AIA Announces 2006 Winner of Education Honor Award

Washington, DC, April 3, 2006--The American Institute of Architects (AIA) awarded the recipients of the 2006 AIA Education Honor Awards for excellence in course development and architectural teaching. The Education Honor Awards program, now in its 17th year, recognizes collegiate faculty achievements and contributions to education and the discipline of architecture. The awards were officially announced today during the ACSA Awards Ceremony at its annual meeting in Salt Lake City, and will be presented to the 2006 recipients in June during the AIA National Convention in Los Angeles. Digital Design-Build Initiative, The Catholic University of America, Architecture I, II, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Habitat Trails: Habitat for Humanity from infill house to green neighborhood design, University of Arkansas Community Design Center, were selected by the jury as exceptional models of instructional and educational excellence in classroom, studio, community-based service learning, or laboratory work. The jury looked for evidence of exceptional and innovative courses that dealt with broad issues, particularly in cross-disciplinary collaboration and/or within the broader community, contributed to the advancement of architecture education, had the potential to benefit and/or change practice, and promoted models of excellence that could be appropriated by other educators. Throughout their deliberations, the jury noted interesting trends among the group of submissions. “The three programs recognized this year are excellent examples of the outstanding work being done by students and faculty in our schools. Each award winner represents a standard for their respective subject that all schools should aspire to,” said Jury Chair David Hinson, AIA. “This is what the AIA Education Honor Award is all about--recognizing excellence and helping us all to understand how this standard can be reached by educators across the country.” The winners: Digital Design-Build Initiative School of Architecture and Planning, The Catholic University of America Development team: Luis Eduardo Boza, Assistant Professor, Director, Summer Institute for Architecture, Director, Graduate Concentration in Digital Fabrication Jury Comments: “The course has gone beyond playing with digital technology as just a ‘smart’ tool and looks to how the technology begins to inform design directly. Students are learning about materiality through digital technology. They can explore the subject in a variety of ways. Thinking about a clear idea and its transformation into a well-crafted object is paramount, and the progression of three courses establishes a trajectory; it has a momentum that promises more advancement. Together, the three courses create an ensemble. This expands opportunities for a team of students with skills to go further integrating design ideas into built form.” Architecture I, II College of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology Development Team: Catherine Wetzel, Assistant Professor, Kathleen Nagle, Lecturer, Paul Pettigrew, AIA, Instructor, College of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology Jury Comments: “This program allows students to become immersed in many critical issues they have to think about as an architect, in a foundation course, including scale, materiality, landscape, and working collaboratively. First year design issues are addressed in a fresh, innovative way. The professors transform the campus into a large laboratory. Students understand scale better through full scale mock ups rather than just drawing a human figure in their project.” Habitat Trails: Habitat for Humanity from infill house to green neighborhood University of Arkansas Community Design Center Development Team: Stephen Luoni, Director, Assoc. AIA, University of Arkansas Community Design Center, Aaron Gabriel, Assoc. AIA, Project Director, University of Arkansas Community Design Center, Jeffrey Huber, Project Designer, University of Arkansas Community Design Center, Dr. Marty Matlock, PE Associate Professor, University of Arkansas Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering Jury Comments: "This project has jumped the scale of the single family house and provided a critical resource for the organization, and it gives back to its community. Dollars that would have been spent on culverts and physical infrastructure can be used to create bioswales and more landscaped open space for the community.”

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