10.19.07 UPDATE—Residential Architect Online publishes story on Maryland's sweep. 

October 5, 2007—Students in the graduate-level Advanced Technology course, taught by Professors Deborah Oakley and Carl Bovill, took the top three places in Storm Housing 2007, an international competition sponsored by the Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) and Portland Cement Association (PCA).

In addition to winning the top three places in a field of nearly 60 entries, University of Maryland Architecture students also received four honorable mentions.

The competition, held in September, challenged students to creatively solve the problem of replacing large volumes of single-family housing for lower-income people in regions hardest hit by recent hurricanes along the Gulf Coast. The TCA promotes tilt-up concrete as an affordable and effective construction method for durable housing to meet the needs of vulnerable coastal areas. Learn more about the competition and view all winning boards at TCA's website.

The winning entries, by Jonathan McKearin (click to view board), Ritsaart Marcelis, and Artur Kalil, were selected by a blind jury. Design excellence, simultaneously addressing the individual unit as well as full block development, practical constructability, and presentation graphics were among the key features that the jury cited as outstanding features of the winning solutions. The first-, second-, and third-place winners received cash prizes of $1500, $1000, and $500, respectively, at the TCA convention held at the University of Maryland Inn and Conference Center in October. Equal amounts were awarded to the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation to support program development.

The winning and honorable-mention projects will be published in TCA’s journal and on its website. Maryland students who received honorable mention were Jason Cheung & Robert Sanz, Beret Dickson & Jonathan Healey, Lisa LaCharite & Farzam Yazdanseta, and Peter Leung.

The Advanced Technology course is a co-requisite with the award-winning Comprehensive Studio. Together, the two courses take an integrated design approach that involves simultaneous consideration from architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, landscape, and sustainability perspectives. Practicing professionals in all of these fields act as both consultants and reviewers throughout the semester as students develop their projects in a real-world atmosphere.

Contact Professor Deborah Oakley (301.405.0754) for more information.