Transportation Hub Design Competition Winners Announced

The jury for the 2007 APC/AIAS Transportation Hub Student Design Competition took place on April 26, 2007 at the Adaptive Environments office in Boston, Massachusetts. The program challenged students, working individually or in teams, to learn about materials, specifically plastics and plastic composites, and their assembly in the design of a transportation hub.

Participants build knowledge about building materials and products, sustainability, and “green” building.  The competition was sponsored by the American Plastics Council (APC) and administered by the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS).The jury selected the top three winners and three honorable mentions. These projects will be exhibited in the AIAS Student Lounge and Gallery at the 2007 AIA National Convention and Design Exposition in San Antonio, May 3-5, 2007. The judges felt that the projects that stood out combined smart design decisions, good graphics, a creative use of plastics and plastic composites and a knowledge of how transit systems work.

The prizes were awarded to:

James B. Pressly - University of Virginia First Prize ($2500)
The jury enjoyed the simplicity of this beautifully rendered project. The repeated elements of the transportation hub worked well with the large scale of the building.  The project respected the context surrounding and worked well in the area. The presentation offered a good explanation of the project.

Matthew Storrie, Brian Buckner and Yu Fan Cheung - University of Kentucky Second Prize ($1500)
The provocative thesis of this project intrigued the jury.  The project looked at a city in real terms and showed a great deal of transit research.  Compelling images as well as clear understandable graphics showed a high level of thought that went into the project. 

Ryan Cameron - University of Nebrask - Lincoln Third Place ($750)
This project was attractive to some jurors. The aggressive ideas expressed in the project took a huge risk. The series of parts of the hub coming together was very powerful. The use of conditioned environments was taken into consideration, with different section of the transportation hub being heated and cooled at various times of the year. The AIAS chapter at each school also receives a cash prize.

The jury also awarded Honorable Mentions ($500) to the following:

Brandi Berryman and Rudy Renfrow - University of Kentucky

Jordan Whitted, Mike Jacobs and Justin Brevick - Lawrence Technological University

Brian Ahmes and Scott Blew - Savannah College of Art and Design

The six projects will be published in the Fall 2007 issue of Crit, the journal of the AIAS.The jurors included Travis J Bridges, Associate AIA, a Designer Drafter at TRO Jung|Brannen and a faculty member at the Boston Architectural College; Tarica Harris, LEED AP, Job Captain at TRO Jung|Brannen; Christopher Hart, Director of Urban and Transit Projects of the Institute for Human Centered Design at Adaptive Environments; Mark Pasnik, an Assistant Professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology and a Principal in the design firm over,under; and Lisa Pasquale, a designer at Utile Inc and an instructor at the Boston Architectural College.

The AIAS congratulates all the winners and thanks all the competition participants.

http://www.aias.org/plastics/