Friday, JUNE 26, 2009

Media Release: ACSA Announces 2008-2009 Concrete Thinking for a Sustainable World, Student Design Competition Winners

WASHINGTON, DC--(June 26, 2009) The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) is pleased to announce the winners of the fourth annual CONCRETE THINKING FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD, International Student Design Competition. Administered by ACSA and sponsored by the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), the program challenged students to investigate an innovative application of portland cement-based materials to achieve sustainable design objectives. The competition offered two separate entry categories, each without site restrictions, for maximum flexibility.

This year more than 300 students from 55 schools of architecture around the world participated. “We applaud these students for coming up with such innovative submissions and pushing the boundaries of concrete in green building,” said David Shepherd, AIA, LEED AP and Portland Cement Association’s director of sustainable development. “Concrete’s durability and versatility make it an ideal building material for sustainable design. This competition clearly illustrates its many applications.”

Winning students, their faculty sponsors and schools will receive cash prizes and software totaling nearly $50,000. Included in the prize package is StructurePoint©, concrete design software, a retail value of nearly $10,000.

Prize-winning projects will be on display at the ACSA Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA, March 2010; and the American Institute of Architects National Convention in Miami, FL, June 2010. In addition, the projects will be published in an online Competition Summary Website in fall 2009.

The 2008-09 award winners are:

Category I Transit Hub
Design an environmentally responsible Public Transportation Center focusing on architectural innovations to preserve tomorrow’s resources.

  • First Place: "Full Cycle"
    Students: Brodie Bricker, Akira Hirosawa and Marc Rutzen
    Faculty Sponsor: Kevin N. Erickson
    University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

    Juror comments: This project is flexible and forward thinking, incorporating auto and bike transit systems, such as the bicycle train-car within the metro. Carving into the existing urban fabric to integrate the new solution highlights the durability and adaptability that the concrete structures offer.
  • Second Place: "Transfer Hub Lomma"
    Students: Haydar Alward and Mikael Pettersson
    Faculty Sponsors: John Stack Ross, Tina-Henriette Kristiansen and Abelardo Gonzalez
    Lund University, Sweden

    Juror comments: Elegant, well developed design and a very strong use of concrete’s multi-tasking attributes. Hits all the right notes thinking about the location. For a small transit station the thought of elevating the train was a good solution for maintaining pedestrian mobility within the town core.
  • Honorable Mention: "MOBILITY IN FLUX"
    Students: Tim Keepers and Wes Bradley
    Faculty Sponsors: Stanley R. Russell and Vikas Mehta
    University of South Florida, Tampa

    Juror comments: Simple and sculptural. Considerate architectural integration of the site’s natural rainfall as an energy reduction strategy. Excellent analysis of water collection with a cascading roof and geothermal system.
  • Honorable Mention : "Media-Hub"
    Students: Shujia Chen, Truls Hakansson and Sven Teder
    Faculty Sponsors: John Stack Ross, Tina-Henriette Kristiansen and Abelardo Gonzalez
    Lund University, Sweden

    Juror comments: Well-thought out project with good arguments. Rethinks transit connection, making and occupiable building that is part of the urban fabric. Interesting repurposing of an existing station. Beautifully designed façade, typologically very well resolved in terms of materiality.

 

Category II Building Element
Design a single element of a building that provides a sustainable solution to real-world environmental challenges.

  • First Place: "Defying Gravity: Casting over tensile membranes"
    Students: Rasha Alkhatib, Kristiina Mair and Christina Gaiger
    Faculty Sponsor: Remo Pedreschi
    University of Edinburgh, Scotland

    Juror comments: This project recreates something existing in a new way. The design is mindful of construction material conservation and has a reusable form which could be pulled apart and reassembled.
  • Second Place: "CONSTRUCTED ECOLOGIES"
    Students: Zhan Chen and Brantley Highfill
    Faculty Sponsor: Douglas E. Oliver
    Rice University, Houston, TX

    Juror comments: This conceptual project has excellent program ties, directly addressing the use of sustainability with concrete.
  • Honorable Mention: "Minimal Surface Building Unit"
    Students: Gavet Douangvichit, John Puff and Kristopher John
    Walters Jr.
    Faculty Sponsor: Glenn Wilcox
    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

    Juror comments: Beautiful exploration of form, an interesting geometric exercise.
  • Honorable Mention: "TesseTrek"
    Students: Joshua R Kehl and Clay Montgomery
    Faculty Sponsor: Douglas Hecker
    Clemson University, South Carolina

    Juror comments: Well thought out project using an existing manufacturing platform. Customizing a sustainable path. This exploration of manufacturing could lead to a variety of surface configuration and patterns.

Panel of Judges
During the weekend of June 20, 2009, the design jury convened in Washington, DC to select the winning projects. The design jury consisted of the following individuals:

Category I: D. Michelle Addington, Yale University; Martin Despang, University of Nebraska; David Shepherd, Portland Cement Association

Category II : Ulrike Altenmüller, Drexel University; Robb Jolly, ReVISION Strategy + Design; Kentaro Tsubaki, Tulane University

 

Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture . (c) Copyright 2009.