NJIT Students Win First Place in International Net Zero Energy Design Competition

A team of NJIT architecture and urban systems students has taken first place in the 2025 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Setty Family Foundation Net Zero Energy Design Student Competition, one of the most competitive international student design challenges focused on sustainability and energy efficiency.

Their winning entry proposed ambitious modifications to an existing 74,000-square-foot medical office building in Manchester, England, transforming it into a high-performance facility that not only achieved net-positive operational energy but also tackled broader measures of sustainability, including lifecycle carbon and occupant well-being.

The competition, organized by ASHRAE - a global society of over 53,000 members advancing sustainable technology for the built environment - challenges student teams to push the boundaries of building performance. This particular category, the Net Zero Energy Design, carries the largest award of all ASHRAE student competitions: a $5,000 prize, plus $5,000 in travel support for the winning team to attend the 2026 ASHRAE Winter Meeting in Las Vegas.

An integrated approach to sustainability

The NJIT team included Jacob Swanson '25, Austin Chen, Jeongseo Lee, Minkyeong Park and Mingzhe Li, under the guidance of Hyojin Kim, Ph.D., associate professor and associate dean for research at the Hillier College of Architecture and Design.

Their design process was rooted in integrated data-driven decision-making. Using Revit and EnergyPlus, the team modeled various architectural and mechanical modifications, layering in analyses of energy use, embodied carbon, water conservation and indoor environmental quality.

Ultimately, their proposal went far beyond meeting the competition's requirements, achieving:

• Net-positive operational energy, after reducing total building energy consumption by 34% using passive and active strategies, the building generates 139% of its annual energy demand through solar photovoltaics installed on the roof and over the parking lot.
  
• Significant embodied carbon reductions, including a 78% drop in global warming potential through the use of a hybrid mass timber-concrete structure and prefabricated straw panels for insulation.
  
• Exceptional indoor environmental quality, guided by the WELL Building Standard, the design ensures daylight access for all exam rooms, acoustic comfort, and natural ventilation opportunities.
  
• Rigorous compliance with ASHRAE Standard 189.1-2020, a green building benchmark comparable to LEED, alongside partial compliance with the WELL Building Standard.
  

"At the beginning, they tended to work more independently, with each member focusing on their own section without reviewing others' work," Kim explained. "Over time, they came to realize that all final design decisions are interconnected and must consider multiple factors. This pushed them to actively coordinate with one another, for instance, the architect communicating with the energy modeler, to ensure coherence and integration across the project."

Pushing the boundaries of net zero

While most teams in the competition focused on achieving operational net-zero energy, NJIT expanded the definition by tackling lifecycle carbon impacts.

"As we noted in our report, a sole focus on operational (net-zero) energy use can be misleading," Swanson explained. "The manufacture, transport, installation and disposal of materials - what we call embodied carbon - are significant contributors to a building's environmental impact over its lifecycle. To address this, we proposed replacing the baseline building's steel and concrete structure with a hybrid mass timber and concrete one. In addition, we proposed employing highly-insulative prefabricated straw panels in the wall assembly."

This more holistic framing of "net zero" - one that balances both operational efficiency and material impacts - gave the project an innovative edge.

Teamwork across disciplines

The competition required students from different disciplines to collaborate on architecture, mechanical, and electrical design decisions. For NJIT, whose team was architecture-heavy, the key was to lean into their strengths while making decisions grounded in energy data.

"As we progressed, rather than treating the phases as sequential, we worked in an iterative, back-and-forth manner where each section informed the others. For example, incorporating a courtyard was not only an architectural decision for aesthetics and access to outdoor area, but it also created opportunities for increased daylighting, which reduced reliance on artificial lighting and lowered energy use," Lee said. "This kind of integration was possible because our team maintained active communication and considered all perspectives simultaneously. As a group, we evaluated every design decision by weighing its implications for architecture, indoor environmental quality, and both operational and embodied energy."

That integrated approach mirrored real-world professional practice, where architects and engineers must align decisions from the earliest stages of design.

Growth beyond the classroom

"It was illuminating to learn about how energy models are used and produced and the various considerations that go into them," Swanson reflected. "Knowing where the information comes from and how to determine whether simulation results are accurate is important for using them effectively in design."

He also noted how the competition provided a preview of professional life: "This experience was unique in my B.Arch because it required the integration and coordination of expertise from varied backgrounds, which is similar to working with consultants in practice. It also offered hands-on experience applying various frameworks for sustainable, high-performance buildings to a project, including ASHRAE Standard 189.1 and the WELL Building Standard, revealed some of their limitations, and allowed us to experiment with innovative solutions."

Kim emphasized how competitions like this bridge the gap between academia and practice. "Competitions like this are incredibly valuable because they simulate the complexities of real-world sustainable design challenges, which often require unique solutions," she said. "Students must think critically and creatively to develop approaches tailored to their specific project. One aspect I am especially proud of is how the team went beyond the competition requirements by introducing a courtyard, allowing all interior zones to access natural daylight."

She also reflected on what the win means for NJIT: "Competing outside of coursework is extremely challenging, but the students recognized its value and were fully committed, which I truly applaud. They learned the importance of taking ownership in a team environment and eventually assumed full responsibility for the project."

Her advice to the students moving into professional careers was simple but powerful: "Continue cultivating creativity, ownership, and collaboration - and most importantly, enjoy the process."