The session introduces Knot Charleston, the winning proposal of this year’s ULI Hines Student Competition by the team from Harvard University. The competition challenges graduate students to devise a comprehensive design and development plan for a real-world urban site with a multidisciplinary approach that includes urban design, architecture, landscape architecture and real estate finance.

Presented by the team leader, Youngsoo Yang, Knot Charleston proposes an $843 million, 4.5 million-square-foot mixed-use development plan on a 90-acre waterfront site in North Charleston, South Carolina. Selected by the jury out of 84 entries, Knot Charleston provides a vision for the city’s new downtown while addressing challenges posed by the post-COVID environment, social inequality, and climate change. The session will also discuss the experience of participating in the competition and the impact it has made on the team members’ professional paths and involvement in the built environment.