NEW YORK, NY. – Southwestern College architecture students have earned national recognition by winning two of the top five spots in the Coalition of Community College Architecture Programs, Inc. (CCCAP) 2018 Student Design Competition.
Students were asked to design a visitor center in California’s Joshua Tree National Park, with the competition only open to first- and second-year architecture students. The competition attracted 17 community colleges and universities representing 13 states, for a total of 45 entries.
“It was a great surprise and honor for the students to win,” said Eric Johnson, assistant professor of architecture at Southwestern College. “I and my co-chair Grazyna Kubis initially had the students review case studies of famous architects. This way they could learn and apply architectural elements for their own projects. Their end results were refined and well-thought out.”
Southwestern students Ana Paez and Edwardo Palleres won third place for their collaborative efforts while the team of Christopher Trejo and Isabel Scharping won one of only two honorable mentions awarded. All four are second-year/fourth-semester students and these were first-time wins for the college.
“I have always loved art and design so architecture is a perfect fit for me,” said Palleres who hopes one day to open his own architectural firm and concentrate on structures that support sustainability of eco-friendly technology.
Earlier this year Southwestern students won Best Craftsmanship at the prestigious Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Annual Design Village competition.
For more information: Southwestern College Architecture Program
