Congratulations to all award winners and all participants in this year’s AFSF High School Design Competition!!

San Francisco, like many other coastal cities, is re-imagining its waterfront with an eye towards mitigating sea-level rise and meeting other urban challenges while enhancing iconic civic spaces.

Aligned with the city’s Climate Action Plan, the plan, called “Fisherman’s Wharf Revitalized,” calls for mixed-use development of Seawall Lot 300/301, a section of the waterfront just west of Pier 39.  Proposed elements include:

1)  Two public plazas or promenades (one of which will replace the last block of The Embarcadero)

2)  A visitor’s center

3)  A restaurant & boba cafe

4)  Eight short-term vacation rental units

Find details in this year’s design brief. 

In addition to the standard prizes, the first place winner in the overall superiority category received a four-week Summer Pre-college Scholarship at the California College of the Arts.

Ryan Lee of Woods Bagot is the Competition Chair: 415-277-3041 ryan@afsf.org

E-mail info@afsf.org to be informed about future competitions and other AFSF program updates.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the 2026 HSDC!

162 Participants from 28 High Schools

8 Countries

• United States (59)

• Canada (1) 

• China (3)

• Pakistan (1) 

• Serbia (1) 

• South Korea (4)

• Taiwan (8) 

• Thailand (1)

6 US States

• California (53)

• Connecticut (1)

• Georgia (1)

• Illinois (2)

• Rhode Island (1)

• Washington (1)

29 High Schools

• Abraham Lincoln High School, San Francisco, CA (12)

• Burlingame High School, Burlingame, CA (34)

• Crofton House School, Vancouver BC Canada (1)

• CUBO, Incheon, South Korea (1)

• Eastlake High School, Sammamish, WA (1)

• Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Elgin, IL (1)

• International Department The Affiliated High School of SCNU, Guangdong, China (1)

• James B. Conant High School, Schaumburg IL, (1)

• Kent School, Kent, CT (1)

• Lahore Grammar School International, Pakistan (1)

• Lambert High School, Suwanee, GA (1)

• Lick-Wilmerding High School, San Francisco, CA (2)

• Mercy High School, Burlingame, CA (1)

• North Kitsap High School, Poulsbo, WA, (1)

• North London Collegiate School Jeju, Seogwipo, South Korea (1)

• Orange Cube, Seoul, South Korea (1)

• Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, San Francisco, CA (1)

• Saint Francis High School, San Jose, CA (1)

• Samsenwittayalai School, Bangkok, Thailand (1) 

• San Francisco University High School, San Francisco, CA (1)

• Seoul Foreign School, Seoul, South Korea (1)

• Shenzhen College of International Education, Shenzhen, China (1)

• Sierra Canyon School, Chatsworth, CA (1)

• Taipei American School, Taipei, Taiwan (7)

• Technical School “MILEVA MARIĆ – EINSTEIN”, Novi Sad, Serbia (1)

• The SMIC Private School, Shanghai, China (1)

• The Wheeler School, Providence, RI (1)

• Triam Udom Suksa School, Bangkok, Thailand (1)

• Samsenwittayalai School, Bangkok, Thailand (1) 

• Yuteh Private International School, New Taipei City, Taiwan (1)

79 Entries

• 28 individual

• 51 group

Jurors:

Aimee Chan, Smith Group

Glenn Katz, Stanford University

High School Design Competition Chair and Author:

Ryan Lee – Woods Bagot

Number         Project         Name         School

Best Individual Design, Overall Superiority 

First Place

# 22 “Interweaving Flows” Issa Agha Khan Lahore Grammar School International

Lahore, Pakistan

Second Place

#   9 “Tidal Probe: Where tides Xinyue (Elva) Hu Kent School

cradle our quiet home” Kent, CT

Third Place

# 47 “Wharfline” Jake Foard San Francisco University High School

San Francisco, CA

Honorable Mention

# 11   “Coastal Roots” Gwen Toh Taipei American School

Taipei, Taiwan

# 86 “Fisherman’s Wharf Hao Feng The Affiliated School of SCNU

Sustainable Building Design” Guangdong, China

# 31 “The Horizon Bulwark” Dylan Kim Taipei American School

Taipei, Taiwan

# 71 “The Uni Knot” Celine Linxi Shu Crofton House School

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Best Group Presentation 

First Place

# 79 “Barcarola” Patrick Romero Lick-Wilmerding High School

Claudia Cohn San Francisco, CA

Second Place (tie)

# 21 “Tidal Drift”  Joan Lee  CUBO

Taeyoung Kim  Incheon, South Korea 

Chris Ahn 

# 63 “Costanoa” Chloe Chen  Burlingame High School  

Maddie Szafranski Burlingame, CA

Third Place

# 20 “The First Barrier” Ari Lee  Orange Cube

Soyun Park Seoul, South Korea

Yongjun Kim

Honorable Mention

# 14 “Tech Vessel” Darren Li Yuteh Private International School

Ryan Li New Taipai City, Taiwan

# 19 “The Gradual Wharf” Kanyakorn Settachoduek Triam Udom Suksa School 

Ploynapat Ratchareon Samsenwittayalai School

Bangkok, Thailand

# 48   “The Great Wharf Revival Declan Scott-Smith Abraham Lincoln High School

Ben Peek San Francisco, CA

Vinnie Hernandez