Projects & Other Work

CAPLA faculty, students and alumni create projects and other work that are wide-ranging and far-reaching—always with an eye towards a more sustainable built environment.

View summaries and image galleries of this dynamic work:

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Broadway Boulevard at Swan Road intersection, looking east

Award-Winning Report by CAPLA Urban Planning Students Envisions Equitable, Accessible Public Transportation for Underdeveloped Corridors in Tucson

Last spring, Master of Science in Urban Planning students in Associate Professor Kristina Curran's capstone course published the report Thriving Transit Corridors: Driving Transit-Oriented Development Along Tucson’s Broadway Corridor, which has been awarded the 2022 Student Project Award by the Arizona chapter of the American Planning Association.

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Agricultural Center at Mochik Ranch, by Greg Veitch

Agricultural Center at Mochik Ranch: Greg Veitch '23 M.Arch

The Agricultural Center at Mochik Ranch is predicated upon the concept of interdependence, which is a central tenet of Yoeme spirituality and culture. The project goal was to use architecture to facilitate agricultural production and cultural ownership through an interdependent deployment of climactic forces and culturally significant building materials.

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CAPLA faculty at Cool Pavement Project

The Washington Post Interviews CAPLA Professor on Creating ‘Cool Corridors’ to Counter Extreme Heat

Assistant Professor of Planning and Sustainable Built Environments Ladd Keith was interviewed by The Washington Post about the City of Tucson's Cool Pavement Program as well as the inequitable impacts of extreme heat on communities, the concepts behind "cool corridors" and more.

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Map created by Irene Pineda of Pomona, California

Award-Winning Student Map Aims to Help Southern California City Plant a Sustainable Future

Recent Master of Landscape Architecture student Irene Pineda has won first place in the graduate/professional student category of the UArizona 2022 Data Visualization Challenge for her map Plant Trees in Pomona for a Sustainable Future. Her map identifies where trees should be planted to provide more shading in the rapidly industrializing Southern California city.

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The Avenue Solar Decathlon Design Challenge entry

UArizona Architecture Students Win 2022 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Design Challenge Grand Prize

Professor Jonathan Bean and the Solar Decathlon Design Challenge Multifamily Building team of fourth-year B.Arch students Andrew Norris, Jonah Cummins-Mikkalson, Alex Kolodziej and Nhan Vo not only took first place in their division, but also was selected as the 2022 Design Challenge Grand Winner for Commercial Divisions—a first for CAPLA and UArizona.

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Camp Naco

Student and Faculty Research Leads to ‘Most Endangered Historic Places’ Designation for Buffalo Soldier Camp

Thanks to research by CAPLA's Heritage Conservation Project Director Helen Erickson and graduate students Sarah McDowell and Teresa DeKoker, the Buffalo Soldier military establishment Camp Naco in Southeastern Arizona has been listed by the U.S. National Trust for Historic Preservation's as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2022.

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Drachman Institute relaunch event

Drachman Institute Relaunches with Showcase Event and Appointment of Director Courtney Crosson

Assistant Professor of Architecture Courtney Crosson has been appointed director of the University of Arizona’s Drachman Institute by CAPLA Dean Nancy Pollock-Ellwand. Crosson's introduction was combined with a project showcase on April 13 in a "relaunch" of this important, community-focused institute.