UMD Students, Faculty and Alums Earn Acclaim at 2025 Maryland AIA Awards
A fire station designed from ashes, an homage to a Civil War turning point and a refuge for oyster recovery were just some of the University of Maryland student projects to amass accolades at this year’s AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Awards. They joined nearly a dozen alums and faculty honored for projects that exemplify sustainable and beautiful design and contribute to the public realm.
5 Questions with Cathy Morrison
To rebuild communities, Cathy Morrison ‘04 believes that designers should not only reflect the people in the communities they’re building for, but “move at the speed of trust.”
Save Our Buildings, Save Ourselves
If you ask Carl Elefante ‘80 which of New York’s most iconic skyscrapers—the 94-year-old Empire State Building or the 11-year-old Freedom Tower—is more climate-friendly, the answer might surprise you.Both have LEED-Gold certification, the energy-efficient exemplar bestowed on a building. But because of the Empire State Building’s stone façade, it has staying power, said Elefante—when the Freedom Tower’s glass façade reaches the end of its useful life, it will be torn off and thrown into a landfill.
Terps Hit “Home” Run in Forbes Best List
If you are building a home in the rolling landscape of Virginia’s Blue Ridge mountains magnificent views are as much a requirement as an extra bedroom. But architects Amy Gardner and Brittany Williams ‘05 M.Arch ‘07 decided early on in the project that scenery was only part of the equation— if sited and designed just right, they could also capture sunlight and ample mountain breezes, allowing the homeowners to power and ventilate the home, minimizing the need for AC even on sunny, hot and humid August summer days.