Master of Architecture students Rafael Berges, Jared Clifton, Vaama Joshi, and Shirin Monshipouri from the fall 2015 Buoyant Ecologies studio have been announced as winners of the AIA COTE Top Ten for Students awards.
The American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment (AIA COTE), in partnership with Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), selected the recipients of the national awards. The competition challenged students to submit projects that use a thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems, and technology to provide architectural solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
The Buoyant Ecologies advanced Integrated Building Design studio, led by CCA faculty Adam Marcus, Margaret Ikeda, and Evan Jones, is part of an ongoing research partnership between CCA, Autodesk's Pier 9 Workshop, Kreysler & Associates, and the Benthic Lab at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. The research is focused on developing innovative material approaches to resilient waterfront structures in the San Francisco Bay.
The selected projects, Augmented Tides by Rafael Berges and Jared Clifton, and Inverted Ecologies by Vaama Joshi and Shirin Monshipouri, propose new ecological research and education centers for Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in the Port of Oakland. Augmented Tides proposes a system of "tidal columns": a field of floating platforms that foster a variety of tidal wetland habitats above and below the water, always in flux with changing water levels. Inverted Ecologies proposes a large subterranean space, capped with a highly performative vaulted structure that incorporates plantings, aquaculture, and water recycling infrastructure as educational features of the building.