Six projects. Twelve designers.
This year’s American Institute of Architects Triangle (AIAT) Scholarship recipients tackled social, environmental, historical and spatial contexts head-on. From Southeast Raleigh to Lake Crabtree, from diagrammatic analysis to mixed-use urban revival, these student designers asked difficult questions about who architecture serves and how it shows up in the world. Check out the winning entries below.
ARC 201
Kaitlyn Simonson
Original Fadum Analysis + Transformations
Simonson’s project dissects a suburban home through the lens of historian Dell Upton’s diagrammatic analysis of Monticello. Her work exposes embedded hierarchies such as gendered labor divisions, racialized site orientation and the performance of wealth.
Through diagram cards, chip models and digital iterations, she transforms the house’s logic. The labor core moves to the center of social life. The office shifts to the front, engaging the public realm. A front porch reorients the house toward the street, challenging suburban isolation. The result is a reimagined domestic model that questions the modernist nuclear family and foregrounds equity in everyday space.
ARC 301
Hannah Wright
Lake Crabtree Pedal Hub
Located in Lake Crabtree County Park, this pedal hub is built on the balance that defines biking: grounded stability and forward motion.
Concrete masonry units create a steady, anchored core. Glass openings lighten the mass and reveal movement beyond. The design splits into two complementary buildings: an outdoor training center for active cycling education and a welcome center for gathering and rest. Together, they create a dialogue between motion and pause, keeping both visually and physically connected to the surrounding landscape.
ARC 405
Sherece DeLoach, Luke McBrayer + Avery Nussbaum
The Hive | A Hub of Activity
The Hive reactivates a historic corner at Wilmington and Cabarrus Streets in Raleigh, once central to a thriving African American community.
This 54,000-square-foot mixed-use project acknowledges the layered history of the site, including its proximity to the Manassa Thomas Pope House Museum and Stronach’s Alley, restoring the corner as a place of gathering and exchange. Program organization, façade openings and material expression all respond to that history, bringing residential, commercial and civic life back into conversation.
ARC 501
Elizabeth Elder + Evelyn Lane
Fragments
Fragments mediates between campus density and park openness.
A central glass atrium connects two building wings, creating visual and physical links between the urban campus and the surrounding green space. Along Pullen Road, the building rises to frame views of the NC State Belltower. Toward the park, it steps down, shifting scale to create a more human-centered approach. A stone ribbon facade reinforces this transition, grounding the park edge while increasing translucency toward campus.
ARC 501
AK Stipanov + Elle Newkirk
Resonance
Resonance is a performing arts center and music academy that honors the context and scale of Pullen Park in Raleigh, NC.
It encourages artistic exploration and provides inclusive garden and performance spaces inside and out. The tiered massing steps from one story to two, relating to the height of neighboring buildings while emphasizing the theater program. A translucent metal screen wraps the skewed theater, acting as a veil over the main entry, marking the inner theater as a focal point.
ARC 401/503
Fabiola Minerali, Litzy Rodriquez + Jordan Wells
St. Ambrose Episcopal Church Master Plan
Situated in Rochester Heights within the Neuse River basin, this project engages a site shaped by environmental injustice and segregation.
The team developed a phased master plan for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church that weaves together faith, ecology and community. An outdoor worship space, food forest and apiary extend the church’s mission beyond its walls. Through careful “architectural pruning and grafting,” they reorganized an existing office addition while preserving the church’s identity. Produced entirely by hand through drawings, models, paintings and collages, the work reflects the same care the church extends to its community.
About the AIA Triangle Scholarship Program
The AIA Triangle established the scholarship program in 2009 to recognize and support students who, through their studio work, have distinguished themselves by their clear passion and commitment to design. This award is for design excellence and promise as a future professional.
More from the AIAT Exhibition
- Categories:
