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K-State Today

December 16, 2022

Architecture students win scholarships in annual MANKO Design Competition

Submitted by Thom Jackson

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Three Kansas State University graduate students in the College of Architecture, Planning and Design, or APDesign, received scholarships in the 11th annual design competition sponsored by MANKO Window Systems, Inc.

Brittany Coudriet, a postbaccalaureate architecture student, Lincoln, Nebraska, received a $5,000 scholarship as the competition winner for her project for Associate Professor Genevieve Baudoin's studio. Coudriet's project is a theoretical self-sufficient structure housing a court specifically for land disputes and other related issues and a community space on the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act land for the Anahola Ahupua'a in Kauai, Hawaii.

Libby Couture, Fort Collins, Colorado and Lily Murray, Prairie Village, fourth-year architecture students, are both receiving a $1,250 runner-up scholarship for their project "Reclaiming Community," a mixed-use tower for Strawberry Hill in Kansas City. The students represented Assistant Professor Grant Alford's studio.

The projects in Architectural Design Studio 5 focus on the holistic design of the building — from a sophisticated understanding of space down to the development of architectural details and deployment of systems. The fourth-year studio faculty develop a diverse range of project briefs of varying programs, sites and scales.

"The student work this year impressively builds on the quality of work in years before," said Matt Knox, professor and department head for architecture. "While the projects were all so different, they each exhibited the detailed development that makes our students successful in practice after graduation. A big thanks goes to MANKO for supporting the students, exposing them to their expertise in glass and bringing in such a vibrant jury." 

Following a review, one student from each of the department's five fourth-year studios is selected to compete for the MANKO awards, with each developing a narrative slide presentation to present to jurors, who are all established practitioners in the field. The final presentations took place on Dec. 9.

This year's jury included Carson Durham, principal at BLDD Architects in Bloomington, Illinois; Paul Mankins, founder of Substance Architecture and professor of practice at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa; and Jordan O'Connor, project leader and architect at Bray Architects in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"I came to this jury knowing that K-State has an impressive architecture program," Mankins said. "The work we reviewed reinforced this understanding. Without exception, the finalists were thoughtfully considered and well-communicated. I really appreciated the variety of scale and program — particularly given the exceptional quality. Selecting a winner was truly difficult. I have participated in this program before, and I would gladly do it again. The work is remarkable!"

The following architecture students were also selected as nominees for the MANKO Design Competition: Shelby Thornton, Sublette, representing the studio of Associate Professor Michael Gibson; Nikki Wilken, Ulysses, representing the BNIM studio; and Colton Parmley, representing the studio of Visiting Assistant Professor Cameron Tross.