Design Excellence Showcase
At the end of each academic year, faculty nominate student work across all programs and years for Design Excellence awards, which are sponsored by AIA Southern Arizona and judged by leading architects from around the world. View recent Design Excellence judges, nominations and winners:
All Awards
AGM/Ascension Awards $5,000 to CAPLA Architecture Students in Inaugural Universal Design Prize
Eight third-year undergraduate architecture students in Design Studio III: Integrating Place win universal design awards for innovative, accessible mountainside projects.
School of Architecture Faculty Members Take Home Eight Awards at American Institute of Architects Annual Meetings
Congratulations to Mary Hardin, Michael Kothke, Christopher Domin, Dan Hoffman, Lisa Schrenk, Oscar Lopez and Robert Miller for these prestigious AIA awards!
MS Architecture Student Sara Ghaemi Wins Tech Launch Arizona Student Innovation Challenge Funding
Sara Ghaemi’s Algae Heat-Sink and Air Purifier is an algae-based biosystem integrated into furniture that is capable of heating, cooling and purifying indoor air.
Architecture Lecturer Sandra Bernal-Cordova Named USGBC Women in Green 2020 'Shero' for September
The U.S. Green Building Council recognizes “Women in Green Sheroes”—women who “demonstrate how the power of purpose can shape our lives, our careers and our changing world.” This month, the honor was bestowed upon CAPLA Lecturer in Architecture Sandra Bernal-Cordova.
UArizona College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture and Ascension Wheelchair Lifts Partner to Promote Universal Design
Architecture students in the CAPLA Integrations of Place Studio will learn about accessibility and universal design and have the opportunity to win $5,000 in prizes thanks to sponsorship by Ascension Wheelchair Lifts.
CAPLA Places Four Finalist Teams in Solar Decathlon Design Challenge, Including a Winner and Honorable Mention
For the third year in a row, at least one College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture student team was named a finalist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon Design Challenge—and this year a CAPLA team won its division.
Architecture Professor Christopher Trumble Wins ACSA 2020 Collaborative Practice Award
Christopher Trumble, who teamed with Washington University’s Linda Samuels, guided CAPLA students in the design and creation of SLUG, the Sustainability Laboratory and Urban Garden at Tucson’s CITY High School.
Architecture and Environmental Sciences Professor Nader Chalfoun Honored as Arizona Champion
Professor of Architecture and Environmental Sciences Nader Chalfoun has been honored as an Arizona Champion.
Michael Kothke’s Firm Picks Up Two Design Awards
Associate Professor of Practice Michael Kothke and his partner Kathy Hancox of HK Associates have won two 2019 AIA Southern Arizona Design Awards: the Interior Architecture Citation Award for Now or Never and the 2019 AIA Southern Arizona Home of the Year for Canyon House.
Affordable Housing Project Receives National Recognition
An innovative mixed-income housing development designed by an interdisciplinary team of CAPLA students was awarded Second Place/Honorable Mention in the 2019 Bank of America Merrill Lynch Low-Income Housing Challenge.