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The 2024-25 CAPLA Design Excellence Exhibit showcases the top studio work from all levels in the CAPLA School or Architecture B.Arch & M.Arch program. This body of work was nominated by student's studio faculty to represent Design Excellence from each studio.

From this exhibit, an Awards Chair is selected by the Southern Arizona Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. This Awards Chair then selects and assembles a diverse Awards Jury made up of local and non-local professionals. This jury reviews the work presented here and selects the winning student projects.

This years' Design Awards Chair is Cade Hayes from the Tucson, AZ based architecture studio, DUST Architects

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CAPLA SoA Design Excellence Winning Projects

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CAPLA SoA Design Excellence Winning Projects

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ARC201 - Kate Sweiven

ARC302 - Gene King

ARC401 - Gabe Garcia

ARC410f - Linea Skura + Sasha Terpilovkaya

ARC410f - Gabe Garcia

ARC498 - Hasan Hashem

ARC909 - (Team) Elena Aubree, Francisdo Fernandez, Jackie Hogan, Julie Polovitch

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CAPLA SoA Design Excellence Honorable Mention Projects

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CAPLA SoA Design Excellence Honorable Mention Projects

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ARC202 - Phoebe Martinez

ARC301 - Lauren Harper

ARC401 - Joy Chou

ARC498 - Studio Community Design & Action

ARC498 - Jacob Woods

ARC510b - Minha Saadi

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Existing Conditions Studio

To Live is to Leave Traces

Tucson, AZ

Fall 2024

Instructor's:

Christopher Domin (studio coordinator), Stefan Mostert, Oscar Lopez, Siri Trumble, Michael Silver

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Design Studio ll : Energy + Form

High School

Tucson, AZ

Spring 2025

Instructor's:

Siri Trumble (studio coordinator), Sheehan Wachter, Myles Pena, Valerie Lane, Trevor Watson

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Design Studio lll: Integrations of Place

Performance + Art Center

Bisbee, Arizona

Fall 2024

Instructor's:

Teresa Rosano (studio coordinator), Eduardo Guerrero, Bill Mackey, Michael Becherer, Trevor Watson

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Urban Housing Studio

Collective Housing

Phoenix, AZ

Spring 2025

Instructor's:

Eduardo Guerrero (studio coordinator), Michael Kothke, Morgan Oster, Bill Mackey, Cari Alcombright

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Design Studio V: Architectural Systems | Speculation and Integration

Resource X Change

Tucson, AZ

Fall 2024

Instructor's:

Michael Kothke (studio coordinator), Laura Carr, Myles Pena, David Brubaker, Morgan Oster

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Design Build Studio

Spring 2025

Prof. Eric Weber

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Option Studio

Economies of Earth : Abiotic Architecture

Spring 2025

Prof. Christopher Tucker

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Pima Water Urbanism

Rodeo Wash Reimagined

Spring 2025

Prof. Courtney Crosson

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Desertification & Democracy

Shifts in Scale

Spring 2025

Prof. Brendan Shea

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BuildingsNEXT Design Competition

Spring 2025

Prof. David Brubaker

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Dunbar Springs Neighborhood

Tucson, AZ

Fall 2024

Prof. Noemie Despland-Lichert

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Design Build Studio

Fall 2024

Prof. Eric Weber

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Native Peoples Design Coalition

The Hopi Transportation Center at Tawa'ovi

Hopi Nation

Fall 2024

Prof. Laura Carr

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Poetics of Light

Fall 20254

Prof. Jesus Robles

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Urban Design, Advanced Studio

Fall 2024

Prof. Eduardo Guerrero

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(Meta)Physics of Light

Spring 2025

Prof. Christopher Domin

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Urban Agency

Spring 2025

Prof. Clare Robinson

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Tectonic Inquiry

Spring 2025

Prof. Jesus Robles

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Community Design & Action

Spring 2025

Prof. Teresa Rosano

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Adaptive Futures

Spring 2025

Prof. Susannah Dickinson

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Tucson Typo(ologies) Rewritten

The Book, The Banister, The Belfry, The Bath House, and The Block

Fall 2024

Prof. Brendan Shea

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Advanced Design Studio I: Urban Design

Laos Transit Center–El Pueblo Center Community Gateway

Fall 2024

Prof. Kenny Wong

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Civic Studio

North Phoenix Town Center

Phoenix, AZ

Fall 2024

Prof. Craig Nealy

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Community | Native Peoples Design Coalition

Architecture of Possibility

Spring 2025

Prof. Laura Carr

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Urban Faultlines | M.Arch Masters Project

Spring 2025

Prof. Christopher Trumble

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Laura Vertes, AIA

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Oscar Lopez, Assoc. AIA

Senior Lecturer

CAPLA Academic Events Committee

Events Committee Chair

Oscar Lopez, Assoc. AIA

Senior Lecturer

Committee Members

Teresa Rosano, Morgan Oster, Ashley Simone, Khadija Didan, Ella Parsons

School of Architecture Director

Ryan Smith

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Design Excellence Honorable Mention - Joy Chou

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Design Excellence Honorable Mention - Joy Chou

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Design Excellence Honorable Mention - Lauren Harper

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Design Excellence Honorable Mention - Lauren Harper

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Team Project: Alberto Ramirez, Emily Kulka, Jed Perea, Jordan West, Olivia Nelson, Connor Worley

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Team Project: Alberto Ramirez, Emily Kulka, Jed Perea, Jordan West, Olivia Nelson, Connor Worley

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Design Excellence Honorable Mention - Phoebe Martinez

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Design Excellence Honorable Mention - Phoebe Martinez

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Design Excellence Winners - Linea Skura + Sasha Terpilovskaya

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Design Excellence Winners - Linea Skura + Sasha Terpilovskaya

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Design Excellence Honorable Mention - Minha Saadi

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Design Excellence Honorable Mention - Minha Saadi

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Laura Vertes | AIA Southern Arizona President

Laura Vertes, AIA, is a Principal at Swaim Associates, Ltd. in Tucson. She joined Swaim Associates, Ltd. in 2007 and became a principal in 2019. Laura has been in the architecture field for 20+ years, specializing in managing complex projects from concept through construction and serving as a client advocate to uphold the project vision through every stage. Laura is passionate about helping clients develop their project vision in a way that positively supports their core identity and mission. She approaches design empathetically, seeking to gain a deeper understanding of each team member to create a positive atmosphere for design. With persistent optimism and a solution-oriented approach, Laura aims to resolve challenges head-on to deliver exceptional results. She brings her passion and skills to her current service as President-Elect for the AIA Southern Arizona Board of Directors, helping to support a vibrant professional community for architects.

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Class Project: Anna Osafo, Kersten Ellsworth, Jae Keun Jun, Alondra Azurdia, Anna Liisa Cheshire, Katlin Mouisset, Sam Goecke, Luba Mikhadziuk, Steven Burkett, Shruti Penumarthy, Austin Flaute

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Class Project: Anna Osafo, Kersten Ellsworth, Jae Keun Jun, Alondra Azurdia, Anna Liisa Cheshire, Katlin Mouisset, Sam Goecke, Luba Mikhadziuk, Steven Burkett, Shruti Penumarthy, Austin Flaute

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Jose Luis Ibarra | Design Principal IBARRA ROSANO DESIGN ARCHITECTS

Luis Ibarra is the Design Principal and Co-founder of Ibarra Rosano Design Architects, a nationally and internationally acclaimed studio known for creating architecture that forges meaningful connections between people, place, and purpose. Since 1999, Luis has led the firm with a deep sensitivity to site, climate, and culture—especially in the Sonoran Desert—crafting spaces that are not only environmentally responsive but emotionally resonant. Guided by a philosophy that architecture should inspire belonging, Luis designs with the land, not just on it. His work invites human connection and honors natural patterns, drawing influence from his mentorship with Australian architect Glen Murcutt. Under his leadership, the studio has earned over 70 design awards and global recognition for its thoughtful, modern desert architecture.

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Natalia Zieman Hayes | DUST Architects Senior Designer and Project Manager

Natalia’s experience spans over 16 years, and comprises a wide variety of project typologies, scales, and geographies.  Originally from Dallas, she graduated from The University of Texas at Austin. She is a Senior Designer and Project Manager with DUST. She has overseen the full development of projects from initial design concepts through their construction and has directed the collaboration and coordination of large teams for multi-faceted projects. She is passionate about designing spaces that are both conceptual and sensitive in spirit while honoring the connection to the surrounding environment and cultural roots. Her previous work experience includes over a decade with Studio Rick Joy, where she played a key role in designing and managing the studio’s work and team

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Richelle Bruner | studioCABAN

Richelle is an Architectural Designer at studioCABAN, where she plays a key role in designing luxury hospitality and residential projects throughout North America. Her background as a poet influences her understanding of design as a creative practice of investigative storytelling that transcends the bounds of language and assumes a physical form.

Previous to her work at studioCABAN, Richelle completed an award-winning workshop (2022-2023) led by Estudio Macías Peredo (Guadalajara, MX) and El Dorado (Kansas City, US), where her work was recognized for outstanding design and selected for further development by the partners Estudio Macías Peredo.

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Gustavo Silva | Studio Rick Joy

Gustavo is a Project Designer at Studio Rick Joy. Born in Venezuela and raised in Mexico City, he earned his Bachelor of Architecture from Universidad Iberoamericana. He began his career at the studio of Frida Escobedo, where he contributed to and led projects across all stages of development—from architectural and urban design to objects and furniture. Since relocating to Tucson, he’s become an active advocate for housing, engaging directly in shaping local policy and providing accessible design alternatives. He shares a deep commitment to fostering equitable and sustainable urban environments, with a focus on inclusive housing, sustainable transportation, and community-centered development.

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Design Excellence Awards Chair

Cade Hayes | DUST Architects

Founding Principal, Licensed Architect. As co-founder of DUST, based in Tucson, Arizona, Hayes views architecture as an embodied response to light, time, and terrain. Raised along the northern edges of the Chihuahuan Desert and educated on the Llano Estacado plains of West Texas, the vast, arid landscapes have profoundly influenced his sensibility. His work is shaped by a deep connection to the tactile and the temporal: walls that breathe, thresholds that invite slowness, and spaces that listen, revealing life through intimacy and stillness. With each project, DUST continues its search—for essence, for place, and for the timeless presence of being.

Hayes has shared his dedication to architecture with emerging architects through past teaching roles at the University of Arizona and Texas Tech University, where he led design studios and fabrication courses. A licensed architect in six states and a member of the GSA’s National Register of Peer Professionals, Hayes has served on design award juries across the country and frequently lectures on DUST’s work.