News & Headlines

Michael Kothke, principal at HK ASSOCIATES and professor at CAPLA, was invited to speak at Reimagining Desert Modernism: The Architecture Shaping Arizona Today, a forum hosted by ARCHITECT Magazine and Marvin Windows at Taliesin West.

CAPLA Master of Landscape Architecture students Ashley Danforth and Xavier Fernandez are leading a $45,000 grant-funded project to advance sustainable stormwater solutions on campus. Through research, collaboration, and community outreach, their work will create a campus-wide database of green stormwater infrastructure to help address challenges like drought and extreme heat.

Ladd Keith, director of the University of Arizona’s Heat Resilience Initiative and a leading national expert on heat planning, has been appointed to Governor Katie Hobbs’ new Workplace Heat Safety Task Force. In this role, he will help develop science-based, equitable guidelines to protect Arizona’s workers from the growing risks of extreme heat.

CAPLA’s Drachman Institute brought together experts from across the Southwest for a two-day workshop focused on advancing Net Zero Urban Water—an approach where cities meet water needs through sustainable, local sources without harming long-term supplies or ecosystems.

CAPLA researchers are leading efforts to ensure community sustainability and equitable growth in Santa Cruz County as part of a university-led, cross-disciplinary study funded by South32.

The Drachman Institute recognized 28 community leaders nominated by CAPLA faculty for their outstanding collaboration and leadership across diverse organizations. These awardees represent a wide range of sectors, including local government, nonprofits, and tribal communities, highlighting the strong partnerships fostered through the Drachman Institute.

Architect and alumna Diane Reicher Jacobs, FAIA '88 shared during her convocation address her unconventional path into architecture and the core values that have guided her work: truth, beauty, and love. She encouraged graduates to embrace the uncertainty ahead with curiosity and care, ending with a heartfelt “triple dare” to go forth and build better places.

For their final capstone project, architecture students designed and built a prototype 8-by-12-foot micro-shelter that they hope lays the groundwork for a network of similar shelters for unhoused people in Southern Arizona.

HK Associates was recognized in "Architect" magazine’s 2024 Residential Architect Design Awards, an international program celebrating excellence in residential design.

Housing affordability continues to be a critical issue in the United States. Meagan Ehlenz's research explores the potential for scaling shared equity homeownership (SEH) as a strategy to address Arizona’s growing housing affordability crisis.

Senior Lecturer Laura Carr led 11 Master of Architecture students to Tuba City, Navajo Nation, as part of her ARC 510E Community Studio course. Students engaged with local officials, explored potential project sites, and immersed themselves in the community. Carr emphasized the importance of working with Tribal communities, while students reflected on the value of adaptability, relationship-building, and inclusive, community-driven design.

Bachelor of Architecture students were recognized in the 2024 AGM Universal Design Student Awards for innovative projects that centered empathy, accessibility, and the human experience. Winning designs by Taranm Akbary and Sadey Bowles reimagined inclusive spaces in Bisbee, showcasing how Universal Design can elevate both creativity and community impact.