MBMA Announces 2025 Student Design Competition Award Winners

On the left is Abigail Weston, a student at California State University, Sacramento, was named winner of the Undergraduate Division. In the Graduate Division, Lorance Shabo, pictured on the right and a student from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), earned the top award.

Cleveland, OH – The Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) is pleased to announce the winners of the fifth annual MBMA Student Design Competition. On March 3, 2026, the association granted $32,000 in awards to 10 winners and their faculty advisors in both Undergraduate and Graduate Divisions in an online ceremony. A record number of submissions were received this year with 28 undergraduate entries and 52 graduate entries. That’s almost double the number of graduate submissions compared with last year.
 
For the Undergraduate Division, the first-place award and $5,000 was presented to Abigail Weston, a student at California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State). She was advised by Mark Roddy, FAIA, a Lecturer from the Department of Design. The second-place award, along with $3,000, went to Jaden Flint, who is also at Sacramento State and advised by Roddy. Third place, and $2,000, was awarded to the team of Gregory Brown and Shayne Simmons at Texas A&M University in College Station. Their advisor was Marcel Erminy, Professor of Practice at the Texas A&M University College of Architecture. Additionally, an award of merit, along with $500, was presented. This went to Olivia Potvin and Alina Torrez at Texas A&M University, with Erminy as their advisor.
 
In the Graduate Division, Lorance Shabo, a student from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), earned the top award and $5,000 prize. His faculty advisor was Grant Mosey, Assistant Professor of Architecture in the School of Architecture. Second place and $3,000 went to Stephanie Otero, also a student at UNLV and advised by Mosey. Third place, along with $2,000, was awarded to Ted Hui, at UNLV with faculty advisor Mosey. Three Awards of Merit, along with $500 each, were presented in the Graduate Division. One went to Hayley Praytor from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. She was advised by Paolo Sanza, Associate Professor in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture. The second Award of Merit was presented to Aayush Mondkar of the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst). His Advisor was Katelyn Hudson, Lecturer in the Department of Architecture in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. The third Award of Merit went to Yukta Karanjkar, who is also a student at UMass Amherst and advised by Hudson.
 
“We congratulate Lorance Shabo and Abigail Weston, along with their advisors Grant Mosey and Mark Roddy, on earning the top prizes in the 2025 MBMA Student Design Competition,” says MBMA General Manager Tony Bouquot. “This year’s contest was the largest ever, and the awards are a testament to all the winners for their amazing designs. We also would like to thank the faculty sponsors for their work and the time they put in to make this competition better than ever.”
 
“The fifth year of the MBMA Design Contest had 93 students from nine different schools put forth a total of 80 entries, the most ever,” adds MBMA Director of Research and Engineering Jon-Paul (JP) Cardin, PE. “It’s inspiring to see so many students exploring metal building systems and developing such innovative applications. The competition continues to grow every year, and we’re excited to see the creativity and talent next year’s competition will bring.”
 
The competition took place during the 2025 fall semester, with entries due Jan. 5, 2026. The contest for undergraduate and graduate architecture students challenged each participant to create an innovative metal building design for a new botanical garden and events center.
 
The six-member panel of judges included:

•  Eric Pros, AIA, Director of Design for DS Architecture in Cleveland, Ohio;
•  Terri Meyer Boake, LEED AP, Professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Architecture, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada;
•  Lauren Gwaltney, AIA, Senior Associate with Williams Blackstock Architects in Birmingham, Ala.;
•  Greg Snyder, AIA, Associate Professor at the College of Arts and Architecture at University of North Carolina – Charlotte;
•  John Underwood, Consultant to Behlen Mfg. Co., Columbus, Neb., and Chair of the MBMA Education Committee;
•  Robert Tiffin, National Accounts Manager with Silvercote, Greenville, S.C., and Chair of the MBMA Architect Committee.
 
For more information about the MBMA Student Design Competition and to view this year’s winners, visit www.mbmaeducation.org. Registration for the 2026 competition will go live on this site in July 2026.

About The Metal Building Manufacturers Association

Founded in 1956, MBMA serves manufacturers and suppliers that work with industry professionals, architects, building designers, educators, building code officials and others to advance the metal building systems industry. The efforts of member volunteers and association staff regularly lead to industry improvements and groundbreaking research. Resources on the association's website include technical materials, research reports, videos and design guides, plus news of the most current research and ideas to propel the industry. MBMA also provides graduate and undergraduate educational resources at MBMAeducation.org. For more information, visit mbma.com.