Some Maryland homeowners use bamboo to bring life to their outdoor spaces. To others, it can be a pesky plant. But, for two University of Maryland students, the pervasive perennial was the selling point that won them the first-place prize at this year's ArchiNova 2.0: Architects as Entrepreneurs Student Challenge.
NeoBoo, Bamboo Extraction—a concept for sustainably harvesting and repurposing bamboo across Maryland—was “sold” by architecture students Joshua Leveille ‘25 and Luis Andres '26, to a group of industry experts, students and faculty at the University of Maryland Architecture Program’s second annual "Shark Tank"-themed competition last Wednesday.
"Bamboo is known for being incredibly versatile and adaptive," said Joshua Leveille '25. "It can be used for almost everything."
ArchiNova was launched by Architecture Program Director and Professor Mohammad Gharipour, Associate Clinical Professor Ken Filler and Suzanna Kelley, FAIA the chief experience officer at McKinley Advisors in Washington, D.C., last year as a platform for students to leverage the skills learned in the design studio to solve societal, environmental and business challenges. Beyond its public good slant, the competition also helps students tap into the world of entrepreneurship and explore architecture-adjacent career opportunities.
“Designers have a fairly rare skill of being able to hold multiple ideas in their head and being able to assess those things simultaneously,” Filler said. “Our students often use that just in their design studio, but that can be a valuable business tool.”
Leveille and Andres were among the four finalists selected from an initial round of 12 submissions. The finalists received mentorship in advance of the Idea Showcase by Chris Morrison, the managing principal at Perkins & Will and Sarah Wahlgren Wingo, the founding principal at Wyn Design Company, LLC.
Zeina Rahi '27, Heyam Abualrub '26 and Uma Gupta '25 won second place for their business proposal, Green District Design, a nonprofit organization that works with companies to help offset their emissions through green infrastructure. Student pair Yash Argawala ‘26 and Ryan Cramer '27 also presented their proposal, Urban Harvest Initiative, along with Conell Brandner '25 for his idea FYB (Front Yard Business) Consultant Group.
Leveille and Andres’ idea for recycling Maryland’s growing supply of bamboo is home-grown—both of their fathers are entrepreneurs. While one of their initial ideas focused on its use as construction material, more research demonstrated potential uses for textiles, food, furniture and medicine. Their business plan would dispose of invasive bamboo, while harvesting and selling native bamboo. Eventually NeoBoo would manufacture products from bamboo sourced from greenhouse farms.
"This [was] a really good chance for me to branch out of architecture and think in a more entrepreneurial aspect," Andres said.
Kelley, who migrated from the practice 20 years ago to help businesses transform and innovate, said she is happy to see students using their design skills in different ways to solve problems—and maybe discover other paths beyond licensure.
“We wanted to make sure that those students knew that the road wasn't over,” Kelley said. “There are many things that you can do in your career with architecture skill sets.”
View photos from ArchiNova 2.0: Architects as Entrepreneurs Student Challenge.