School of Architecture and Planning students were recognized for excellence in digital design recently at the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture conference in Chicago. The AutoDesSys held the 17th Annual Awards Banquet of its Joint Study Program for Excellence in Design, an annual international program sponsored by Form Z digital modeling software.
Photo: Antonio Vigil, Kobi Bauer, Elizabeth Suina, Mara Schweikert and Owen Kramme, second pecond place winners in Digital Fabrication from Tim Castillo's Emerging Mutations studio, attended the awards banquet.
UNM graduate student Antonio Vigil, recognized for excellence in design, was awarded the prize of distinction, first place, in the urban design category. His studio design project 35º | 106º [downtown arena] was honored for innovation and creative graphic presentation. UNM Professors Tim B. Castillo, Karen King and Rana Abu-Dayyeh were faculty advisors for the project.
Jury comments:
“After a rather insightful analysis of an urban environment, an imaginatively designed arena becomes a catalyst for the revitalization of a downtown. While the study is applied to a specific city, its validity is almost universal, at least within the content of the USA. This project succeeds on the urban as well as on the building scale. The graphic presentation is beautifully crafted and could easily pass for a professional project. It is all done through an effective use of digital tools, which is one more reason that this project deserves recognition.”
Also honored at the event in the Digital Fabrication category was Castillo’s Emerging Mutations studio. AutoDesSys awarded the studio honorable mention, second place, for its innovation in using recycled materials and computer driven fabrication methods to create a visually pleasing installation.
Jury comments:
This is a project of an impressive magnitude and complexity, even for a team of 14 students. With such a team, coordination frequently becomes an issue, but this team managed to excel all the way to the end. There are so many aspects for which this work deserves to be commended: as a demonstration of imaginative recycling of old material and keeping the cost under $200; as a successful application of computer driven fabrication methods; as a visually pleasing end result, and many more. Not to be neglected is the enthusiasm with which the students must have approached the project and is clearly reflected in the final result. Obviously that enthusiasm must have transcended beyond the team and appears to have triggered a ‘festival’ for all the students.”
Students in the studio were Chad Harris, Christopher Price, Neil Werbelow, Matthew Archuleta, Luis Marquez, Ben Ortega, Jeremy Jerge, Mara Schweikert, Travis Bunch, Owen Kramme, Nick Byers, Hooman Keyhan Haghighi, Kobi Bauer and Elizabeth Suina.
Antonio Vigil, Kobi Bauer, Elizabeth Suina, Mara Schweikert and Owen Kramme attended the awards banquet.
UNM was in good company among the winners, which included the College of Architecture, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; College of Architecture, Texas Tech University; Department of Architectural Studies, Cardiff School of Art & Design, University of Wales Institute, United Kingdom; Department of Art and Media, South Devon College, Paignton, Devon, United Kingdom; Department of Architecture, Tamkang University, Tanshui, Taiwan; BAA Illustration, Sheridan College, Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
For more information visit:
2008-09 form·Z Joint Study Program Award Winners.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu