2025 Schenck-Woodman Prize Winners Announced

Winners of the annual Albert F. Schenck-Henry Gillette Woodman Scholarship Prize for first-year MArch students have been announced. 

This year's Schenck-Woodman Prize was held as a competition to design an outdoor sports facility to be shared between two schools located just blocks from each other in West Philadelphia.

Add B. Anderson School for grades K-8 is, to northwest of the library, is part of the Philadelphia Public School system. To the south, KIPP West Philadelphia Preparatory is a charter school for grades 5-8 founded in 2009. In a way, the two schools represent different visions of elementary school for West Philadelphia's underserved populations. The first is the continuing belief that American public education system is the best way to give equal opportunity to all youth, while the charter school represents one of many efforts to step away from that system and create new alternative that are more tailored to specific subjects, interests groups, or ways of teaching.

What both schools share, though, is a lack of physical resources. Like many urban schools, they have almost no outdoor area dedicated to sports or play. What little they do have is more an indictment of what they lack: KIPP has a single basketball court, striped into one side of a parking lot; while Anderson has a patch of grass landlocked in ring of asphalt. 

The Schenck-Woodman Prize brief proposes a thought experiment. What if a triangle-shaped block between the two institutions were given over to share for outdoor activities? What would go there? How would the two schools share it? How would the play area fit with the neighborhood in a way that is both open and secure? What is the architecture of this new kind of institution that doesn't belong entirely to the traditional system of public education nor its recent alternatives? 

Students responded to the prompt in a one-week burst of design activity, culminating a in a prize selection jury of prominent architects and academics, including Catherine Ingraham, a theoretician and Professor at Pratt, Amanda Reeser-Lawrence, an historian and professor at Northeastern University, and James Timberlake, Founding Principal of KieranTimberlake. 

The Winners:

1st Prize: Xinyao Yu, Yutong Zhao

Square & Circle
Based on the floor plan of Trenton Bathhouse in Louis Kahn, the project extracts the elements of the nine-cell grid and the circular elements of the atrium. Based on the intersections of the grid lines, the relationship between the square and the circle is constructed to form a diverse space where the square and the circle are intertwined. The dual flow lines allow students from both schools to utilize the circular interior space without disturbing each other. The cantilevered structure above the main body guides the students to explore the outdoor area for relaxation, communication, and viewing of the sculptural vignettes. The project utilizes pressed wood from recycled skateboards as the primary material, and glass is used where appropriate to provide ample light and enhance interaction.

2nd Prize: Tony Chen, Baorui (William) Chen, Yung Le Hsiao

Sculpture/Landscape/Architecture
Utilizing the precedent Perimeters/Pavilions/Decoys, by Mary Miss, this project adopts the formal language of the positive/void relationship between the abstractions of the tower and the hole. Grounded by a main entry tower, an excavated sports court, and an elevated court, each space symbolizes two of the three characteristics of Sculpture, Landscape, and Architecture. In addition, the project combines the gesture of subtly lifting the land to create views both through the platform and above, creating the experience of floating above the site. The hole in the site gradually reveals itself to be larger than at first glance, expanding into public utility spaces such as changing rooms and storage for the sports facilities. The columns are defined by the site to frame each space, dividing private from public. To enable direct access from the surrounding schools, the lower and upper-level entrances are created on each corner of the site. The inclusion of an upper and lower court ensures both schools can enjoy the spaces together, but also separately.
 

3rd Prize: Sam Gandhi, Cindy Wang, Jacob Geile

Liminal Horizons
Inspired by the Lakefront Kiosks utilization of focal points for the arrangement of form, points of density are concentrated on the site from the movement, flowing between the two schools. There, an interplay of upward and downward peeling motions against the landscape creates enclosed spaces for interior programming beneath. The balanced relationship between the ground and canopy reflects the precedents creation of an artificial horizon and establishes circulating pathways and the division of spaces. The canopy bridging the structured courts and open, free-play areas for each school further defines the spaces and compresses the movement between the two designated areas of play. Together the structures and landscape form a fluid gradation between various horizon planes, shaped by the topographical bounds of the site.

1st Runner-Up: Edward Liang, Arthur Cheng, Wenjun Zheng

Athlos Agora
Athlos Agora draws inspiration from the Parthenon and Acropolis, blending their spatial order, urban prominence, and sacred aesthetic to shape a central hub for the community. It cultivates agglomeration and growth by providing equitable opportunities for the community and its youth through versatile and inclusive spaces. These spaces are realized through principles of decentralization, elevation, and a sense of purposeful journey. Ultimately, Athlos Agora serves as the heart and sanctuary of the community, embodying the Olympic spirit to inspire resilience and sportsmanship while nurturing a vibrant and thriving community.

2nd Runner-Up: Evelyn Tan, Elyse Jiang, Xinyi (Cheryl) Qiu

Wave Interference
Wave Interference reimagines shared space design for two schools within one site. Inspired by Lakefront Kiosk Chicago Horizon, the project features two central activity zones radiating concentric circular steps, mimicking ripples on water. These wave-like forms intuitively divide the site, creating distinct areas foreach school while intersecting to form a dynamic multifunctional zone with skateboarding areas, running tracks, and more. The circular steps adapt seamlessly to the site’s elevation changes, inviting access from all directions. Radiating walls and partitions enrich spatial diversity, offering a balance of openness and separation. The design fosters harmony, interaction, and identity through fluid architectural gestures.