School of Architecture News & Headlines

In a showcase of architectural excellence, CAPLA earned prestigious accolades at the 2023 AIA Arizona Design Awards. The distinguished recognition extends to not only the exceptional faculty but also talented students and accomplished alumni, reinforcing CAPLA's commitment to excellence in design and innovation within the architectural landscape.

Laura Carr, a Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture, is part of a team that secured a $200,000 grant for the Native People's Design Coalition. This grant will support their efforts in collaborating with tribal communities to plan and design sustainable and resilient built environments.

Fourth-year B.Arch student Cassidy Frost, an avid cyclist, was interviewed in a recent Arizona Daily Star article on how Tucson hopes to make cycling safer and more accessible.

CAPLA’s B.Arch has earned the prestigious U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Design Designation (ZEDD), which recognizes academic programs that teach best practices of zero energy design and require students to apply those concepts in zero energy design projects.

Researchers from the UArizona Drachman Institute, along with colleagues from ASU, NAU and the University of New Mexico, will research housing security, climate and health with a focus on Hispanic and underserved communities in the arid Southwest.

Architecture Professor Ryan E. Smith, director of the School of Architecture, is lead author on a HUD report outlining policy, finance, labor and other parameters for growth of offsite housing construction in the United States: Offsite Construction for Housing: Research Roadmap.

In a recent story in Arizona Daily Star, CAPLA's Valerie Lane is highlighted for her new Tucson-based business partnership, the Urban Infill Project, working to help the Tucson community meet supplementary and affordable housing needs.

Esther M. Sternberg, M.D., Inaugural Andrew Weil Chair for Research in Integrative Medicine and professor of architecture, landscape architecture and planning (by joint appointment), has published Well at Work: Creating Wellbeing in Any Workspace, a "Top Ten Lifestyle Book" by Publishers Weekly.

CAPLA's Teresa Rosano is featured in the second episode of the UArizona W.A Franke Honors College's podcast, It's an Honor, a conversation with Franke Honors College Interim Dean John Pollard exploring "connection".

In a thought leadership piece for The Conversation, Associate Professor of Architecture, Sustainable Built Environments and Marketing Jonathan Bean discusses why homes often feel warmer than what the thermostat suggests, and what we can do about it.

Laura Hollengreen, associate dean for academic affairs at CAPLA, has been awarded the Ted and Shirley Taubeneck Superior Teaching Award for her Humanities Seminar Program course, Localizing the Sacred: Medieval Christian Architecture and Art. The annual award is based solely on student evaluations.

In a new Future Focused video by the American Institute of Architects, CAPLA Senior Lecturer in Architecture and AIA Arizona President Damon Leverett discusses empowering the future of architecture through interactions with students. Watch the video.