News Byte: Architecture Students Win International Design Competition

School of Architecture and Design students have been selected as winners of We Are Out of Time’s competition for the design of two pavilion installations in Italy and England. We Are Out of Time, an exhibition and conference dedicated to the international promotion of sustainable architecture for cultural sites, kicked off its weeklong showcase on October 12 in Cagliari, the capital city of the Italian island of Sardinia. Featuring in-person and virtual presentations from professionals around the globe, the event’s namesake serves as a call to action and a reminder that now is the time to act and implement solutions to address catastrophic climate change.

At the October 14 workshop, New York Tech architecture students competed against peers from Birmingham City University and the University of Cagliari to design site-specific sustainable architectural pavilions and potential artistic installations for the cities of Cagliari, a Mediterranean community vulnerable to rising sea levels and desertification, and Birmingham, the second largest city in England. All projects presented were selected by an international jury, based on compliance with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The New York Tech participants, students Melanny Rodriguez Bustamante, Natalia Orellana, and Jack Dilluvio, virtually showed off their designs “Bamboo Kawsay,” or Bamboo Life and “Kawsay Sanctuary” (Life Sanctuary), intended for Cagliari and Birmingham, respectively. These unique structures aim to provide sustainable green spaces that support tree life in the areas where they may potentially be installed. The proposals suggest a wide range of environmentally friendly features, like black river rock as a natural filtration tool, bamboo construction to withstand Cagliari’s dry summers and Birmingham’s wet climate, and silk for air filtration, among others. As a next step, the students will continue working on their designs with the aim of making them feasible for construction. 

Faculty advisors included:

• Maria Perbellini, M.Arch., dean of the School of Architecture and Design and We Are Out of Time keynote speaker
• Alessandro Melis, Ph.D., professor and director of architecture master’s programs, We Are Out of Time co-curator, and IDC Foundation endowed chair
• Gertrudis Brens, M.Arch., teaching associate professor, School of Architecture and Design department chair, and We Are Out of Time public lecturer
• Fadhil Fadhil, robotics fabrication lab manager

We Are Out of Time is an initiative promoted and funded by the Italian Ministry of Culture Government Grant program in collaboration with Green Hub. New York Tech has collaborated in the creation of its research program, which is supported by the IDC Foundation.