseph David, AIA; Trustee Ruchi Dhar, AIA; AIA NJ Young Architect of the Year and Keynote speaker Angelica Arent, AIA; ALNNJ President Christopher Brand, AIA; Past President Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA; Helen Logan, AIA; and Past President Christopher Dougherty, AIA.

This event was planned to celebrate New Jersey Architecture Week and the 125th Anniversary of AIA New Jersey! Architecture Week aims to inspire K-12 students to explore architecture and design, fostering their interest in the profession. Programs are developed to enhance problem-solving skills, creativity, and teamwork in students while also highlighting the potential for exciting careers in architecture.

The Women’s STEAM Interscholastic High School Architecture Tower Challenge encourages teams of students to work together to design a tower judged on four criteria: Zoning Efficiency, Economic Value, Seismic Performance and Aesthetics/Design. Students use CAD programs to create mixed-use towers and are required to build within a provided site, FAR requirements, setback limits, and street wall requirements. Students were also asked to create physical sketch models of their tower’s structure using spaghetti and marshmallows that were tested for seismic on a shake table.

The Tower Challenge promotes climate initiatives by designing a mixed-use residential tower. Density reduces greenhouse emissions through a reduction in transportation needs, by replacing sprawl with shared amenities, resources, and city services available to densely populated areas. Four teams designed, constructed and competed for recognition in the following categories:   Most Efficient, Most Valuable, Most Innovative, Best Seismic Performance and Best Overall. Each team worked with faculty and architect mentors to develop an understanding of the new concepts.

Hackensack High School Took The Top Prize

After the competition, Keynote speaker AIA New Jersey Young Architect of the Year, Angelica Arent, AIA, addressed the young women with stories from her foundation years as a Latina, advice on post-high school transitions, equity in the profession and inspirational guidance on their futures. 

This program was designed to reach and engage populations that are underrepresented in our industry. This STEAM program was offered to young women from school districts that are historically and currently majority people of color. We sought to introduce creative problem-solving, the value of good design in the community, and model mentorship to these young women and their faculty. 

By Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, AIA NJ Advocacy Consultant | Posted in Architects League of Northern New Jersey, Architecture Students, EquityInArchitecture, K12 Architecture Education, Members & the Community, Women in Architecture | Tagged: #AIA, #AIAALNNJ, #AIANJ, #ALNNJ, #ArchitectureWeek, #BlackArchitects, #HackensackHighSchool, #JosephEDavidAIA, #LatinaArchitects, #NJArchWeek, #NJArchWeek25, #StaceyRuhleKlieschAIA, #womeninarchitecture | Comments (0)