2026 CIRT Competition Winners Announced!

Apr 28
3 min read

The Construction Industry Round Table (CIRT) is proud to announce the winners of the 20th Anniversary CIRT National Design + Construction Competition, an extraordinary milestone year that brought together some of the brightest emerging talent from ACE Mentor Programs across the country.

After a full year of collaboration, innovation, and mentorship—and a culminating live Final Presentation Round in Washington, D.C.—student teams delivered thoughtful, high-impact solutions to three forward-looking industry challenges: Cultural Destination, Net Zero Data Center, and Modular / Tech-Enabled Construction. Each challenge asked students to think critically about the evolving built environment, balancing creativity, feasibility, sustainability, and real-world constructability.

2026 Competition Winners

After a thoughtful deliberations, the jurors selected the 505/732 Teams of the ACE Mentor Program of New Jersey as the First Place winner -- and a $2,000 prize -- for their Net Zero Data Center project, “Net 505.” Their solution stood out for its comprehensive approach to energy efficiency, technical innovation, and clear articulation of a scalable, sustainable data infrastructure model.

Second Place for a $1,500 prize was awarded to ACE Mentor Program of Southern Nevada, Team Jigsaw for their Modular / Tech-enabled submission “Modular/Tech-Enabled Build" .

Third Place for a $1,000 prize was awarded to ACE Mentor Program of Illinois, Chicago Team 11 for their Cultural Destination submission “Crossroads Cultural Center.”

ACE Mentor New Jersey accepting their First Place Award with (back row, left to right) Thornton Jury Chair Michael Squarzini, Thornton Tomasetti Co-CEO, Corey Clayborne, CIRT President, and Diana Eidenshink, ACE Mentor Program President. — ACE Mentor New Jersey accepting their First Place Award with *(back row, left to right)* Thornton Jury Chair Michael Squarzini, Thornton Tomasetti Co-CEO, Corey Clayborne, CIRT President, and Diana Eidenshink, ACE Mentor Program President.

2026 Competition Runner-Up Winners

It was a full day of presentations and pep talks, starting with the Preliminary Round Presentations, in which the nine finalist teams presented against other top projects in their challenge category. Preliminary Jurors selected the First and Second Runners-Up and the Finalists who continued on to the Final Round Presentations.

Net Zero Data Center Challenge

First Runner-Up: ACE Mentoring Program of Maine, Team ACE Maine for their Net Zero Data Center submission “Katahdin Peak Systems.”
Second Runner-Up: ACE Mentor Program of Greater Washington DC Metro Area, Inc., Team McKinley Tech High School for their Net Zero Data Center submission “McKinley Tech Net Zero Data Center.”

Modular / Tech-Enabled Construction Challenge

First Runner-Up: ACE Mentor Program Houston, Team ACE Galleria for their Modular / Tech-enabled submission “Project Halo.”
Second Runner-Up: ACE Mentor Program of Rhode Island, Team Fungi Friends for their Modular / Tech-enabled submission “Rooted Kinetics.”

Cultural Destination Challenge

First Runner-Up: ACE Mentor Program of Atlanta, Team ACE NAHS – Luz de Marea for their Cultural Destination submission “The Luz de Marea.”
Second Runner-Up: ACE Mentor Program of Illinois, Chicago Team 8 for their Cultural Destination submission “The Frank.”

About the 2026 Challenges

This year’s competition themes reflected some of the most pressing and exciting opportunities in the built environment:

Cultural Destination challenged teams to design inclusive, community-centered spaces that celebrate identity, history, and engagement—blending architecture with social impact.
Net Zero Data Center pushed students to tackle one of the industry’s fastest-growing sectors, focusing on energy efficiency, resilience, and sustainable infrastructure to support global digital demand.
Modular / Tech-Enabled Construction explored the future of building through prefabrication, emerging technologies, and innovative delivery methods aimed at improving speed, cost, and quality.

Across all three challenges, students demonstrated not only technical skill, but also a deep understanding of how design and construction can shape communities and address global challenges.