Ten University of Maryland architecture students were recognized for innovative, sustainable design projects at this year’s AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Awards, sweeping the top prize for each of the undergraduate and graduate-level categories. This year’s jury, a roster of established practitioners from California, Idaho, Texas and Colorado, also recognized several alumni in the jury citation, merit and honor categories. Winners were celebrated in a virtual ceremony on September 24, 2020.
UMD’s 2020 AIA Maryland Design Excellence Student Winners:
Undergraduate Beginning Design:
Winner: Thomas Vite, Baltimore Performance Center (Julie Gabrielli)
Jury Citation: Kaitlyn Briller, Dupont Botanical Library (Michael Abrams)
Undergraduate Upper Level Design:
Winner: Maria Fernanda Farieta, Greenscape (Brittany L. Williams)
Jury Citation: Judy Tram, Harmony Apartments (Julie Gabrielli)
Jury Citation: Adeola Okubadejo, Baltimore Institute for Urban Sustainability (Eric Hurtt)
Graduate Beginning Design:
Winner: Melonee Quintanilla, Lightbox (Peter Noonan)
Jury Citation: Jemimah Asamoah and Bhavishya Venkitaraman, Visitor’s Center: Pope-Leighey House (Julie Gabrielli and Amy Gardner)
Graduate Upper Level Design:
Winner: Kyle Huck, MeadWorks (Peter Noonan)
Jury Citation: Eric Bos, Reviving the Heart of the City: Transforming Baltimore’s Oldest Market into the City’s First Sustainable Food District (Brian Kelly)
Jury Citation: Dan Lorenzana, Here to Stay: The Disaster, Displacement and the Biomimetic Response (Ming Hu)
“We are thrilled to see our students once again honored for their hard work in such a profound way,” said Brian Kelly, Director of University of Maryland’s Architecture Program. “This recognition by the profession is a testament to their talent, skill and creativity and reaffirms our commitment as a program to sustainable, responsive design.”
The 2020 AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Awards competition recognizes outstanding built and unbuilt projects that exemplify strength of design and sustainability. While evaluation criteria include overall concept, value, design materials and relationship to the landscape, new this year were more robust sustainability measures, introduced in response to AIA’s commitment to climate action.
UMD’s 10 winning projects were among 11 student entries recognized this year out 40 submissions. Students presented inventive designs that addressed food insecurity, urban infill, environmental degradation and cultural connection, with two winning projects tackling design challenges closer to home. Undergraduate architecture student Maria Fernanda Farieta took top honors with Greenscape, a sustainability center for the University of Maryland that settles into the grand slope of greenspace between Memorial Chapel and a bustling Route One. The jury cited Farieta’s project as “reminiscent of Emilio Ambasz’s work” and “a bold move that paid off and accomplished its mission statement.” Architecture graduate student Melonee Quintanilla’s, Lightbox, which took first place in the Graduate Upper Level Design category, conjured a light-filled, transformative addition to UMD’s Architecture Building, creating a beacon of activity in the campus’ southern corner. Quintanilla’s glass-filled addition to the existing building counters “the existing inwards facing building, signaling the department’s activity to the university community, and increasing the transparency of the architectural field.”
“The graduate work really blew me away; it was aspirational yet completely achievable,” said Design Awards Chair Lindsay Love, Assoc. AIA. “Sustainability and social capital were well integrated into the premise of each project and there were a lot of just beautifully presented end results.”
UMD alumni also had an outstanding showing this year, with jury citations, merit and honor awards and even the award for Public Building of the Year.
Commercial Architecture Jury Citations:
- Devin Kimmel (M.ARCH ’06) – Kimmel Studio, LLC
Boat House, Deale, Maryland - Katherine LePage (B.S. Architecture ’02) – Ziger/Snead Architects
Robert W. Deutsch Foundation Building, 2519 N. Charles St. Redevelopment, Baltimore, Maryland
Institutional Architecture Jury Citations:
- Steve Bartlett (B.ARCH ’82) – Ballinger
Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building, Baltimore, Maryland - Mark Nook (B.S. Architecture ’96, M.ARCH ’98) – Quinn Evans
McLean School of Maryland, Potomac, Maryland - Mark McInturff (B.ARCH ’72), Coleen Gove Healey (B.S. Architecture ’04, M.ARCH ’06) – McInturff Architects
Art Works Now, Hyattsville, Maryland - Daniel A. Lucenti (B.S. Architecture ’09), Allison Wilson (B.S. Architecture ’09, M.ARCH ’11) – Ayers Saint Gross|Beyer Blinder Belle
The Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Maryland - Mark Nook (B.S. Architecture ’96, M.ARCH ’98), Sara Langmead (M.ARCH ’09, MHP ‘10) – Quinn Evans
Dorothy I. Height Elementary School, Baltimore, Maryland - Mark McInturff (B.ARCH ’72), Colleen Gove Healey (B.S. Architecture ’04, M.ARCH ’06), Julia Heine (M.ARCH ’92), Jeffrey McInturff (M.ARCH ’14) – McInturff Architects
The Writer’s Center, Bethesda, Maryland - Melanie Hennigan (B.S. Architecture ’83, M.ARCH ’87), Paul Klee (B.S. Architecture ’92, M.ARCH ’94), Kathleen O’Hearn (M.ARCH ’04) – Grimm + Parker Architects
Anne E. Moncure Elementary School, Stafford, Virginia - Noah Harburger (M.ARCH ’04), Kurtis Pung (B.S. Architecture ’12), Allison Wilson (B.S. Architecture ’09, M.ARCH ’11) – Ayers Saint Gross
Alfond Commons, Waterville, Maine
Residential Architecture Jury Citations:
- Jon Wallenmeyer (B.ARCH ’84) – SK+I ARCHITECTURE
The Edison, Washington, DC - Brian Grieb (B.S. Architecture ’99, M.ARCH ’01), Alick Dearie (B.S. Architecture ’99, M.ARCH ’04) – GriD architects
Rocky Knob Sauna, Upper Tract, West Virginia - Devin Kimmel (M.ARCH ’06) – Kimmel Studio, LLC
Wye River Barn House, Queenstown, Maryland - Stephen Muse (B.ARCH ’73), William Kirwan (B.S. Architecture ’85, M.ARCH ’87), Kuk-Ja Kim (B.S. Architecture ’86, M.ARCH ’88) – Muse Architects
A Virginia Farm House, Virginia
Unbuilt Architecture Jury Citations:
- Michael A. Wiencek (B.S. Architecture ’77, B.ARCH ’78) – Wiencek + Associates Architects + Planners
Northwest One, Washington, DC
Institutional Architecture Merit Award:
- Glenn Neighbors (B.ARCH ’82), Silvia (Carroll) Hasty (B.S. Architecture ’04), Allison Wilson (B.S. Architecture ’09, M.ARCH ’11) – Ayers Saint Gross
Semans-Griswold Environmental hall, Washington College, Chestertown, Maryland - Craig Williams (B.S. Architecture ’94) – Becker Morgan Group, Inc.
Somerset County Technical High School, Westover, Maryland - Luis Bernardo (B.S. Architecture ’85, M.ARCH ‘87), Tom Zeigenfuss (B.S. Architecture ’94, M.ARCH ’00), Prakruti Hoskere (M.ARCH ’16), Seonhee Kim (B.S. Architecture ’04) – Design Collective, Inc. | Workshop Architects
The Commons at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Chris Weston (B.S. Architecture ’94) – GWWO, Inc./Architects
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, Church Creek, Maryland - David Gavin (M.ARCH ’17) – Quinn Evans
Restoration Gardens 2, Baltimore, Maryland - Michael Goodwin (B.S. Architecture ’90, M.ARCH ’92), Nick Mansperger (B.S. Architecture ’02, M.ARCH ’04, Emma Crenshaw (B.S. Architecture ’10, M.ARCH ’13) – Design Collective, Inc.
Highgate at the Mile, Tysons, Virginia - Mark McInturff (B.ARCH ’72), Colleen Gove Healey (B.S. Architecture ’04, M.ARCH ’06) – McInturff Architects
House. Pool. Garden, Washington, DC - Michael Goodwin (B.S. Architecture ’90, M.ARCH ’92), Nick Mansperger (B.S. Architecture ’02, M.ARCH ’04), Tom Zeigenfuss (B.S. Architecture ’94, M.ARCH ’00), Fiver Soraruf (M.ARCH ’04) , Emma Crenshaw (B.S. Architecture ’10, M.ARCH ’13), Justin Obringer (B.S. Architecture ’10, M.ARCH ’12) – Design Collective, Inc.
The Lindley, Chevy Chase, Maryland
Urban Design & Master Planning Merit Award:
- Daniel Lucenti (B.S. Architecture ’09) – Ayers Saint Gross
The Providence innovation District, Providence, Rhode Island
Institutional Architecture Honor Award
- Melanie Hennigan, Susan Hains (B.S. Architecture ’85, M.ARCH ’87), Amy Upton (B.S. Architecture ’98), Antonio Rebelo (B.S. Architecture ’96, M.ARCH ’98) – Grimm + Parker Architects
Wheaton Library + Community Recreation Center, Silver Spring, Maryland
Residential Architecture Honor Award
- Miche Booz (M.ARCH ’87), Joe Harris (M.ARCH ’04) – Miche Booz Architect
Old Hopkins Road house, Clarksville, Maryland
People’s Choice Award
- George Myers (B.S. Architecture ’84, M.ARCH ’86), Mark Kaufman (M.ARCH ’06) – GTM Architects
Split-Level Contemporary, Bethesda, Maryland
Public Building of the Year
- Chris Weston (B.S. Architecture ’94) – GWWO, Inc./Architects
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, Church Creek, Maryland