NEXT Student Design Competition

The NEXT Office

There is no denying that how, when and where we work is changing. We challenge future designers to join us in this student design competition to create the NEXT office of the future.

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About NEXT

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What’s NEXT in office design? Are your design students ready?

Welcome to the 13th annual Steelcase NEXT Student Design Competition for 2025!

There is no denying that how, when, and where we work has changed. We challenge future designers to join us in this student design competition to create the NEXT office of the future. Challenge your students to imagine the workplace of the future.

The client profile for the 2025 competition will be a 15K SF branch office location in Los Angeles for a global New York based law firm that has an additional 14 offices worldwide. The space to be designed is approximately 15K SF.

To participate, email us at design4next@steelcase.com

The future is theirs to create!

Resources

Shown are (NEW) resources for the 2025 competition.

(NEW) 2025 NEXT Contest Overview + Program

(NEW) 2025 PDF Floor Plans

(NEW) 2025 AutoCAD File
*Some versions of Internet Explorer are not compatible for download. Please use Google Chrome to download these drawings.

(NEW) 2025 REVIT File

Question + Answer: FINAL NEXT 2025 Q+A

FINAL NEXT 2025 Q+A

(NEW) 2025 Contest Background and Judging Criteria

(NEW) 2025 Official Rules

More Information

Key Dates

Prizes

Key Dates

August 25 – All 2025 NEXT resources (plan, etc.) loaded on our competition website
September 8 – Competition and open registration begins
September 22 – Question + Answer period begins
October 3 – Registration and Q+A periods both close
December 10 – All submissions are due by 5pm PST
December 15 – All submissions distributed to judges for review
January 20-21 (2026) – Judges meet to select semifinalists and honorable mentions
January 23 – Announcement of semifinalists and honorable mentions
February 23-25 – Semifinalist presentations to judges at Steelcase headquarters
February 27 – Announcement of winner

Prizes

Grand Prize (1)

$2,500 for the student.
$2,500 contribution to school’s design program or to a charity of their choice.
All expenses paid trip to Steelcase University to present project to judges panel, meetings with Steelcase executives and other learning opportunities. Expenses include flights to Grand Rapids, MI, hotel accommodations, meals and transportation during the stay.
Custom ordered Gesture, Karman, Think or SILQ chair.
Recognition as the grand prize winner in select Steelcase marketing.

Semi-Finalist (4)

$1,250 for each semifinalist not selected for Grand Prize (4)
$1,250 contribution to school’s design program or to a charity of their choice for each semifinalist not selected for Grand Prize (4)
All expenses paid trip to Steelcase University to present project to judges panel, meetings with Steelcase executives and other learning opportunities.
Custom ordered Gesture, Karman, Think or SILQ chair.
Recognition as a semifinalist in select Steelcase marketing.