Architecture Students Awarded in Design Competition 

Eleven New York Tech undergraduate architecture students recently competed at the NOMA conference in Baltimore, Md., and came away with an honorable mention in the 2024 Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition.

^{Students pose with their project, “Threads of Healing.” Pictured from front left: Iliana Polanco, Disha Dua, Bruno Lora, Maria Gonzalez Bautista, Natalia Orellana, Kendal Eastwood, Lily Kljyan, Elise Park, and Emily Mejia}

Sponsored by NOMA (National Organization of Minority Architects), students from both the New York City and Long Island campuses worked throughout the summer to prepare for the competition held in late October as part of the NOMA national conference. The student competition was themed “Highway to Healing: The Transformation of the West Baltimore I-40 Corridor.” The I-40 corridor is often referred to as the “Highway to Nowhere” since the creation and expansion of the U.S. interstate highway system in the early 1970s. Families, homes, and entire neighborhoods were removed for an incomplete stretch of highway that was intended to connect downtown Baltimore to other parts of the city.

“Our project, ‘Threads of Healing,’ empowers the Black community in West Baltimore by establishing community land trusts to promote collective ownership and affordable housing. We add to this idea by incorporating art, culture, and green infrastructure to promote a vibrant and resilient community,” says New York Tech student President of NOMAS Long Island Emily Mejia, who is also the president of NOMAS on the Long Island campus. (NOMAS is the student chapter of the organization.)

Members of New York Tech’s team sharing the honorable mention distinction are: Ashlee Drawdy, Disha Dua, Maria Gonzalez Bautista, Kendal Eastwood, Lily Kljyan, Bruno Lora, Daniel Maron, Emily Mejia, Natalia Orellana, Elise Park, and Iliana Polanco.

The team’s hard work and commitment to excellence were evident as they prepared rigorously, balancing schoolwork with additional competition meetings to ensure success. This achievement showcases their resilience and passion for learning beyond the classroom.

^{“Threads of Healing” aims to give agency back to the Black community by implementing community land trusts and collecting ownership and affordable housing. The project board was designed by Kendal Eastwood, Lily Kljyan, Natalia Orellana, and Elise Park.}

“I believe this was a great experience for us as students and members of the architecture field to find new ways to help the community. Although it was challenging to work on this project, as it was our first time participating and we didn’t know what to expect, I think we did a great job and enjoyed learning from and seeing the many different possibilities presented for the site,” says Orellana, NOMAS Long Island vice president and competition director for the New York Tech team.

Kljyan, an undergraduate graduate student and NOMAS treasurer for the Long Island campus shares yet another perspective: “The competition provided an invaluable experience for our team, challenging us to think critically about complex urban issues while developing a comprehensive solution to support a community in need. Tackling topics like affordable housing and urban design pushed us to think beyond conventional studio work, allowing us to consider the real-world impacts of our ideas. Our team’s shared commitment and passion were central to our success; receiving honorable mention was so rewarding, especially this being the first time we competed. I am so grateful for this journey, and I can’t wait to see how well future NOMAS teams at New York Tech compete.”

Says Dean of the School of Architecture and Design Maria Perbellini, M.Arch., “Our community of students, faculty, and staff at the School of Architecture and Design is very proud of our students for this great accomplishment, which confirms once again their rooted motivation and our full commitment toward an inclusive and diverse environment.”

Student Emily Mejia contributed to this story.