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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.

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    The Tren Maya is a monumental new passenger rail system traversing nearly a thousand miles of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.
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    The Tren Maya is a monumental new passenger rail system traversing nearly a thousand miles of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.

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    Faculty making headlines at the 2025 @AIAAustin Design Awards!<br>
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    In Associate Professor @nicholewiedemann ’s advanced studio “FUTURING: 'un-thought of architecture’ or architecture beyond what already exists,” students tackled the complicated role of design competitions in the profession.

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    We're proud to celebrate Professor Bjørn Sletto’s induction into the UT Austin Academy of Distinguished Teachers—one of the highest honors recognizing exceptional commitment to teaching excellence. 👏<br>
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    We're proud to celebrate Professor Bjørn Sletto’s induction into the UT Austin Academy of Distinguished Teachers—one of the highest honors recognizing exceptional commitment to teaching excellence. 👏

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    @utsoa

    Visiting faculty @eric.bunge challenged students to reimagine what an architecture school could be in his advanced studio “This is Not a School.” Tasked to envision a hypothetical interdisciplinary architecture school building as an off-campus annex to the UTSOA, students reframed usage of space for

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    Lecturer @paulgermaine ‘s advanced studio “Deep Plates: Layered Representations of the Alhambra” brought students to Granada, Spain, to explore how decorative systems, such as muqarnas and planar tiling, can evolve into hybrid structural elements. <br>
    @utsoa

    Lecturer @paulgermaine ‘s advanced studio “Deep Plates: Layered Representations of the Alhambra” brought students to Granada, Spain, to explore how decorative systems, such as muqarnas and planar tiling, can evolve into hybrid structural elements.

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    Presenting the next generation of designers and planners 🎓<br /><br />Congratulations again, Class of 2025! See more photos from Commencement in our link in bio<br /><br />@texas.landscape <br />@utaustin_urbandesign <br />@texasarch
    @utsoa

    Presenting the next generation of designers and planners 🎓

    Congratulations again, Class of 2025! See more photos from Commencement in our link in bio

    @texas.landscape
    @utaustin_urbandesign
    @texasarch

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    Show up and show out.<br>&nbsp;<br>UTSOA’s end-of-year show, Overexposed, celebrated the courageous act of revelation and vulnerability when surrendering one’s work to the public eye. What a way to wrap up the year!<br>&nbsp;
    @utsoa

    Show up and show out.
     
    UTSOA’s end-of-year show, Overexposed, celebrated the courageous act of revelation and vulnerability when surrendering one’s work to the public eye. What a way to wrap up the year!
     

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    Let’s make tomorrow unforgettable #UTGrad25<br /><br />📅 Saturday, May 10<br />🕑 2:00 p.m. (CDT)<br />📺 Livestream link in our bio<br /><br />We can't wait for tomorrow's celebration! Graduates, make sure to check-in at Goldsmith Hall no later than 1 p.m.
    @utsoa

    Let’s make tomorrow unforgettable #UTGrad25

    📅 Saturday, May 10
    🕑 2:00 p.m. (CDT)
    📺 Livestream link in our bio

    We can't wait for tomorrow's celebration! Graduates, make sure to check-in at Goldsmith Hall no later than 1 p.m.