Student News

"HDR’s Health Planning Scholar Program is a one-year immersive program for recent graduates who are passionate about bettering the health and wellness of the people they design for. This program is open to candidates who are finishing graduate studies in architecture and health-related programs. The scholars will work with HDR's expert planners and designers on projects around the globe with travel opportunities. The position’s location will be matched to the interest of the candidate with an HDR office that offers the strongest mentoring opportunity. As the leader in healthcare architecture, HDR is committed to fostering the growth and development of the next generation of health architects and planners. The selected candidates will be granted full-time employment, attendance to a healthcare architecture conference, and the opportunity to continue their career at HDR after the program’s term." Source Nisha Patil, a current graduate student here at the University of Illinois School of Architecture, was awarded the HDR Health Planning Scholar! Her position will be "HDR Health Planning Scholar/Design Coordinator." Nisha:

“Starting my journey with HDR as a Health Planning Scholar/Design Coordinator is a pivotal opportunity in my path toward becoming a healthcare planner. This role offers a rare chance to contribute to high-impact healthcare projects worldwide while gaining exposure to advanced design strategies, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams, and learning directly from leading experts across HDR’s national network. This opportunity not only fast-tracks my career growth and visibility but also allows me to build a lasting and meaningful future in healthcare design—within a firm that shares my passion for transforming care through architecture. Looking back, what helped me reach this milestone was the ability to shape my own direction in design and research through the Health and Well-being concentration at the Illinois School of Architecture. That freedom, combined with consistent faculty guidance, allowed me to dive deeper into human-centered design—all of which helped me craft an application that truly reflected both my values and vision.”

Congratulations Nisha!  

The article details a new transdisciplinary program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign called "Place Making and Rural Tourism in China." This program is one of two projects funded by the Global South Community-Based Learning Programs grant, an initiative of the university's Vision 2030 Global Strategy funded by the Office of the Provost.

The program consists of three interdisciplinary courses:

• ARCH 572 (Architecture) taught by Windy Zhao
• ARTD 499 (Art & Design) taught by Molly Briggs
• RST 594/199 (Recreation, Sport, and Tourism) taught by Sharon Zou

The program invites Illinois students to collaborate on developing architectural plans, tourism strategies, wayfinding plans, and place-making activities for Xihu Village in Jiangxi Province, China. In February 2025, students traveled to China for a week-long study abroad opportunity, while others completed related campus-based activities.

Each course contributes differently to the program:

• ARCH 572 focuses on creating innovative planning and design proposals
• ARTD 499 develops wayfinding and memory-making plans
• RST 199/594 explores community-based tourism development principles

The program is rooted in community-engaged, human-centered design and planning, with the goal of helping create a sustainable future for the village's residents and visitors. Rather than imposing solutions, the professors aim to work with local stakeholders to develop sustainable approaches based on cultural identity and evolving needs.

Dear Students, I am seeking a Research Assistant (RA) for Fall 2025 to participate in my research project: The Space between Black and White: Racial Segregation and Integration as Represented in Chinese Grocery Stores in the Mississippi Delta. Project Abstract: In the early twentieth century, a small number of Chinese immigrants played significant roles in shaping the highly segregated social and urban landscapes of the Mississippi Delta. Taking advantage of an economic niche created by racism, Chinese immigrants opened grocery stores to mainly serve Black communities. Neither Black nor White, these store owners negotiated and thrived within a bifurcated Black-White framework. Combining methods of archival research, architectural survey, cognitive mapping, and ethnographic fieldwork, and linking personal narratives to architectural representations, this project aims to examine the built environments of selected Chinese grocery stores at multiple scales, reveal their representations of racial segregation, integration, identities, and traditions, and to portray multi-layered social and racial relations beyond the Black-White framework. Situated between architecture, Asian American studies, and racial studies, this project will expand the literature on the Chinese diaspora, racial triangulation, the meaning of home and place, and representations of identities and traditions in vernacular architecture. More importantly, this project will provide a fresh perspective on racial relations and the meaning of place as understood by Black communities, whose very survival depended on microcosms created and maintained by Chinese grocers, and whose daily activities centered around these stores. Position Requirements:

• Proficiency in AutoCAD, Rhino, Photoshop, InDesign, and at least one rendering software. • Basic understanding of building surveys (proficiency in building survey is desired). • Availability to work an average of 10 hours per week for Fall 2025. • Availability to travel to the Mississippi Delta for one week in August before the semester begins (expenses covered). • Basic photography skills (preferred but not required). • Drone flying experience or a Remote Pilot Certificate (preferred but not required).

Compensation:

• A summer stipend for the summer trip to the Mississippi Delta, which will not exceed $1,120 ($20 per hour for 56 hours). • From August 16 to November 15, 2025, monthly compensation of $1,344.44 and a 6-credit hour tuition waiver for Fall 2025. One additional month of payment is possible if the Research Assistant is required to work between November and December. • All travel-related expenses (transportation, lodging, and food) will be covered by the Principal Investigator (PI), Prof. Wei Zhao. • Training for specific software will be provided if necessary.

Application Materials Please submit the following documents in ONE PDF file: 1. One-page resume. 2. One-page statement (single-space) outlining your previous experience and reasons for applying. 3. Short portfolio showcasing:

o Design and representation skills (renderings, axonometric drawings, collages, etc.) in no more than three design projects. o Any prior building survey work (if applicable). o Photography samples (if available).

4. List of three references, including:

o Name, email, and phone number. o Your relationship with each reference (e.g., "Studio instructor for ARCH 473, Fall 2024" or "Project manager for 2024 Summer Internship").

File Naming Format: RA_FirstName_LastName.pdf Submission Email: weizhao4@illinois.edu Application Deadline: March 7 at 11:59 PM Informal interviews will take place shortly after the deadline, and final decisions will be made by early April. Thank you for your interest. Please let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to reviewing your applications! Best regards, Windy  

UIUC Career XPO Committee is excited to announce the release of the 2025 Career XPO Firm List!

Use this list to research firms, find the ones you are interested in, and prepare at least THREE questions for their work, office culture, etc! The Career XPO will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Champaign, IL, from 9AM - 3PM, with interviews to follow. Read more about it in the provided link!    

The Illinois School of Architecture is proud to announce two faculty members, one staff, and one alum winners of the 2025 Architectural Education Award! Illinois boasts the most award winners of all represented schools. Read more at ASCA: Winners Announced for 2025 Architectural Education awards. Congratulations to:

• Joseph Altshuler (Assistant Professor)
• Akima Brackeen (Assistant Professor)
• La Tanya Cobb (Associate Director of Undergraduate Student Services)
• Mark Pearson (Alumus)

The Career XPO will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn. Over 90 firms will be attending to meet you and hire!

1. Upload your resume here!
   1. Single Page
   2. 8.5" x 11" format
   3. UP TO THREE work sample images on the back side of the resume
   4. NOT your whole portfolio. Bring this to the XPO on 2/13/25.

We are proud to introduce a new video highlighting our Chicago / ABC Studio!

The School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is seeking two, full-time professionals to join the Graduate Advisor Team at either the Graduate Advisor or Senior Graduate Advisor level. Apply today!   Deadline is December 1st, 2024.

We are excited to announce the Barcelona Study Abroad 2025-2026 program!  For those interested in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Program Director Alejandro Lapunzina will host an Orientation for all prospective students & family on November 23rd, 2024 @ 10AM via Zoom! Click here for the Zoom Orientation link! Ready to apply for the program now? (Application Deadline December 2nd)

Graduate students click here!

Undergraduate students click here!

Design This Year's A3 Logo and Win $500! The Annual Architecture Awards (A3) is a School of Architecture event that recognizes students' achievements and awards scholarships and other recognition, and we need a design for this year's A3 Awards! All School of Architecture students are eligible to design and win. The deadline to submit your logo is Sunday, Nov. 10th at 11:59pm. Any submissions dated Nov. 11th will not be considered. To submit, email your name, PDF of design, phone number, and email address to Tony Maduzia at maduzia@illinois.edu with the following email subject: 2025 A3 Logo Contest - LastName, FirstName Submission Specifications:

• 8x8 artboard, graphic contained in a 7-1/4 diameter circle
• Include your A3 logo and text - "Annual Architecture Awards 2025". Maintain 1/4 margins.
• Do not include your name on the graphic. Submit it as a PDF file.
• Please direct all questions to Muntasir Hakim at mh89@illinois.edu 

*Limit of one design per person or team *Logo to be used on buttons, invitations, program cover, and web publicity for the event

Six first-year architecture students recently returned from a trip to Shanghai,China where they represented the University of Illinois at the 2024 Tongji University International Construction Festival.

Prizes were awarded for Junior, Senior, and Graduate studio work in Fall 2023.

Undergraduate and graduate students receive recognition in the Earl Prize and Graduate Design Excellence Awards for Fall 2022 and Spring 2023.

The Spring 2023 Lectures Series theme is "Climate Fictions."

Create a logo for A3, the school's Annual Architecture Awards.

The Fall 2022 lecture series is titled "Confronting Climate."

Such Reddy, founder of Reddymade, has published a book on her 2019 Plym Studio at the Illinois School of Architecture.

A collaboration between two universities and a design firm blends academia and practice in a newly formed graduate studio for architecture students.