The Polk County Housing Trust Fund recognizes these five finalists and scholarship recipients announced during the Can I Be Your Neighbor Student Design Challenge finals on April 2, 2022. The challenge is made possible by Des Moines architectural firm ASK Studio and additional scholarship sponsors, listed below.
This year's challenge involved designing an Accesssory Dwelling Unit (ADU), a smaller housing unit located on the same property as a larger home. The students created their designs for a fictional Des Moines homeowner looking for a place for her mother to live in retirement.
Griffin Gade of Ankeny High School received top honors, a $1000 scholarship sponsored by the Home Builders Asociation of Greater Des Moines.
Abigail Levering of Des Moines Central Campus/Virtual Campus was named runner-up and received a $500 scholarship sponsored by the Polk County Housing Trust Fund.
Braden Simonsen of Ankeny High School was named runner-up and received a $500 scholarship sponsored by HOME, Inc.
The other two finalists in the competition, Dylan Hender and Bradley Dacus, both of Ankeny High School, will both receive $250 scholarships courtesy of Jack Hatch/Hatch Development.
The organizers wish to thank Michael Kiernan, community member and local ADU owner, for serving as a judge for the competition and Brad Anderson, state director of AARP-Iowa for making a presentation on ADUs during the event.