Architecture student among top 10 in international design competition

Jessica Nutz, an architecture student, was named one of the top 10 finishers in the 2016 International COTE design competition. In its second year, this contest is open to accredited schools in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It is sponsored by the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment (AIA COTE) in partnership with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Kyoung-Hee Kim, assistant professor of architecture, mentored Nutz.

According to AIA COTE, the competition “challenged students to submit projects that use a thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems and technology to provide architectural solutions that protect and enhance the environment.” More than 400 students from 30 institutions participated in the competition; 10 projects were chosen.

Nutz’s project, “Charlotte’s Sustainable Cooperative Center – Extending Charlotte’s Cultural Corridor,” proposes a sustainability center on North Tryon Street that is a combination exhibition/artists’ residence/education space that visibly manifests integrated sustainable building systems, thereby educating people about sustainability through their experience of the building.

The competition’s five jurors praised Nutz’s design; they noted the “sensitive place-making with the integrated kinetic façade make this project excellent. The dynamic introduction of sunlight and ventilation through an atrium is inviting and well-designed. The clear integration of environmental qualities is notable and well-integrated in the design. The exterior of a highly crafted, beautiful and simple wall evolves this project into something unusual and wonderful.”

“Charlotte’s Sustainable Cooperative Center – Extending Charlotte’s Cultural Corridor” will be exhibited at the AIA national convention in Philadelphia (May 19-21) and at the 105th ACSA annual meeting in Detroit (March 23-25, 2017).