School of Architecture News & Headlines

Brendan Shea, assistant professor of practice in CAPLA’s School of Architecture, received a National Design Studio Award from Envision Resilience to support a Spring 2026 studio focused on climate adaptation in the Colorado River Watershed.

Francisco Zazueta, a fifth-year Bachelor of Architecture student at CAPLA, was awarded the 2025 Presidential Citation by the AIA Southern Arizona Chapter for his leadership as president of the AIA Student Chapter. Recognized for his optimism and dedication to strengthening connections between students and professionals, his work focuses on mentorship, community engagement, and expanding opportunities for architecture students. Through initiatives with NOMAS and AIAS, Zazueta uses leadership and design to support a more connected, just, and resilient architectural community.

Christopher Tucker, a lecturer in architecture at CAPLA, received the American Institute of Architects’ Design Pedagogy Award for his Abiotic Studio, a fourth-year course that challenges students to engage with ecological realities and reimagine post-industrial landscapes through more-than-human perspectives.

CAPLA students, alumni and faculty are redesigning the Cooper Center’s aging cabins to create more sustainable, student-friendly spaces.

Jesus Robles, an Assistant Professor of Practice and co-founder of the architecture studio DUST, was selected to showcase Tucson-inspired work at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, one of the world’s leading platforms for design innovation.

Speakers from coLAB studio discussed the intrinsic nature and indispensable quality that determines an individual's character as a designer.

In November, Associate Professor Teresa Rosano received two top honors at the 2025 AIA Arizona Design Awards: the Architects Medal and a Community Design Award for a student-led capstone project. The recognized project—the Tucson Hope Factory Micro Shelter Village—aims to support unhoused communities in Southern Arizona through a collaborative, student-designed micro-shelter prototype.

Kevin Kudo-King explored strategies for immersive design at the intersections of site, craft, and collaboration.

The University of Arizona’s Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine has been recognized internationally for its innovative design, earning an honorable mention in the 2025 International Architecture Awards. The distinction highlights the university’s commitment to creating spaces that advance health, wellness, and architectural excellence.

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.

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.