Drachman Institute celebrates community partners, impact

May 23, 2025
Overview
Drachman Institute hosts Inaugural Community Outreach and Impact Celebration
Categories
People gathered together and posing for a photo.

Drachman Institute Director Courtney Crosson (front, left) and representatives from GLHN Architects and Engineers partnered together to celebrate 28 community partnerships for their contributions to impactful projects.

View Photos of the Celebration

The Drachman Institute and the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture held its inaugural Community Outreach and Impact Celebration, honoring community partners and showcasing impactful student and faculty work.

The event brought together more than 200 attendees, including representatives from municipalities, tribal nations, nonprofit organizations, and community groups across Arizona. Designed to recognize the value of collaboration between the university and local communities, the event highlighted the Drachman Institute’s role as a connector—linking academic creativity and insight with real-world challenges through design and planning.

Six interactive booths represented the Institute’s outreach and research initiatives, each led by CAPLA faculty:

  • Cultural Resources Coalition

  • Housing Equity Lab

  • Native Peoples Design Coalition

  • Urban Resilience Lab

  • Drachman Design Build Coalition

  • Health Designs Lab

As the first event of its kind, the celebration underscored the growing impact of community-based design and planning across Arizona. The evening also featured the presentation of the 2025 Drachman Impact Awards, which recognized 28 community leaders, professionals, and partners nominated by CAPLA faculty for their significant contributions to collaborative projects.

The event was organized by Courtney Crosson, director of the Drachman Institute, with support from CAPLA faculty and staff. Funding support was provided by GLHN Architects & Engineers, Inc., which designated a portion of its previous gift to the Drachman Institute for the purpose of launching this annual recognition event.

Plans are already underway for next year’s celebration, continuing the Institute’s mission to advance equitable, sustainable, and community-driven design across the region.

An open call for community projects is also underway. More information can be found on the Drachman Institute website. 

  

Subscribe to The Studio

Sign up for CAPLA's monthly e-newsletter to get the latest news and events, insights from faculty and leadership, profiles of students and alumni and more.

Subscribe Now

Latest CAPLA News, Projects and Profiles

Teresa Rosano AIA awards

Teresa Rosano Receives Dual Honors at the 2025 AIA Arizona Design Awards

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. Rosano’s awards highlight both her influential architectural career and her deep commitment to education, adding to her recent series of teaching achievements.

Tucson, Arizona

Balancing Buyer Protections with Development Costs: A Panel Discussion on Arizona’s Construction Defect Liability Law

In this panel discussion, we will explore the impact of Arizona’s construction defect liability laws on multifamily development, with a particular focus on possible legislative reforms to better balance buyer protections with development costs. While construction defect liability laws provide important protections for buyers, there is a growing concern among researchers and housing advocates that, if overly restrictive, these laws can increase development costs and lower production.

See More