Architecture students win second place in national design competition

A team of three SAC students brought home a second-place award in a national architecture competition for community college students.

卡洛斯·卢戈, 史蒂文指控, and Ángel Castillo won second place in the 2023 Student Design Competition organized by the Coalition of 社区 大学 Architecture Programs (CCCAP). The three worked together to create a design for a center for conversation, 今年年度比赛的主题.

It’s the second year in a row that SAC architecture students have placed in the top two spots in the contest. Last year, Carlos Sierra, a second-year architecture student, won first place for his entry.

This year’s competition challenged students to design a place that encourages people in the community to come together for interaction and dialogue. 卢戈的团队, Esparza and Castillo created a plan for an indoor/outdoor gathering place called “Heart to Heart.”

The jurors selected their project for its excellence in all categories, 包括概念, 正式表达, 程序, 网站, 可持续性, 以及图形展示. 

“Everyone felt from midway through the project that these three had come up with something special,Dwayne Bohuslav说, SAC architecture 程序 coordinator and associate professor.

The three first met in architecture classes and reunited in Bohuslav’s design class in the summer of 2022. After successfully teaming up on an urban garden center design project in the class, they knew they wanted to work together again on the CCCAP project.

“我们就像三个火枪手，”卡斯蒂略说. “这就是我想说的. 波胡斯拉夫打电话给我们.”

At first, they weren’t sure what a conversation center should include. 每个研究博物馆, 库, 公园, 还有其他建筑的例子, 然后一起回来分享想法. They considered the 网站 conditions of the proposed location, 包括周边社区, 天气、风向和日照情况.

The team kept one question in mind as they planned the center: how will this bring the community together?

“Throughout the whole project we thought about that question over and over,” Esparza said. “We knew if we could get the answer we could help people more.”

When Esparza had the idea for an open-air sunken plaza, the group knew it would be a main focus.

“我们马上就喜欢上了它，”卡斯蒂略说. “I really wanted to have everything around the plaza as the main focal point, 项目的核心.”

从下沉的广场, corridors and covered walkways lead to indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, 比如用于演讲的礼堂, 一个小博物馆, 一个图书馆, 一个花园和私人房间. The project incorporated nature and natural materials throughout to create a calming and refreshing atmosphere with lush vegetation, 水景和绿墙.

“我们真的想到了社区, 在不同的情况下，我们会如何看待自己, 我们想怎样开始一段对话,卢戈说.

Each student brought a unique strength to the team. In addition to each of them researching and contributing ideas, 他们把这归功于埃斯帕萨的手绘能力, 卢戈对数字模型的热情, and Castillo’s talent with rendering software as contributing to the project’s success.

“I feel like the teamwork was really exceptional, along with the chemistry we had,” said Esparza.

The three will share an $800 prize for their winning entry.

Lugo graduated from SAC this summer with a degree in architecture and will continue his studies at UTSA this fall. Esparza is an architecture major starting his second year at SAC. Castillo is majoring in architecture at SAC and plans to graduate after the fall semester.

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