Junior Architects: Michael G. Meyers Design Awards & Scholarships

Nine students enrolled in the Guthrie Center’s Architectural Design program won seven of 15 scholarships awarded for projects submitted as part of the Michael G. Meyers Design & Scholarship Competition. This design competition is sponsored each spring by the Houston Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture (AIA).

The Buffalo Bayou Partnership, as part of this year’s contest, was the client for the design project, called Re-inventing the Community Center. Students were asked to design a new community center on Houston’s eastside for the competition. Students have designed buildings ranging from a soccer stadium to a fire station in previous competitions.

District students honored in this competition with top awards are:

• Cecilia Zambrano (Guthrie/Memorial High) – 1st Place, Individual Entry: Cecilia won $1,200 and an $800 scholarship to the University of Houston Architectural Summer Discovery Program.
• Chance Hill (Guthrie/Memorial High) – 3rd Place, Individual Entry: Chance won $800 and an $800 scholarship to the University of Houston Architectural Summer Discovery Program.
• Darius Zacharakis/Walker Waughtal (Guthrie/Memorial High) – 3rd Place, Group Entry: Darius and Walker each won $800 and an $800 scholarship to the University of Houston Architectural Summer Discovery Program.

Five district students won Honorable Mentions in the AIA design competition:

• Marco Echavarria/Mason Arnold (Guthrie/Stratford High) – Best Use of the Silos
• Dakota Ransom (Guthrie/Stratford High) – Individual Entry
• Saul Lopez (Guthrie/Westchester Academy) – Best Building Model
• Holly Bohae Kim (Guthrie/Stratford High) – AIA Houston Director Favorite

District students were honored during a special presentation held April 26 at the Architecture Center Houston.

Guthrie Center students have submitted projects and won scholarships in the competition for 12 consecutive years. This year, students attended a design workshop sponsored by Kirksey Architectects. They were also invited to a guided tour involving the Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s planned building site. Guthrie students have used the project competition to complete portfolios for employment or admission to competitive university programs.

Over the past decade, students in this program have been accepted into well-rated architecture programs nationally, as well as overseas programs in France and Japan.

Judges this year for the AIA student competition were Susan Rogers, assistant professor in the UH College of Architecture; Anne Olson, Buffalo Bayou Partnership president; Ernesto Alfaro, with the urban planning and landscape architecture firm of SLA Studio Land; and Christian Sheridan, architect at Brave Architecture. Project sponsors donated more than $10,000 for student awards.

In addition, the University of Houston awarded scholarships to its Architectural Summer Discovery Program and the Architecture Center Houston Foundation gave lifetime membership awards.

Other sponsors were:

Platinum Members: Kirksey Architecture and Acuity Brands

Gold Members: Avadek Walkway Cover Systems and Canopies; Gensler Architects; HOK; E&C Engineers and Consultants

Silver Members: Lesco Architectural Lighting; Seeberger Architecture; DBR Engineering Consulants; Tandus Flooring; Forbo Flooring Systems; HFP Acoustical Consultants; Bihner Chen Engineering, Ltd.; Educators’ Depot, Inc.; Othon; RogersMoore Engineers, LLC; America Olean; Upchurch Kimbrough Co.; and ASA Dally Structural Engineering Architecture Program instructors are Sonia Greiner and Xavier Martinez.

The Guthrie Center offers three separate levels of Architectural Design classes to sophomores, juniors and seniors.