The Studio
How the CAPLA community is building a changing world.
In The Studio, you'll find stories, thought leadership, profiles, and project narratives and galleries by and about the CAPLA community of faculty, staff, alumni and students.
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Inspired by Generosity: Alumni John and Dana Hagenah establish new CAPLA scholarship
For John Hagenah, B.Arch. ’76, and his wife, Dana, the impact of a single act of generosity was the inspiration to establish a scholarship at the University of Arizona College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA).
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CAPLA Associate Professor Ladd Keith is featured in Research Roundtable: How the Desert Is Shaping Our Future
Ladd Keith, associate professor of Planning and director, Heat Resilience Initiative, was featured in a "Sandstorm" research roundtable exploring how research in the Sonoran Desert can help communities prepare for a more resilient future.
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Expanding Professional Opportunities: Daniel Kuhlmann, MRED Program Chair
Associate Professor of Real Estate Planning and Development Daniel Kuhlmann was recently appointed the Master of Real Estate Development Program Chair. He shared how he wants to guide the program in the years to come.
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CAPLA Teams Take First Place & Runner-Up in National Affordable Housing Competition
Two teams from CAPLA earned national recognition, taking first place and runner-up in the Design & Construction category of the 2026 Hack-a-House Competition. The national competition challenges students to develop innovative solutions to solve the affordable housing crisis.
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Non-Traditional Pathways: Emma Byrd, SBE ‘28
Sustainable Built Environments (SBE) Student Emma Byrd came to CAPLA all the way from Tennessee, following in the footsteps of her father, a proud Arizona alum. She shared about her experience in CAPLA and what the SBE program means to her.
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Projects
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CAPLA Teams Take First Place & Runner-Up in National Affordable Housing Competition
Two teams from CAPLA earned national recognition, taking first place and runner-up in the Design & Construction category of the 2026 Hack-a-House Competition. The national competition challenges students to develop innovative solutions to solve the affordable housing crisis.
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CAPLA’s Reef Townsend earns national recognition for sustainable desert architecture
CAPLA Student Reef Townsend earned national recognition for Arid Futures Pavilion, a design that explores how contemporary architecture can respond to the Sonoran Desert through thoughtful site integration, material choices and sustainability.
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CAPLA’s Ella Parsons earns national recognition for reimagining traditional desert architecture
CAPLA Student Ella Parsons earned national recognition for Aguán, a project that looks to the Sonoran Desert’s longstanding building traditions to inform a sustainable relationship between architecture and the natural world.