Make It Heal
98 Entries, 61 Prizes
Autodesk Design & Make It Real: Make It Heal
When disaster hits, such as wildfires, floods, storms, or other crises, rebuilding must go beyond replacing what was lost. Communities need spaces that help people feel safe again, bring neighbors back together, and restore a sense of home.
This year’s Design & Make It Real: Make It Heal challenge is your chance to imagine places that help people heal and move forward. We’re giving out more than $75,000 in prizes for designs that make a real difference.
We’re asking: What if the built environment could be part of the healing?
Your challenge
Design a public space or structure that supports recovery and resilience after a community-changing event. It could be a school, health clinic, makerspace, community center, place of worship, or another environment where healing—emotional, social, and physical—can take place.
Get inspired
The Make It Heal film series follows New England pro quarterback and aerospace engineer Josh Dobbs as he travels from Los Angeles to Boston, meeting students and builders who are reshaping how we recover and prepare for what’s next. From wildfire-struck neighborhoods creating pre-approved resilient home designs to cutting-edge digital construction labs anticipating future climate challenges, you’ll see how design, technology, and collaboration can transform loss into learning and rebuilding into belonging.
Watch the films and imagine how your own design could be part of this movement.
You may begin with our Tinkercad digital “kit of parts” below, inspired by recovery efforts led by The Foothill Catalog Foundation or create something entirely your own. Choose a specific site, describe the community it will serve, and share why it matters.
If you prefer to work with the Metric system, here is an alternative Make it Heal (metric) Template.
Success Tip: Think about how your design can go beyond its typical function—fostering connection, dignity, safety, and empowerment.
Explore the Make it Heal Contest Starter Kit to jumpstart your project with tools, tutorials, and resources designed to help you turn your “Make It Heal” idea into a powerful, buildable solution.
For more ways to help you get started, you can visit autodesk.com/makeitreal
How to enter
Your design should:
- Address community recovery needs following disasters like the LA wildfires or other community-changing events relevant to the site you choose.
- Incorporate human-centered design principles to support well-being and connection, such as trauma-informed and biophilic (or nature-inspired) design.
- Embrace sustainability and resilience, exploring strategies such as self-healing infrastructure, circular materials, environmental analysis, and climate-ready construction methods.
- Consider efficiency and affordability, including how manufacturing and construction innovations can accelerate safe, cost-effective rebuilding.
- Use Autodesk tools—explore Tinkercad, Fusion, Forma, and/or Revit — to bring your idea to life. Learn how to access free Autodesk software for students.
- Include images, text, and clear explanations of your design’s relevance, construction approach, and community impact.
You may work solo or form a team. For teams: Entrants must nominate a team captain and form a team of up to five students, including the captain. At the time of entry, all entrants must be enrolled as students at either a secondary or post-secondary institution (excluding students enrolled in postgraduate programs) or participants in the job training or work-based learning programs listed at https://www.autodesk.org/impact/work-and-prosperity. The team captain must state the number of team members contributing to the project in the first step of the Instructable.
Autodesk is proud to be the Official Design & Make Platform of the New England Patriots.
Higher Ground: a Flash-Flood Recovery Center for Displaced Communities
by jake_feldman_13 in 3D Design
525 Views
Resilience Commons: a Reconfigurable Wildfire Recovery and Community Rebuilding Center
by tejasthetj in 3D Design
1839 Views
The Altadena Hearth: a Community Recovery Center for Eaton Fire Survivors
by PavelsProjects in Architecture
608 Views
Changing the Way Communities Endure and Heal From Natural Disasters
by Nadav Hakak in Architecture
856 Views
Sustainable and Resilient Community Center for Wildfire Healing and Recovery
by eitanmakestuff in Architecture
1807 Views
The BLOOM - Building Local Opportunity, Outreach, and Mobilization
by Dhruv Goyal in 3D Design
1585 Views
House of Return: an Islamic Recovery Center for Dearborn, Michigan
by elizabeth756 in Architecture
188 Views
PineHome - Sustainable Wildfire Shelter for First Nations in British Columbia
by neeshthakapadia1 in Architecture
63 Views
A Feasible Solution Towards Sheltering Individuals Displaced by Natural Disasters
by TCNCRTR in Architecture
339 Views
Insect-Inspired Modular Wildfire Recovery (Concept & Creation)
by MicroSavage in Architecture
911 Views
Sunny Days Ahead: a Wildfire Proof Community Center and Transitional Housing Area
by IntegerIguana in Architecture
1055 Views
Discover in Drought: Windmill Powered Water Pumping Mechanism for Drought
by AnviU in Architecture
107 Views
Amphibious Clinic Pavilion: a Flood-Response Healing Hub
by arjun-kulkarni in Architecture
906 Views
A Small Co-living Community for Seniors-Five Hands, One Heart
by emilycanhelp in Architecture
793 Views
The Cumberland Commons: a Mixed-Use Resilience Building for Storm Recovery, Veteran Healing, and Economic Renewal
by avidgamer in Architecture
1862 Views
Building for Its People: a Makerspace for Altadena's Post-Fire Recovery
by liu707318 in Architecture
871 Views
Jasper Commons - a Community Space for Recovery and Gathering
by Jacob Janzen in Architecture
1256 Views
The Modern Maristan: a Conceptual Earthquake-Resistant Holistic Hospital
by Hanaan Haleem-Rafiq in Architecture
443 Views
