Taubman College celebrated the conclusion of the Wallenberg Studio Competition and Awards Symposium, April 30, 2010, where three architecture seniors were awarded $18,000 in prize funds to further their academic study via international travel.The 2010 Raoul Wallenberg Honor Awards went to:

• De Peter Yi, part of faculty member Vivian Lee’s studio, Fathom Gotham
• Lindsey May, part of faculty member Meredith Miller’s studio, Second Natures
• Shawn Lettow, part of faculty member Anca Trandafirescu’s studio, Going Rogue

De Peter Yi

Seniors at University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning participate in the Wallenberg Studios, which concludes with a juried architectural design competition. Established in 1986 by the Benard L. Maas Foundation, the Raoul Wallenberg Scholarship was named for the college’s most distinguished alumnus who graduated in 1935 with an architecture degree. Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat credited with rescuing tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. Throughout the semester, the students are challenged to develop proposals that define architecture as a humane and social art and translate their ideas into a physical project. The studio culminates in a review by outside critics who award scholarships for the best conceived and executed efforts. Through the award money for scholarly travel, students are able to engage in the culture, study the architecture, and interact with the people in the country they visit. It is expected that students would return with a broadened understanding of the world and an appreciation for the people they encountered. Wallenberg was sent to America to a “public university” to have a similar experience.

Shawn Lettow

Inspired by Wallenberg’s heroic acts and with a desire to carefully consider the interrelated nature of the constructed environment and social, cultural, economic and environmental issues, the 2010 Wallenberg studios explored the theme of “Architecture as Infrastructure.” The nine “Architecture as Infrastructure” faculty instructors and their studio topics include:

• Ellie Abrons, Mother Ditch: Architectural Intervention and the LA River
• Steven Christensen, Borderline Personality
• Vivian Lee, Fathom Gotham
• Jennifer Maigret, Phase Chang
• Meredith Miller, Second Natures
• Thomas Moran, “_____” Visitor’s Center
• Catie Newell, Overconstruciton
• Rosalyne Shieh, Field Station Zero
• Anca Trandafirescu, Going Rogue

Wallenberg Studio Competition and Awards Symposium, April 30, 2010

5 p.m.: Awards in the Art and Architecture Auditorium (Room 2104), presented by guest Judges:

• Laura Miller: University of Toronto, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design
• Roger Sherman: University of California, Los Angeles, School of the Arts and Architecture

6 p.m.: Reception in the CMYK Studios (3rd floor) with light refreshments to:

• View the award-winning work
• Seniors will vote amongst their peers for the Student Choice Award for best work

More than 100 seniors participated in the Wallenberg studios this year.

More about the studio and awards:

Three guest speakers – Amale Andraos and Dan Wood, principals of WORK Architecture Company in New York; Michael Manfredi, founding partner of Weiss/Manfredi in New York; and Alejandro Aravena, executive director of Elemental S.A., in Santiago, Chile – gave lectures addressing how their own work interconnects with the shared studio theme of infrastructure. The mid and final reviews are conducted in unison as the final exhibit to be presented at the end for the judging and awarding of the Wallenberg prizes and as a means for presenting the studio work to the entire college community, jurors and visitors. The reviews as part of this process were held April 22 and 23, 2010. For more about the studios