Contact:
Eric Sloss
412-268-5765

For immediate release:
July 12, 2005

Carnegie Mellon Architecture Student Wins First Place in National Design Competition

Cuellar's design for an innovative and sustainable modern house won first place in the New Visions Design Competition for Young Architects hosted by Urban Edge Developers Ltd of Dallas, Texas.

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University junior architecture student Gabriel Cuellar recently won first place in the New Visions Design Competition for Young Architects, hosted by Urban Edge Developers Ltd of Dallas, Texas. Winners receive cash awards and may see their designs constructed at Urban Reserve, a new community in Dallas.

The competition required participants to design innovative and sustainable modern houses for Urban Reserve. The New Visions Design Competition was intended to showcase the talents of young architects and architecture students throughout the United States and to encourage their participation in the development project. Catherine Horsey, vice president at Urban Edge Developers, said, "The Urban Reserve competition gives upcoming architects an opportunity to show off their work. Gabriel Cuellar's canopy house is a very strong design concept that demonstrates sensitivity to the site and to the Urban Reserve vision of modernism and sustainability."

Cuellar said, "I developed my project just like those in school with a pencil, a computer and lots of coffee. The fact that my professors have always inspired me to think for myself helped me follow the guidelines and still be creative with the theme (nature and economy). I applied several lessons that I learned in my second-year studio class as well as devoted a lot of time to the presentation, something I also learned in class."

A panel of architects, including Rand Elliott, FAIA, of Oklahoma City; Dan Shipley, FAIA, of Dallas; and Eurico Francisco, associate AIA, of Dallas, judged 65 entries on June 18, 2005. There were two categories in the competition: professional architects who had graduated within 10 years and current architecture students. The projects were to fit on a 5,000-square-foot lot and the house design needed to include space for two bedrooms, 2-1/2 baths, a study, utility and a two-car garage.

The School of Architecture is one of five schools within Carnegie Mellon's College of Fine Arts. The College of Fine Arts is a community of nationally and internationally recognized artists and professionals organized into Architecture, Art, Design, Drama and Music, and their associated centers and programs.

For more information on the Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture, contact 412-268-6390.

For more information on the College of Fine Arts, contact Eric Sloss at 412-268-5765.