Clemson Architecture students win awards from the Society of American Registered Architects

Six Clemson University Master of Architecture (M.Arch) students have been named among the Society of American Registered Architects (SARA) 2024 Student National Design Awards winners.

The award winners were announced in New York City on October 26, 2024, during the SARA National Design Awards Gala.

Sustainable Community Development

“Alamihi Village,” a project developed by Clemson M.Arch students Jared Cook and Matthew Ngango, received a design award of honor during the gala. Cook and Ngango’s project was also recently named among the winning projects in the 2024 AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Student Top Ten awards.

“Our project responds to the 2023 Maui wildfires by demonstrating how architecture can contribute to a hopeful future by blending cultural and environmental conservation with vibrant community-building efforts in rebuilding Lahaina city,” Cook explained.

Set on a 9-acre parcel in Lahaina, Hawaii, the proposal arranges site elements along a bike- and pedestrian-friendly street linking the historic Wharf to the main street and city center. Cook and Ngango designed the site primarily for public use, with a fishpond, outdoor recreation, a proposed building and agriculture and community gardens.

“Focusing on a 9-acre site at the edge of the devastation, the project is optimistic, exploring opportunities for cultural conservation, ecological restoration and economic development,” Ngango said.

Fostering community resilience and growth

“Stories From the Porch,” a project developed by M.Arch students Allysa High and Valerie Evans, also received a design award of honor during the gala.

“Stories from the Porch addresses the preservation and celebration of Gullah Geechee culture, emphasizing community engagement and shared storytelling,” explained Evans. “It highlights the porch as a symbolic and literal ‘third space’ where diverse groups—tourists, locals, and children—can come together to experience and honor the traditions of craft, storytelling, and heritage unique to the Gullah Geechee people.”

Situated on a 10-acre site in the Plantersville region of Georgetown, South Carolina, High and Evans developed a project that intertwines Gullah Geechee culture with the significance around the porch. The project proposed that by fostering an immersive environment, it would support cultural preservation, learning and meaningful connection by “bridging the past, present and future of a vibrant cultural legacy.”

“At its core, the project integrates architecture and programs that reflect the essence of Gullah Geechee life, creating an immersive and sensory-driven environment,” Evans shared.

Humanitarian aid housing

Naddy and Sunkel’s project aimed to revitalize abandoned structures in Ellicott City, Maryland, as a refuge for transitory relief migrants. Specifically, the project looked to provide a proactive approach to humanitarian aid housing, with the understanding that “no single abandoned structure can house an entire community.”

“The Beacon aims to revitalize the abandoned buildings into transitional housing for disasters throughout Maryland,” explained Sunkel. “The site is positioned at the lowest elevation of the historic downtown and is adjacent to the Patapsco River. This location causes the site to frequently flood from increased rainfall events.”

According to Sunkel, the buildings that currently exist on the site contain around 203,000 square feet within an eight-story office building, silos and a two-story warehouse. To mitigate flooding, the team planned to turn the ground floor of the buildings into exterior spaces, while the second-story of the warehouse would be converted into a workshop and daycare center. The office building would be reconfigured to house a restaurant, outdoor market and residential units using prefabricated united that could be reconfigured at a moment’s notice based on the amount of people displaced at any given time.

“We worked together through every step of the design, collaborating on style and representation as well as making sure we could concisely communicate our ideas in a limited amount of drawings,” explained Sunkel. “Our idea of Transitory Housing for Disaster Relief Migrants is specific to the site and needs of the Ellicott City, Maryland community. However, the concept can be implemented in other abandoned structures in towns across the U.S. to serve other communities in times of crisis.”