ULI Competition

The Stack
URBAN LAND INSTITUTE

The Urban Land Institute's Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition is an annual graduate-level competition intended to provide an interdisciplinary learning experience for business and design students. Student teams work on large-scale sites with complex challenges that need innovative solutions reflecting responsible land use. Each team is required to work in a multifaceted way, incorporating design, planning, market potential, and feasibility into their development strategies.

Each year the School of Architecture participates in the Urban Land Institute's Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. Participation in the national competition, along with an internal competition at UT Austin, is funded through a generous gift from the Cogburn Family Foundation.

Each year, students from across the School of Architecture's disciplines, from architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, community and regional planning, and the McCombs School of Business have taken part in the competition. UT Austin student teams have performed exceedingly well in the national competition, with two national winners, as well as many finalists and honorable mentions. 

The Urban Design Program at the School of Architecture also offers a ULI studio. The studio works in teams, taking on the same project that is the subject of the competition. The teams will continue to work after the initial ten-day competition to develop the group projects.

  • Instagram Post
    A little quiet before the next creative storm. Two months down, two to go—see you in August. 🗓️
    @utsoa

    A little quiet before the next creative storm. Two months down, two to go—see you in August. 🗓️

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    Even in an increasingly digital profession, hands-on fabrication remains a cornerstone of design education.<br>
    @utsoa

    Even in an increasingly digital profession, hands-on fabrication remains a cornerstone of design education.

  • Instagram Post
    Summer stillness at UTSOA ☁️
    @utsoa

    Summer stillness at UTSOA ☁️

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    Have you seen Goldsmith Hall's Living Wall lately? It’s thriving. 🌿<br><br>Designed to attract native fauna and test the boundaries of green wall systems, the Living Wall is a research project years in the making—part art, part architecture, part ecology.<br>
    @utsoa

    Have you seen Goldsmith Hall's Living Wall lately? It’s thriving. 🌿

    Designed to attract native fauna and test the boundaries of green wall systems, the Living Wall is a research project years in the making—part art, part architecture, part ecology.

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    What happens when local decision-makers and academic subject-matter experts come together to tackle some of Texas’ most urgent planning and design challenges?<br>
    @utsoa

    What happens when local decision-makers and academic subject-matter experts come together to tackle some of Texas’ most urgent planning and design challenges?

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    Kicked off the first of three orientation sessions this summer with an incredible group of new students. Welcome to UTSOA!
    @utsoa

    Kicked off the first of three orientation sessions this summer with an incredible group of new students. Welcome to UTSOA!

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    An outstanding leader, architect, teacher, and a radiant positive force in our field, it’s no surprise that Professor Elizabeth Danze has been named one of the 2025 #Texas10 by @texasexes.<br>
    @utsoa

    An outstanding leader, architect, teacher, and a radiant positive force in our field, it’s no surprise that Professor Elizabeth Danze has been named one of the 2025 #Texas10 by @texasexes.

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    Reimagining the Post-Industrial: AI and Material Assemblage<br>
    @utsoa

    Reimagining the Post-Industrial: AI and Material Assemblage

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    The 3rd Île-de-France Architecture and Landscape Biennial (@bapidf) invited Associate Professors Nerea Feliz (@feliz_nerea) and Clay Odom (@studiomodo) to lead their students in exploring how vernacular strategies from warmer climates—such as the southern U.S.—might inform climate-adaptive design ap
    @utsoa

    The 3rd Île-de-France Architecture and Landscape Biennial (@bapidf) invited Associate Professors Nerea Feliz (@feliz_nerea) and Clay Odom (@studiomodo) to lead their students in exploring how vernacular strategies from warmer climates—such as the southern U.S.—might inform climate-adaptive design ap