ASCE Timber-Strong Design Build^(sm) Competition

Timber-Strong Design Build Competition Educates About Engineered Wood

Tiny pubs. Playhouses. “Barndominiums.” You never know what teams participating in the Timber-Strong Design Build^(sm) competition will create. Since 2019, the annual event has allowed college engineering students to learn about designing and building with engineered wood products. The competition promotes teamwork, planning and proves the value of prefabrication. What began as a giant Jenga contest now attracts hundreds of participating students and over a thousand spectators.

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. ASCE student chapters are asked to design and build a 2-story, sustainable, light-framed wood structure. Teams prepare project budgets, and follow OSHA safety guidelines and model structures with computer-aided design (CAD) software. Eighty teams participated in 2025 – almost twice as many as in 2024.

2025 was the first time the University of Louisiana-Lafayette took part in the Timber-Strong Design Build competition. Nick Pontiff, a student at the university, says the competition is unique, which is why he wanted to be a part of it.

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

John Wilkinson, a 2024 head judge for the Eastern Great Lakes region, said the contest allows students to collaborate and use their skills in structural calculations, building information modeling and physical construction. And it was good practice for their future careers, he adds.

“This competition is a great example of how the interactions between designers and instructors in the field (go),” Wilkinson says.

The 2025 competition took place in March and April at 10 host schools nationwide. Some winners will be picked to show their project at the ASCE Civil Engineering Student Championships, taking place June 27-29 at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.

Learn more about this competition.

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Here’s the full list of winners.

 

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TSDB Competition Winners

 

2025

Region 3 (Eastern Great Lakes)

• First Place: Michigan Technological University
• Second Place: University of Michigan
• Third Place: Ohio Northern University
• Best in Show: University of Cincinnati
• Honorable Mention: Western Michigan University

Host school: Michigan Technological University

Region 4 (Carolinas)

• First Place: Clemson University
• Second Place: University of North Carolina-Charlotte
• Third Place: Horry-Georgetown Technical College

Host school: Clemson University

Region 4 (Indiana-Kentucky)

• First Place: University of Purdue-West Lafayette
• Second Place: University of Louisville
• Third 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)

• First Place: Auburn University
• Second Place: Mississippi State University
• Third Place: University of Louisiana-Lafayette

Host school: University of Mississippi

Region 5 (Southeast)

• First Place: University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
• Second Place: Georgia Southern University
• Third Place: Georgia Institute of Technology

Host school: University of Georgia

Region 6 (Frontier)

• First Place: University of Texas-Arlington
• Second Place: LeTourneau University
• Third Place: University of Texas-Rio Grande

Host school: Tarleton State University

Region 7 (Rocky Mountains)

• First Place: Colorado School of Mines
• Second Place: South Dakota School of Mines
• Third Place: University of Wyoming

Host school: Colorado State University

Region 8 (Pacific Northwest)

• First Place: University of Washington
• Second Place: Montana State University

Host school: Portland State University

Region 8 (Intermountain Southwest)

• First Place: Northern Arizona University
• Second Place: University of Nevada-Reno
• Third Place: University of Arizona

Host school: University of Arizona

Region 9 (Pacific Southwest)

• First Place: California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
• Second Place: California Polytechnic State University-Pomona
• Third 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

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2024

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

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2023

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

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2022

SE Symposia

• 1st place: FAMU-FSU
• 2nd place: University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
• 3rd place: FAU
• BIM: TBD

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

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2021

Online

• 1st place: UCLA
• 2nd place: CSU Fullerton
• 3rd place: University of Hawaii at Manoa

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2020

Online

• 1st place: CSU Fullerton
• 2nd place: UCLA
• 3rd place: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

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2019

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