December 7, 2020 Students’ Sustainable Designs Awarded by Professionals
Student designs from two semesters that were greatly impacted by the pandemic were reviewed and applauded by architecture professionals. On Dec. 4, the American Institute of Architects Middle Tennessee Student Design Award and Brewer Ingram Fuller Sustainable Design Award were presented, as the jury of professionals praised the students’ resiliency throughout 2020 and ability to produce high-quality work despite the pandemic’s challenges.
“Great job on the amount of work you were able to do this year,” said juror and Tyler Puryear (’13 BArch), USGBC LEED Accredited Professional for Brewer Ingram Fuller. “You were able to do something that no one has done before, and to see the volume of work you produced is impressive.”
Nick Dryden (’95 BArch), founder and principal of Dryden Studio, was impressed with the volume and quality of work in a short amount of time under difficult and changing conditions. “This is similar to how we’re working in the profession,” he said.
All of the studios in the awards competitions were fourth-year Architecture Integrations studios.
Architects from Brewer Ingram Fuller presented the Sustainable Design Award to the student team of Amber Adams, Jenna Ely and Olivia Gingerich for their project titled, “The Forest.” The project provided communal engagement with a neighborhood in Chattanooga, sensitivity to social issues, inventive use of phasing and design and an integral concept for both the community and ecology. These students were from Kevin Stevens’s studio.
Two honorable mention awards were presented by Brewer Ingram Fuller. Students Callie Elonen, Gina Nguyen and Josie Tunnell from James Rose’s studio received the award with their project, “agriCULTURE,” and the project titled “Carousel Theatre” designed by Grace Ann Altenbern, Joanna Martin and Mary Grace Shuttleworth from Ted Shelton’s studio also received honorable mention.
“We saw an exciting diversity of projects,” said Jeremy Magner, College of Architecture and Design 2020 Tennessee Architecture Fellow. “You made meaningful connections beyond the boundaries of a site, and your work valued the AIA sustainability criteria.”
The Brewer Ingram Fuller Sustainable Design Award was established by an endowed gift from Brewer Ingram Fuller Architects in Knoxville, which was founded by UT School of Architecture alumni, Dan Brewer (’77), Lee Ingram (’76) and Anthony Fuller (’76). The award encourages architecture students to incorporate sustainable design strategies in their work to be better prepared to lead when they enter the profession.
AIA Middle Tennessee awarded two first-place awards to the student teams of Callie Elonen, Gina Nguyen and Josie Tunnell from James Rose’s studio with the project “agriCULTURE,” and the team of Carson Fischer, Lydia Russell and Brendan Wallace from Kevin Stevens’s studio with their project titled, “Re-Bordering.”
“agriCULTURE” provides housing and food production in downtown Knoxville. It addresses affordable housing in a creative and real way and demonstrates how architecture can address societal needs.
The project, “Re-Bordering,” used a macro-scale analysis to inform an architectural response for a community facility in Chattanooga. Team members met with community residents to hear concerns and needs then used that data to inform their design.
The AIA Middle Tennessee award provided a $1,000 monetary scholarship prize for each of the two winning teams.
Jury members representing Brewer Ingram Fuller include Magner; Puryear; and Glenn Richters, Benefield Richters. Jury members representing AIA Middle Tennessee were Dryden; Clay Adkisson (’11 BArch), Open Works; Michael Goorevich, Michael Goorevich Architect; and Brad Province (’06 BArch), Michael Zeitlin Architects.
