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ASCE Timber-Strong Design Build Competition

Timber-Design-Build-Competition-Strong-Tarlton-State-University

ASCE Timber-Strong Design Build(SM) Competition

Timber-Strong Design Build Competition Educates College Students About Engineered Wood

Timber-Design-Build-Competition-Strong-Tarlton-State-UniversityTiny pubs. Playhouses. Barndominiums. You never know what teams participating in the Timber-Strong Design BuildSM competition will create.

Since 2019, this annual event has provided college engineering students hands-on experience designing and building with engineered wood products. Competition teams develop and craft a 2-story wood light-framed building that is sustainable, aesthetically pleasing and structurally durable. The event, which attracts hundreds of participating students and over a thousand spectators, promotes teamwork and planning while proving the value of prefabrication.

APA – The Engineered Wood Association, the American Wood Council and Simpson Strong-Tie partner with the American Society of Civil Engineers to carry out the competition each year with ASCE student chapters. Teams prepare project budgets, follow OSHA safety guidelines and model structures with computer-aided design (CAD) software. Eighty teams participated in 2025.

Learn more about the competition 

What People Are Saying

“There’s nothing like this competition where you get to design and build with wood. I like that this competition is with a team, and we all get to work together.”


—Nick Pontiff, 2025 student participant, University of Louisiana-Lafayette

"The contest allows students to collaborate and use their skills in structural calculations, building information modeling and physical construction. It's great practice for their future careers." 


—John Wilkinson, 2024 head judge, Eastern Great Lakes region

Past TSDB Competition Winners

2025 TSDB

Region 3 (Eastern Great Lakes)

  • 1st Place: Michigan Technological University

  • 2nd Place: University of Michigan

  • 3rd Place: Ohio Northern University

  • Best in Show: University of Cincinnati

  • Honorable Mention: Western Michigan University

  • Host school: Michigan Technological University

Region 4 (Carolinas)

  • 1st Place: Clemson University

  • 2nd Place: University of North Carolina-Charlotte

  • 3rd Place: Horry-Georgetown Technical College

  • Host school: Clemson University

Region 4 (Indiana-Kentucky)

  • 1st Place: University of Purdue-West Lafayette

  • 2nd Place: University of Louisville

  • 3rd Place: University of Notre Dame

  • Best in Show: Western Kentucky University

  • Honorable Mention: University of Notre Dame

  • Host school: University of Notre Dame

Region 5 (Gulf Coast)

  • 1st Place: Auburn University

  • 2nd Place: Mississippi State University

  • 3rd Place: University of Louisiana-Lafayette

  • Host school: University of Mississippi

Region 5 (Southeast)

  • 1st Place: University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez

  • 2nd Place: Georgia Southern University

  • 3rd Place: Georgia Institute of Technology

  • Host school: University of Georgia

Region 6 (Frontier)

  • 1st Place: University of Texas-Arlington

  • 2nd Place: LeTourneau University

  • 3rd Place: University of Texas-Rio Grande

  • Host school: Tarleton State University

Region 7 (Rocky Mountains)

  • 1st Place: Colorado School of Mines

  • 2nd Place: South Dakota School of Mines

  • 3rd Place: University of Wyoming

  • Host school: Colorado State University

Region 8 (Pacific Northwest)

  • 1st Place: University of Washington

  • 2nd Place: Montana State University

  • Host school: Portland State University

Region 8 (Intermountain Southwest)

  • 1st Place: Northern Arizona University

  • 2nd Place: University of Nevada-Reno

  • 3rd Place: University of Arizona

  • Host school: University of Arizona

Region 9 (Pacific Southwest)

  • 1st Place: California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

  • 2nd Place: California Polytechnic State University-Pomona

  • 3rd Place: University of California-Irvine

  • Building Information Modeling (BIM): University of California-Irvine

  • Best in Show: California Polytechnic State University-Pomona

  • Honorable Mention: University of Hawaii

  • Host school: California Polytechnic State University-Pomona

2024 TSDB

Eastern Great Lakes Symposium

  • 1st place: Michigan Technological University

  • 2nd place: Cleveland State University

  • BIM: Cleveland State University

  • Hosted by: University of Akron

Indiana-Kentucky Symposium

  • 1st place: Purdue University-West Lafayette

  • BIM: Purdue University-West Lafayette

  • Hosted by: Purdue University Northwest

Southeast Symposium

  • 1st place: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University-Florida State University

  • 2nd place: University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez

  • 3rd place: Florida International University

  • BIM: University of North Florida

  • Hosted by: University of Central Florida

Region 6 Symposium

  • 1st place: LeTourneau University

  • 2nd place: University of Texas-Arlington

  • 3rd place: University of Texas-Tyler

  • BIM: LeTourneau University

  • Hosted by: Angelo State University

Rocky Mountain Symposium

  • 1st place: Colorado School of Mines

  • 2nd place: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

  • BIM: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

  • Hosted by: University of Wyoming

Intermountain Southwest Symposium

  • 1st place: Utah State University

  • 2nd place: Northern Arizona University

  • 3rd place: Boise State University

  • BIM: Brigham Young University-Idaho

  • Hosted by: Utah State University

Pacific Southwest Symposium

  • 1st place: California Polytechnic State University-San Louis Obispo

  • 2nd place: University of California-Irvine

  • 3rd place: University of California-Los Angeles

  • BIM: California State University-Long Beach

  • Hosted by: University of Hawaii - Manoa

2023 TSDB

Gulf Coast Symposia

  • 1st place: University of Alabama

  • 2nd place: Louisiana Tech

  • 3rd place: University of South Alabama

  • BIM: Alabama

  • Hosted by: University of South Alabama

PNW Symposia

  • 1st place: Montana Tech

  • Hosted by: Montana State

Intermountain Symposia

  • 1st place: Utah State

  • 2nd place: Arizona State

  • 3rd place: Boise St

  • BIM: Utah State

  • Hosted by: University of Nevada, Reno

PSW Symposia

  • 1st place: Cal Poly SLO

  • 2nd place: UC Irvine

  • 3rd place: UCSD tied CSU Northridge

  • BIM: UC Irvine

  • Hosted by: Cal State Northridge

Southeast Symposia

  • 1st place: FSU

  • 2nd place: University of Florida

  • 3rd place: University of Central Florida

  • BIM: FSU

  • Hosted by: University of North Florida

Mid-Pacific Symposia

  • 1st place: Zhejiang University

  • BIM: Tongi University

  • Hosted by: Cal State U Chico

Region 6 Symposia

  • 1st place: LeTourneau

  • 2nd place: Angelo State

  • 3rd place: UT Tyler

  • BIM: Texas Tech

  • Hosted by: West Texas A&M

Indiana-Kentucky Symposia

  • 1st place: Purdue

  • 2nd place: Cleveland State

  • 3rd place: Michigan Tech

  • Hosted by: Western Kentucky University

2022 TSDB

SE Symposia

  • 1st place: FAMU-FSU

  • 2nd place: University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

  • 3rd place: FAU

Hosted by: FAMU-FSU

  • Gulf Coast Symposia

  • 1st place: Auburn University

  • BIM: Auburn University

  • Hosted by: Auburn University

Region 6 Symposia

  • 1st place: LeTourneau University

  • BIM: LeTourneau University

  • Hosted by: University of Houston

PSW Symposia

  • 1st place: U of Hawaii at Manoa

  • 2nd place: CSU Long Beach

  • 3rd place: UCLA

  • BIM: UCLA

  • Hosted by: UCSD

Intermountain SW Symposia

  • 1st place: U of Utah

  • 2nd place: NAU

  • 3rd place: U of Arizona

  • BIM: ASU

  • Hosted by: UNLV

2021 TSDB

Due to COVID-19, the 2021 competition was held virtually. Building information modeling (BIM) was added to the event to give students experience modeling their structures.

  • 1st place: UCLA

  • 2nd place: CSU Fullerton

  • 3rd place: University of Hawaii at Manoa

2020 TSDB

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 competition was held virtually.

  • 1st place: CSU Fullerton

  • 2nd place: UCLA

  • 3rd place: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

2019 TSDB

National competition of student teams at the 2019 National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) Summit. The project changed from one story to two.

2019 NCSEA Summit

  • 1st Place: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

  • 2nd Place: UCLA

  • 3rd Place: University of Kentucky

  • Host: Disneyland® Hotel, Anaheim, California

Pacific Southwest Conference

  • 1st Place: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

  • 2nd Place: University of Arizona

  • 3rd Place: UCLA

  • Host: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Timber-Design-Build-Competition-Strong-Tarlton-State-UniversityThanks to Our Volunteers

This event could not be a success without the conscientious review of our volunteer judges, many of whom are practicing structural engineers, giving their time to share their knowledge of wood-frame construction with the next generation of engineers.