UNL Architecture Students Win Grand Prize In International Competition

Former master of architecture students Hannah Christy and Craig Findlay were named the student grand prize winners of Architizer’s prestigious 2020 One Drawing Challenge for their project titled “Concrete Atla(nti)s.” Out of 404 total international submissions, spring graduates Christy and Findlay were selected by a jury as the student competition winners.

“We feel extremely grateful Architizer has recognized our work in the 2020 One Drawing Challenge. Working on this project with my studio partner Craig Findlay, and our professor Brian Kelly, was an absolute joy,” said Christy. “Brian constantly encouraged us as a team to push ourselves by challenging countless conceptual avenues and unconventional representation techniques. Overall, it was such a positive experience, and we are beyond thankful for this outcome.”

Their entry originated from Associate Professor Brian M. Kelly’s Studio Copy Right design research studio during the fall of 2019. Other College of Architecture finalists include Audrey Lanik and Di Zai Awng for their project “Elevated” and Ian Jones for his project “Tower of Tangier’s.” All of these submissions were supervised by Kelly.

“Mentoring Hannah and Craig through this project was a very rewarding experience for me, and this recognition is a testament to their talent and hard work,” said Kelly.

Christy and Findlay offer insight to their project’s meaning and inspiration.

“Representing our capacity to maintain archaic infrastructure in an overwhelming environment overflowing with waste, occupied by a population complacent to unrest, this drawing is as complex as the topics it alludes to. It is set in one of the 72 decommissioned Atlas-F missile silos scattered across the United States. This drawing critiques the haphazard mismanagement of reusable commodities of varying scales ranging from abandoned infrastructure to recyclable materials. Through the convention of a section, this drawing shows the activities in the depth of the repurposed missile silo.”

This is the second year in a row Kelly’s architecture students have represented the college as finalists in this competition. Nate Gradoville competed last year with his project titled “Seed Lottery.”

“This prestigious award is indicative of the strength and passion possessed by former graduate architecture students Hannah Christy and Craig Findlay and Professor Kelly’s continued dedication to mentorship,” said Architecture Program Director David Karle.