Gather Light: ARC 201
Students in CAPLA’s ARC 201 studio, guided by faculty including Christopher Domin and others, completed the "Gather Light" project focused on understanding and designing in harmony with the Sonoran Desert environment. Through observation, drawing, and modeling, students explored how light, nature, and architecture interact. Key activities involved studying desert plants, translating their forms into design systems, and developing canopies that filter light and enhance outdoor spaces. The project emphasized hands-on learning, teamwork, and iterative design using 2D and 3D representations to create thoughtful architectural interventions that respect and respond to the desert landscape.
Lecturer Christopher Tucker wins AIA Design Pedagogy Award for innovative Abiotic Studio
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 Faculty Make an Impact at TENWEST
Tucson’s TENWEST Impact Festival featured speakers, exhibitors, and entertainers from the Tucson community and beyond.
Ladd Keith Receives Urban Land Institute Award
The Assistant Professor of Planning and Chair of Sustainable Built Environments has been honored with the Rising Star Award from the Urban Land Institute Advisory Services Panel Program.
Urban Planning Students Win State Award
The award-winning student team worked with communities in the Globe-Miami region of Arizona to craft a framework plan that focused on health, community, environment, connectivity, and economic growth.
Building Professional Relationships: Connor Harmon '16 BS SBE '17 MS Urban Planning
"I have a message for current students: while being knowledgeable in your profession is essential to job performance, I can’t stress enough how important building professional relationships with professors, mentors, and—in my case—residents, board members, and developers is toward professional success."
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.
Pocket Parks on Park(ing) Day 2019
MLA students in the American Society of Landscape Architects Student Chapter designed and installed a colorful pocket park for Park(ing) Day 2019.
Planning Student Selected as 2020 ADOT/TRB Minority Fellow
As Tucson awaits the up-oming drop of hundreds of shared electric-scooters (or e-scooters) on our streets, one CAPLA student investigates how local agencies regulate these third-party companies to encourage safe, equitable, and responsible operation.
The Perfect Combination of Science and Creativity: Amy Webb '15 BS SBE '18 MLA
For Amy Webb, the Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Built Environments program had the perfect combination of science and creativity. Early on she had her sights set on earning a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Arizona and knew that the SBE program would prepare her for that next step in her education.