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Undergraduate and graduate work from our five Program Areas, with a focus on studio design.
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XPO Portfolio Review Sessions
We are pleased to announce the next Career XPO event, the Portfolio Review Sessions.
What: 15 minute sessions with Architecture faculty to receive personalized feedback on your resumes, portfolios, and presentations skills.
When:
Tuesday, 11/18/2025
Wednesday, 11/19/2025
Thursday, 11/20/2025
Online: Zoom
How: Register at https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C094BAEA929A0F5CF8-60356316-portfolio
ACSA Winner of the 2025 Design for Freedom Competition
2ND PLACE
CATEGORY II: MATERIAL RESEARCH
Behind the Rubber
Student: Xingyu Liu
Faculty Sponsor: Patricia Saldaña Natke
Juror Comments: Behind the Rubber impressed the jury with the comprehensive research and strong emphasis on policy, presenting a well-developed and innovative concept that introduces fresh perspectives of unconventional thinking. The students demonstrate a clear commitment to consumer understanding, using thoughtful storytelling to make complex systems more transparent. A key strength of the design is the clear and thorough articulation of the proposed ecosystem.
ACSA Winner of the 2025 Concrete Masonry Student Competition
3RD PLACE
FLASH POINT
Student: Michael Zemaitis
Faculty Sponsor: Erik Hemingway
Juror Comments
Flash Point offers a thoughtful reinterpretation of the contemporary fire station’s role in regions vulnerable to wildfires. The use of concrete masonry is especially commendable, used and designed with intelligence and care. The student’s modern interpretation of a breeze block screen wall is masterfully articulated. The design creatively incorporates deployable pods and a luminous lookout tower, transforming the station into both a lifesaving command center and a welcoming community refuge.
ACSA Winner of the 2025 Design for Freedom Competition
1ST PLACE
CATEGORY I: DESIGN PROJECT
Peace Museum – Beyond the Scars
Students: Nidhi Naik & Shamita Shyam Honawar
Faculty Sponsors: Patricia Saldaña Natke & Soumya Dasgupta
Juror Comments: Peace Museum – Beyond the Scars is recognized as a first place winner for the powerful and deeply principled design that places ethical material sourcing and labor equity at the heart of the architectural design. By weaving the story through material choices and labor practices, the students ground their concept in a meaningful, real-world context. The use of cartoon bubbles is both inventive and engaging, offering a compelling way to communicate the project’s narrative that can be easily understood by a non-architect.
Thank you to all who viewed “Édifices de Rome Moderne” hosted by the School of Architecture Exhibit Committee. This exhibit featured the reproductions of engravings and original photographs documenting buildings of Renaissance and Baroque Rome as depicted by Paul Marie Letarouilly in his three volume Édifices de Rome Moderne. The main body of research was done from 2003- 2006. An exhibition of 100 black and white plates and 5 oversized color images has been created to tour the United States beginning in the fall of 2008. Plates are 17” x 22” framed images. A hyperlinked matrix including project, plate and rione (district in Rome) information, address location and photographs has been compiled to accompany the investigation.
Édifices de Rome Moderne forms the basis for an investigation of Rome – then and now, a comparison of the Rome depicted by Paul Marie Letarouilly and the existing state of the edifices. The research conducted by Kevin Hinders with Research Assistants Carole Pekney, Michael Waters, Cory Colman and Magdalena P. Zdankiewicz locates and documents the existing structures and the present state of the buildings depicted in 354 plates. The subsequent investigations illustrate both historic changes and original misrepresentations.
#archatillinois #wedesign
As founder and principal of Ross Barney Architects, she has maintained that dedication to a socially responsible vision for the built environment. Among her many accolades, she won the 2015 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Illinois’ prestigious Gold Medal, the organization’s highest honor, for outstanding lifetime service to architecture.
Ross Barney’s portfolio ranges from large government and educational projects to the smaller, overlooked spaces of everyday life. “Lately, my studio has been interested in infrastructure: bus stations, power stations—the ‘guts’ of a city. We can make those spaces look and feel ordered.” Indeed, if you’ve ever waited at the Cermak-McCormick CTA station or strolled the Chicago Riverwalk, you have experienced her work.
#archatillinois #wedesign
Congratulations to our talented students for their outstanding achievements at the 2025 Society of American Registered Architects (SARA), New York Council Design Awards!
Their creativity and dedication have earned top honors across multiple categories: a true reflection of innovation and design excellence.
Design Awards of Excellence
-Anish Sahu, Zhe Tan, Jiren Zhou, & Samruddhi Shridhankar | Where the Creatures Play
-Nupur Agarwal, Himanshi Rathod, & Aditi Narayan Panji | The Aviary
Design Awards of Honor
-Muntasir Hakim & Ryan Chip | Peace Museum
Design Awards of Merit
-Muntasir Hakim, Michael Zemaitis, & Anam Haque | Dwell78
-Arpit Amarseda, Khwaeesh Desai, & Shengjie Li | Cradle – A Visionary Multispecies Design for Migratory Birds
We’re so proud of your creativity, vision, and impact in shaping the future of design.
#archatillinois #wedesign @saranycouncil
Join us for our Graduate Open House on November 14th at 8am CST!
This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the programs we offer here at Illinois, and a chance to begin building your future at the Illinois School of Architecture.
Please register using the QR code above or by typing in this url below:
https://illinois.zoom.us/meeting/register/Mb1qVY6_QmaFg8cmoP1T0w
Design workshops and studios for sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
Core and elective graduate studios.
An in-depth look at selected projects.
