Winners named in interdisciplinary
review space design competition

Students from three departments in Texas A&M's College of Architecture were honored for submitting winning entries in an interdisciplinary design contest to improve a review space at the Langford Architecture Center.

At a Feb. 11 awards ceremony in the Wright Gallery, the three winning student teams each received $250 and certificates denoting their designs' selections in one of three contest categories— most innovative, best problem-solving and best communication/presentation.

“It was an exemplary effort in interdisciplinary collaborations among undergraduate and graduate students in the college," said Forster Ndubisi, head of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, which hosted the competition.

Students were asked to submit designs by Dec. 18, 2009, to address the space definition, noise control and lighting problems in the Langford A300 review space.

"The space is poorly defined by removable partition walls and the noise can be overwhelming, particularly when multiple studios are taking place," said competition coordinator Ming-Han Li, associate professor of landscape architecture.

Nikolaus Adams and Travis Triola, Bachelor of Landscape Architecture students, and Allen Thigpen, a Bachelor of Construction Science student, turned in the winning entry in the innovation category.

Their plan used a combination of glass, sheetrock, the space's existing concrete structures and indoor plants to create "The Greenhouse: A Landscape Architecture Review Space."

"Glass walls were chosen to compliment the theme of transparency seen throughout Langford," according to the design statement submitted with the winning entry. The glass panels, they said, also invite students to look in on what other classes are presenting.

In the best problem-solving category, Scott Saunders, a BLA student, and Sterling Morris, an undergraduate visualization major, submitted the top entry.

They said it's difficult for visitors, freshmen and prospective students to understand where the departmental spaces begin and end in the building.

Their design called for using custom-cut sheet metal mounted to the concrete supports at the entrance of the room to serve as a visual aid and a symbol of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning.

Kyle Pennington and Merileigh Williamson, BLA students, and Drake Taylor, a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Science student, submitted the winning entry in the communication/presentation category.

They envision a collapsing glass panel system surrounding the reviewing space and creating three separate moveable walls that, when extended, enclose and define the space.

"The transparent glass panels would allow natural light to enter into the review space and give the room a feeling of openness and integration with the surrounding studios," they wrote.

Contest called for student teams of two or three students including members from at least two departments or degree programs of different disciplines in the college.

Joining Ndubisi as contest jurors were Julie Rogers, senior lecturer of architecture and visualization, and the holders of the college’s Harold Adams Endowed Interdisciplinary Professorships: Rodney Hill, professor of architecture, Chang-Shan Huang, associate professor of landscape architecture, and Julian Kang, associate professor of construction science.
"Our students demonstrated their problem-solving skills and ability to collaborate across disciplines," said Li. "I am also impressed by our faculty jurors who care for our student's learning, and I hope we can implement the design in the near future."

A total of 24 valid competition entries were submitted to jurors from 69 students.

- Posted: Feb. 17, 2010-