INNOVATION 2030: Top Ten Projects Announced
April 2018 | Education | Announcements

The INNOVATION 2030/COTE Top Ten for Students design competition winning projects have been announced! The top ten projects embraced this year’s challenge of carbon-neutral design while also addressing climate change adaptability and resilience in the built environment.
Over one thousand students and faculty, representing 56 schools of architecture, participated in this year’s design and ideas competition. Here are the top ten projects:
Known Unknowns: Dead Ends Aren’t Dead
Students: Bianca Lin, Joshua Park, and Wilson Fung, California College of the Arts
Faculty Sponsor: Janette Kim, California College of the Arts
Juror comments: This unorthodox project stood out for its progressive policy proposal, which embraces the spirit of the competition. The students embraced the notion of time, which is important to environmental efforts escalating the project beyond the 10 measures. The graphic design of the submissions is beautiful and memorable. By retrofitting existing houses and inserting new typologies, this project proposes long-term economic stability and solutions to sea level rise.
Studio M: A Template for Sustainability and Wellness in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
Student: Austen Goodman, Savannah College of Art and Design
Faculty Sponsor: Alice Guess, Savanna College of Art and Design
Juror comments: This well-rounded winning project shows a firm grounding in reality. It displays a good understanding of the 10 measures, with drawings and statistics to embellish every criteria. The building is believable, convincing and could be built in the real world today.
Student: Brie Jones, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Faculty Sponsor: Pablo La Roche, Assoc. AIA, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Juror comments: This project stood out for its creative use of water, discovering intelligent and creative new ways of deploying water. The student’s diagrams are strong and show a commendable view at larger environmental issues. The scuba tanks are an entertaining idea on user experience which could be expanded.
The Fourth Place: Sharing Sustainability
Student: Mary Demro, Montana State University
Faculty Sponsors: Steven P. Juroszek, AIA, Thomas McNab, and Jaya Mukhopadhyay, Montana State University
Juror comments: This well-researched winning project has detailed diagrams and a beautiful graphic representation. It proposes a slightly utopian plan, that is a good social proposition in which people can have their major needs met without traveling. The artistic style of this eye-catching projects has exceptional detail and content, clearly detailing its environmental impact.
Students: Amy Santimauro, Katelynn Smith, and Joel Bohlmeyer, University of Oregon
Faculty Sponsor: Brook W. Muller, University of Oregon
Juror comments: The jurors were impressed with this winning project which included a production cycle within the building. Water grows the bamboo, which is then used as the primary building material. The student’s emphasis on renewable energy sources, natural ventilation, and sustainable materials is a clever process and program. It shows a good urban prototype by focusing on mixed-use design.
Pier 55: South Philadelphia Community Center
Student: Caleb Freeze and Michelle Kleva, Marywood University
Faculty Sponsors: Miguel Calvo Salve and Russell B. Roberts, AIA, Marywood University
Juror comments: This winning project brings an interesting and dynamic perspective to South Philadelphia, with a Community Center on a pier over the Delaware River. The building integrates systems, wetlands and architecture into one cohesive language that makes sense in terms of performance. The students created a superb user experience and place to explore.
Students: Nicholas Scribner and Clare Hacko, California College of the Arts
Faculty Sponsor: Evan Jones, California College of the Arts
Juror comments: This interesting study brings attention to climate change and rising sea levels by imagining a floating community in the Maldives. The students understood how to work with a different ground planes and included an exploration of what it would be like if you could see a building from below. Above ocean the design is a simple modern style, while underwater “bladders” create ballast and an ocean microecosystem.
City Centre Glassworks: An Adaptive Reuse Workshop and Experimentation Facility
Student: Justin Yan, Carleton University
Faculty Sponsors: Sheryl Boyle and Claudio Sgarbi, Carleton University
Juror comments: This adaptive reuse project utilizes the heat from making glass to warm the building and save on energy; a superb adaptation for [Ottawa’s] climate. The buildings programs and systems are well designed and tailored for each other. A wonderful example of this is the rising mist, created from residual heat, brings an element of delight to the project. The architectural exploration is plausible and grounded in reality.
Interconnect: Connecting Paths, Connecting Programs, Connecting People
Students: Harrison Polk and Madison Polk, Clemson University
Faculty Sponsors: Ulrike Heine, Ufuk Ersoy, and David Franco, Clemson University
Juror comments: This is a sophisticated winning project that shows a promising urban design. The students used the 10 measures to create a well-rounded project. The endeavor to address larger social issues and legal services for refugees are commendable and respected.
Energy Commons: A Hypothetical Replacement for Gas Stations
Students: Buddy Burkhalter, University of Washington
Faculty Sponsors: David Strauss, AIA, and Louisa Iarocci, University of Washington
Juror comments: This winning project proposes an interesting mixed-use, energy conservation theory: How can people productively use their time while their car is being serviced? Reinventing gas stations and other auto-centric building types will be significant as we re-think the way we live with cars. The students integrated the urban relationship with the driver experience and additional consideration to the non-driver will show a further elevation of the project.
From ACSA and Architect Magazine.
INNOVATION 2030 / COTE Top Ten for Students JURY
These award-winning projects will be displayed and presented during a panel discussion at A’18 – the 2018 American Institute of Architects Conference on Architecture taking place Friday, June 21 at 9:45 am at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Additionally, a roundtable discussion about INNOVATION 2030 and design education, featuring the winning faculty members, will be hosted at the Design Futures Council 2018 Leadership Forum on Education and Talent, on June 20th in New York City.
“Above all, the work of Architecture 2030 made clear to us the severity and urgency of the climate situation and what could transpire if we do not take aggressive action. This helped my students realize the critical importance of their efforts. We had a lot of fun in studio, and yet there was also a level of seriousness and motivation that was unlike any other studio I have taught.”– Professor Brook Muller, University of Oregon
ABOUT US
Architecture 2030’s mission is to rapidly transform the built environment from the major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions to a central solution to the climate crisis.