Collegiate Times

The School of Architecture and Design continues to churn out award-winning students and projects.

“We have the best ratio of ego to talent out there,” said Michael Ermann, associate professor and architecture program chair.

This talent is displayed through exhibits in the Cowgill Hall lobby that change throughout the school week. However, projects created by students and faculty go beyond the classroom.

Architectural Record recently ranked Virginia Tech’s program number four among undergraduate architecture schools. Landscape Architecture ranked first in the annual Design Intelligence rankings.

“The School of Architecture and Design has been in the top ten for the previous six years and we will aim to be in the top five always,” said Kathryn Albright, associate professor. “Our students continue to win national and international competitions and our faculty and alumni continue to be recognized for their achievements and awards.”

Two faculty members, Keith and Marie Zawistowski, recently won a Virginia Society American Institute of Architects Award for their renovation of the Arritt Farmhouse in Potts Creek in 2009. Currently, they are working on a theater near Covington.

Associate professor Margarita McGrath is co-owner of Noroof Architects in New York City. McGrath’s design for a 700-foot square apartment was featured in Dwell Magazine in 2009.

According to Ermann, Tech architecture graduates designed all of the cabinetry for the apartment. McGrath faced some critiques from readers who wanted a larger space.

“That’s what we have to compete with — the idea that bigger is better. No, better is better,” Ermann said. 

In addition to faculty, students also won awards in several national and international competitions this past fall and spring.

Lumenhaus, a solar energy-powered home, won first place in June in the Solar Decathlon in Madrid, Spain. The Tech team was one of only two U.S. teams represented in the international competition.

A team of second-year industrial design students won first place out of more than 400 entries at the third annual “Design the Future” international competition sponsored by LG.

Chris Morgan, another second-year architecture student, won first place in the international Yele Haiti competition sponsored by Wyclef Jean with his design of “Broadcast Studios.” The competition sought designs to replace buildings in Haiti that were destroyed in the January 2009, earthquake.

Four teams of industrial design studios stole all five categories at an international competition sponsored by Ardica early this year. The focus of the competition was to incorporate the Moshi Power Pack, a flat, lightweight, flexible battery, into a piece of outdoor equipment. A team of three Tech students won first place with its “Voltage” sleeping bag.

In order to hone their skills, architecture students spend long hours in their classes.

Ermann said students spend much of their day with the same faculty member in their assigned desks. Students are also occasionally asked to color, cut and paste.

“In many ways, it is more like a kindergarten class than a regular college class,” Ermann said.  

This is all part of the studio-learning environment incorporated by the School of Architecture and Design. As a five-year program, students attend studio each day for several hours. However, these programs also demand additional hours outside of class, according to Ermann. This becomes a social environment for students who spend long hours in the studio trying to meet deadlines.

“It is the greatest educational model ever created,” Ermann said.

The studio also provides a library for students along with a variety of shops including wood, metal, textile, silk screening and digital fabrication.

Because the time demand for architecture and design is so intensive, the department offers a summer program for students transferring into these majors. Students within other departments at Tech spend their days during the summer completing projects and working within the studio.

After students complete this program they can either move on to become either first year or second year students based on their progress. This allows students the opportunity to graduate in five years, Ermann said.  

As a rising sophomore, Kelly McFadden needed to complete the summer program to get on track with the architecture program. She and other students began by drawing, moved on to drawing in depth and finally created a 3-D representation of their work. The project was so broad, according to McFadden, that each student created a different piece of work.

McFadden explained that while studio is time consuming, she still enjoys creating new projects.

“I’d rather be doing something I like even if it takes more time,” McFadden said.

A version of this article appeared in the Jul 22 issue of the Collegiate Times.