Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Graduate Students Win Honors in 2006 ASLA Student Awards Program

A graduate studio at the School of Architecture, Associate Professor Phoebe Crisman’s “Learning Barge” in Spring 2006, and a MLA student from Professor Robin Dripps’ “New Orleans Studio” in Spring 2006, Bridget Belkacemi won awards in the 2006 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Student Awards Program.

The students in the “Learning Barge” studio won the Student Collaboration Award of Honor for their research and design work during the spring semester with Phoebe Crisman’s multi-year project to design and build a floating classroom for children on the Elizabeth River that will educate about a wide variety of environmental issues. The awards jury commented, “What an imaginative idea to get kids outdoors to learn about the environment and sustainability. Fun, refreshing, creative, and cost-effective.”

Belkacemi won the Communications Award of Honor for her project, “Bayou as Infrastructure,” a video narrative and representational interactive model of New Orleans. The awards jury commented, “Amazing in its use of simple materials and the tactile nature of the message delivery. Using a puzzle and storytelling as a way to inform and engage the general public is an effective and responsible example of how landscape architects should communicate about possible solutions.”