2027 Design for Freedom Competition
Ethical and Equitable Materiality: To End Forced Labor
Grace Farms is partnering with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) on a student design competition for the 2026-2027 academic year.
Ethical & Equitable Materiality: To End Forced Labor is a student competition that offers architecture students the opportunity to design a project using responsible design practices. Students are expected to engage both design and material investigation as interconnected processes, demonstrating how architectural decisions can contribute to eliminating forced labor from the building industry.
The competition is intended to challenge students, working individually or in teams, to explore how architectural materials research and design can eliminate forced labor in the building materials supply chain – to explore and propose how architects can work to eradicate forced and child labor from the built environment.
Registration Deadline: April 7, 2027
Submission Deadline: June 2, 2027
Meet the Jurors
Curtis Clay
Regional Design Director, East Region
CannonDesign
Biography
Curtis Clay, FAIA is a member of the Design For Freedom Working Group and served as the Director of Architecture for the U.S. Department of State’s embassy building program where he promoted excellence in diplomatic architecture and shaped national policy. He was instrumental in providing leadership to eliminate forced labor in the building materials supply chain to build a more equitable and just future in our embassies and consulates.
Rick Cook
Founding Partner
COOKFOX Architects
Biography
Rick Cook is the Founding Partner of COOKFOX Architects. Over the past 40 years he has built a portfolio of sustainable, award-winning architectural design. His work ranges from 2-million-SF towers and large mixed-use projects to supportive housing and schools. Recent projects include the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, and the conversion of both St. John’s Terminal and Terminal Warehouse into biophilic workplaces. He co-founded Terrapin Bright Green, a sustainability strategy firm. Rick is an alumnus of Syracuse University.
Nina Cooke John
Founder & Principal, Studio Cooke John Architecture + Design
Biography
Nina is the founding principal of Studio Cooke John Architecture and Design, a multidisciplinary practice that values placemaking as a way to transform relationships between people and the built environment. Nina was named the AIANY New Perspectives honoree in 2024 and is a 2022 United States Artists Fellow. She is a 2024 J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize recipient for Exhibit Columbus. She currently teaches at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
Julia Gamolina
Associate Principal at Ennead Architects
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Madame Architect
Biography
Julia Gamolina is an Associate Principal at Ennead Architects and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Madame Architect, an award-winning media and events platform spotlighting women shaping the built environment. Since launching the publication in 2018, she has grown its global readership to more than 100 countries. Julia leads strategic visibility initiatives at Ennead and is a frequent speaker, writer, educator, and juror. She holds a B.Arch from Cornell University and is based in New York City.
Suchi Reddy
Architect and Founder
Reddymade
Biography
Suchi Reddy is a pioneering architect, designer, professor, and artist. Guided by her mantra “form follows feeling”, her award-winning practice Reddymade engages the field of neuroaesthetics to explore the intersection of space, perception, and emotion. In 2024, she designed the Humanscale showroom in Chicago as a pilot project for Design For Freedom, creating an innovative sustainable retail space that gained Living Building Challenge certification. Reddy is a speaker, educator, and advocate for the impact of the arts and architecture on equity, innovation, and a world designed for well-being.
