California’s 2x8 student competition is returning this fall as 2x8: RECLAIM, pairing a student exhibition with a design challenge and scholarship fund.
The program is organized by AIA Los Angeles and the nonprofit Architecture for Communities Los Angeles, and it is intended to connect architecture schools and emerging designers with Los Angeles’s broader architecture, engineering, and construction community.
The 2026 exhibition will feature student work from 12 California institutions: Santa Monica College, College of the Canyons, NewSchool of Architecture and Design, USC School of Architecture, Pasadena City College, Woodbury University School of Interior Design, Woodbury University School of Architecture, UCLA Architecture and Urban Design, Cal Poly Pomona, East Los Angeles College, SCI-Arc, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
According to the Archinect report, the call for submissions was statewide, and the program will use both a physical and online exhibition format to broaden the audience for student work.
Archinect published the report on Oct. 19, 2026.
The source says the initiative highlights student design while linking it to scholarship awards and a public exhibition platform.
