The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Nov. 7 that it will partner with the Madison Community Development Authority to administer the 11th Innovation in Affordable Housing Student Design and Planning Competition, according to a press release from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The IAH Student Design Competition challenges teams of three to five graduate students from American universities to create a building development proposal for a pre-existing site determined by the partnering development authority, according to the competition guidelines. According to the guidelines, teams must include at least one student who is working toward a design-related degree.

HUD has chosen the Bjarnes Romnes Apartments — which consist of 169 public housing units on Olin Avenue — as the subject area for the competition, according to a press release from the City of Madison.

Madison CDA is looking for students to break up the property into multiple affordable and workforce housing buildings, according to the press release.

The competition will help Madison CDA repurpose future housing buildings by creating innovative development strategies, Madison CDA Deputy Director Larry Kilmer said in an interview with The Badger Herald.

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“The [Madison] CDA has started to look at our whole portfolio of properties and really consider where we’re going in the future, where redevelopment efforts could take place down the road,” Kilmer said. “We applied with the idea that this student design competition, could really focus on one site and help us get some initial ideas, something that maybe we could take some kind of action on years down the road.”

Students will be judged on how well their proposals address environmental, financial, social and construction issues with a heavy emphasis placed on sustainability and affordability, according to the guidelines.

According to the competition guidelines, a jury of development experts will choose four finalists, with the first place team receiving $20,000, second place receiving $10,000 and the other two finalist teams each receiving $5,000.

Madison students should take the opportunity to enter the competition, District 8 Alder and University of Wisconsin student MGR Govindarajan said in a statement to The Badger Herald.

“I hope that students from Madison do participate, most of us have lived experiences with the lack of safe and affordable housing,” Govindarajan said. “Students are the future of our world, and this opportunity shows exactly what the power of students can be if given the chance to innovate.”

Teams have until Jan. 8 to finalize a roster and register for the competition. HUD will host the four finalists in Washington D.C. Apr. 18 to give out the awards, according to the guidelines.

The competition is a step in the right direction toward solving the affordable housing crisis in Madison, Kilmer said.

“I think this project highlights what a community development authority can do to foster the opportunity for a city and local government like Madison, to be a part of and to really help drive innovation and to solve the affordable housing crisis,” Kilmer said.

Students interested in the competition can register here.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated to include new information from the City of Madison about the subject location for the competition.