Cheng and McNamara Student Team Wins Richard Diehl Award in 2017 Vectorworks Design Scholarship Program

Vectorworks, Inc., a global design and BIM software developer for the architecture, landscape, and entertainment design industries, has continued to help students reach their highest potential with its third annual Vectorworks Design Scholarship program. Nearly $40,000 in prizes were awarded for projects that demonstrate the creativity and high-caliber work of the next generation of design professionals.

The pool of entries was competitive, with more than 2,000 submissions from students around the world. Ningxin Cheng (B.Arch. 2017) and Kalen McNamara (M.Arch. 2018) from Rice University's School of Architecture were ultimately selected as this year's winners of the prestigious Richard Diehl Award, with their project, "Open Pocket," winning the $10,000 grand prize.

For their submission, Cheng and McNamara entered an assignment from their fall 2016 advanced studio, taught by assistant professor Andrew Colopy. The studio is part of Totalization, a unique collaborative design program at Rice Architecture, which has been honored with distinction by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), as well as the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ASCA).

"We are thrilled by this news and by this distinguished and generous recognition of Ningxin and Kalen's terrific work," said dean of the Rice School of Architecture Sarah Whiting. "Nothing is more heartening than having the professional world help to foster the next generation."

In addition to Cheng and McNamara's recognized achievement, an international panel of design professionals and academics also selected student projects that were awarded $3,000 each from across the architecture, landscape, entertainment, and interior design fields. Submissions were evaluated based on effective use of computer technology and originality, as well as design integrity and a well-articulated design vision. The winning projects are as follows:

* "Next to Normal" by Ted Brown, University of Iowa
* "The Other Place" by Alexander Drachenberg, University of Wuppertal (Bergische Universität Wuppertal)
* "Wander" by Tineke Gol and Astrid Stevens, University of Antwerp (Universiteit Antwerpen)
* "Zuerichwohnen - Clusterwohnen im Solarhaus" by Joël Héritier, ETH Zürich
* "Sustainable Energy and Environmental Monitoring Centre, Saltaire" by Peter Markos, University of Sheffield
* "Moerbekes Regeneratie" by Dries Pattyn, KASK, School of Arts of University College Ghent
* "Siebenschläfer-Übernachten in der alten Scheune" by Sophia Rodermund, Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences
* "The Wall" by Brecht Scheelen, UHasselt
* "The Space Left Behind-Uncovered" by Filip Staszkiewicz, TU Dresden (Technische Universität Dresden)
* "Wonderland" by Paula Wheeler and Trish Thuy Trang Nhan, Arizona State University

Not only were these students given monetary awards, but they also received licenses of Vectorworks Designer software for their schools' labs, as well as free training provided by a Vectorworks expert.

Visit the Vectorworks Design Scholarship web gallery to view the winning designs and runner-up projects. Once there, interested students may sign up for an email list to receive notifications regarding future scholarship award cycles.