Alumni Design Award

The plot of land on which this project is situated was originally purchased with the intent to build a speculative house. However, after noting the poplar use of an adjacent green space that flanks the entrance to a gated residential development, it was concluded that a public garden would serve the community better than a single-family house.

With the shift in focus, a plan was developed to provide the opportunity for visitors and community members to plant the various plots with fruits and vegetables, and flowers, as well as experimentation with arid plant materials. Thanks to the contributions of a donor, a shade structure was added in order to enhance the opportunity for group gatherings, and to serve as harvest workspace.

Located 15 minutes west of Fredericksburg, Texas, this new family compound sits upon a 30-acre hillside property. Inspired by the local German historical architecture of the region with small, compact “Sunday Houses” for visiting city dwellers, the property is designed with four compact structures—the main lodge with detached office/bedroom/carport, a two-bedroom guest house for visiting family, and an office/barn located as one arrives at the top of the hill.

The one-story design nestles into the hilltop and is complemented with locally quarried limestone, cut and installed in a German square-cut design. Naturally rusting Cor-Ten steel siding and roofing blends into the colors of the landscape. The exposed woodwork of the porches and overhangs follows the German-inspired building heritage of detailed Douglas Fir millwork, with a batten design that allows for the underside of the metal roofing to be exposed. Located outside of the city utilities, the property was designed for self-sustaining energy, with solar providing much of the compound's electrical needs and a water harvesting system on the roof collecting water for the home and outbuildings.

Meridian is a 90-unit development that integrates affordable and developmentally disabled housing options into the neighborhood through scaled massing, community-friendly site design, connective landscape, and an improved pedestrian experience. Combining public-facing amenity and open spaces, street-facing Townhomes, and porous visual connections into the residential courtyards, this project actively engages the wider Sunnyvale community.

Drawing inspiration from the surrounding neighborhood, Meridian incorporates familiar cladding materials, creating a sense of continuity with nearby homes. Ample daylight, natural ventilation, and community-focused programming create a healthy and connected environment. A central play/activity courtyard anchors amenity and gathering spaces, enhancing security and engagement and providing opportunities for residents to play, gather, relax, and learn. On-site support services are also available, with Project Access providing social services for all residents and Housing Choices Coalition supporting residents with disabilities. The result is a sustainable, equitable, and human-scaled transition from commercial to residential spaces.

Pella Experience Center Fort Worth is crafted from two existing demised spaces in a multi-tenant retail building. A deep, sloped, steel building frame, concealed in the existing demising wall, and an existing stair posed significant barriers to accommodating a large custom display system required for the project. In response, designers incorporated the building structure, along with a reconfigured stair, into the design to define an authentic experience with new expressions of materiality.

Black theatre panels, felt baffles, and painted MDF ceiling clouds are used to control acoustics and limit visibility of the existing spray foam insulation and roof deck. A darker color palette and woven vinyl floor tile amplify the visual impact of the display system, shifting to lighter tones in the offices and mezzanine. The steel elements of the stair partially cloak a streak of corporate branded yellow. The yellow is veiled by perforated panels form the open showroom, yet immersive as one ascends the stair. The architect's office delineated the fabrication pattern and cut files of each stair panel and rail support to maintain an unbroken purity of form pattern, and detail.

The Career Education Complex is an interdisciplinary hub connecting students, faculty, and alumni with leaders in business and industry in the Bay Area. The complex is comprised of a 90,000 sq ft Career Education Center, and is visually connected to the renovated Building 200, completed as part of the phasing of the new center. Located at the crossroads of campus circulation, the Career Education Complex serves as both a campus gateway and a connection to the wider community. Signature Y-shaped columns elevate the academic program above the ground plane, allowing pathways, views, and activity to flow through the building, while curved upper levels create outdoor terraces and learning environments that extend spaces such as the Business Incubator and Maker Lab.

Across four levels, flexible classrooms, technology-rich labs, health sciences and business programs, faculty and student support spaces, lecture halls, and a café are connected by outdoor terraces, multi-story biophilic gardens, and a central atrium. Transparent façades, visible labs, exposed building systems, and open circulation make learning and real-world processes visible throughout the facility. Integrating technology, sustainability, and hands-on education, the complex creates a dynamic environment that supports student well-being, collaboration, and economic mobility.

The Upper East Side Townhouse is a seven-story residence in Manhattan, designed to accommodate daily living, entertaining, and family gatherings. Pre-existing conditions, such as a narrow, 16-foot-wide space, minimal daylight, cramped surroundings, and a stair and elevator that consumed much of the building, prevented the use of a conventional townhouse plan.

By excavating two volumes on either side of the lot, and a third in the middle, a passageway and two thickened walls were created that now absorb bathrooms, dressing rooms, and elevator access while allowing for light and circulation. At ground level, a single sightline runs from the entry garden to the rear garden. Above, the excavated core repeats that logic vertically, rising as a continuous, skylit oval stair through all seven floors. Curved stair walls in a luminous Venetian plaster reflect light down into the stairwell while horizontal (city to garden) and vertical (roof to ground) datums meet at the stair, connecting the house to landscape and sky despite the party walls on either side. The simplified rooms creates a wide, unobstructed corridor, while a deliberately rich and elevated palette with white oak floors, Namibia Blanco, Volsakos Blanco and Taj Mahal marbles, with Tanganica Noche wood paneling work together to imbue the space with a delicate and light ambience.