Sigmon Memorial Scholarship Award 2018

This week marked the 17^th year of the Sigmon Memorial Scholarship Competition and Award presentation sponsored by the North Carolina Masonry Contractors Association (NCMCA). Since 2001, NCMCA has worked in partnership with Distinguished Professor of Architecture Pat Rand, FAIA, DPACSA, and his ARC 432 Architectural Construction Systems course. The Sigmon Memorial Scholarship was established in memory of Randy, David, and Dwayne Sigmon. Major funding for this scholarship comes from proceeds of the Annual NCMCA Golf Tournament.

As part of Rand’s course, students work in teams to design a model and hypothetical masonry in-fill building section. The prompt challenges teams to design a small masonry building that could serve as a showroom and office space for the southeastern region of The Masonry Society. The design must include plans for an exhibit of masonry products, masonry accessories, and sample construction assemblies; administrative offices for design and engineering staff; and meeting and training facilities. Additionally, teams should incorporate the use of masonry construction in an insightful way that expresses the character most appropriate for masonry today. Further assumptions for this project included parameters for site size, street frontage, setbacks, height restrictions, and the sensitivity of climate for the Raleigh area.

Rand believes that this project highlights how the College of Design is delivering leading-edge training and knowledge to students in regard to designing masonry buildings. “Architecture students do not really know how to use any materials just by reading texts and listening to lectures,” Rand says. “They need to design using these materials to make the learning personal and long-lasting. The ‘Truth in Making’ (verum ipsum factum) imperative of the College of Design urges us to use making, or at least drawings and models, to better understand the principles. More than any other construction system, masonry requires that many little things be done correctly, by the designer and by the craftsperson who builds it.”

The relationship, collaboration, and scholarships offered by NCMCA are pivotal. Rand explains that “the support from NCMCA demonstrates the mutual benefit when designers engage in the craft of the masonry wall. In a two- or three-week project, the students show remarkable insight into a construction system they formerly found confusing and even scary.  They will become architects with insight about how to make the beautiful masonry design also well-built. North Carolina is looked to as the leader in the country regarding masonry manufacturing and construction.”

Eleven teams displayed their projects and had the opportunity to discuss their work with industry professionals who were also this year’s jurors. Jurors included Doug Burton, president of Whitman Masonry, and Vincent Petrarca [BEDA ’94, B.Arch ’99], principal of Tonic Design | Tonic Construction. A special thanks to Lynn Nash, executive vice president for the NCMCA, who was in attendance for the presentation.

The jury selected four teams for top honors.

First Place:  (L to R) Meredith Layman, Matthew Bullard, and Abby Bagwell

• Prize: Winners share one semester’s in-state tuition

Second Place: John Durkee, Fate Malek, and Andrea Velosa

• Prize: Each student received a four-foot Crick level

Third Place: Ben Credle, Jack McManus, and Patrick Meiburg

• Prize: Each student received a mason’s trowel

Fourth Place: Sydney Shoffner, Emily Sigmon, and Christina Filippini

• Prize: Each student received a six-foot mason’s rule

Past NC State College of Design Sigmon Memorial Scholarship Award Winners

• 2001: Daniel Moskop, Dimitri Gudgennov, and Robert Allen
• 2002: Edwin Harris, George Kroustalis, and Russel Williams
• 2003: Will DeWitt, David Lehman, and David Moses
• 2004: Emily Schneider, Courtney Sowa, and Nicholas Wade
• 2005: Allison Laney, Emily Lewis, and William Daniel Hill
• 2006: Benjamin Chappel, James Hamby, and Justin LeBlanc
• 2007: Albert McDonald, Kimberly Nelson, and Karl Rogers
• 2008: David Skoog, Michael Gron, and Corey Baugham
• 2009: Erika Jelleys, Rebecca Hora, and Ana Milliones
• 2010: Shaan Hassan, Jayne Goethe, and Jeremy Leonard
• 2011: Meredith Grantham, Chase Hoke, Andy Park, and Kristin Veloza
• 2012: David Gallo, Marty Needham, Ryan Whitley, and Matthew Hirsch
• 2013: Enzo Yi-Chang Liao, Nicole Peterson, Lydia Watt, and Michael Wengenroth
• 2014: Sarah Dunsford, Paola Gonzalez, and Elijah Swinson
• 2015: Maggie Allen, Jujie Cu, Emily Schulte, Gillian Scott
• 2016: Nicole Adam, Emily Doyle, Samantha Lackey, and Nick Rossitch
• 2017: Cassidy Putnam, Clint Ronsick, Brooke Grayson, and Nickolas Lash