Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Design topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Toledo Council recognizes AIA Toledo high school design competition winners
Summary
Councilmembers praised students and partners from AIA Toledo for a high school design competition focused on a 4,000-square-foot learning center for the Aurora project; AIA and Toledo Design Collective representatives highlighted mentorship and community impact.
TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo City Council on May 20 recognized students and organizers from AIA Toledo’s 75th annual high school design competition for projects that included proposals for a 4,000-square-foot learning center at the Aurora project, 1035 North Superior Street.
Councilmember Comas opened the recognition, thanking the students for their “work and time and dedication” and urging them to take inspiration from the experience. “I really wanted to honor you all for the work and time and dedication that you've spent to better our community in some way,” Comas said.
Councilman Driscoll, who noted his background with the Toledo Design Collective, told students, “There's nothing that good design can't fix,” and praised the value of fresh perspectives in urban design. Councilman Martinez, speaking as a real-estate developer, said he was impressed by the students’ use of materials, landscaping and public art.
Chris Baker, an associate and AIA member who has served on the competition committee, described the program as a teaching opportunity. “Architecture is a teaching profession, and this is a perfect way to teach them,” Baker said, noting the program runs about 10 weeks and this year included 68 student projects and a 3D-printing component.
Ryan Bunch, studio director at the Toledo Design Collective, said his organization sponsors the Urban Design Award for the competition and emphasized the value of giving students opportunities to influence sites that may be built. “Seeing something that you got to influence to work on and watching that come to life in this city is something that Toledo does very well,” Bunch said.
The council adopted Resolution 190-25 recognizing the winners; participants and councilmembers then gathered for photographs in the chamber lobby.
Ending: The competition drew entries from 18 schools and included awards for material innovation, sustainable design, landscape architecture, lighting design and other categories; council members encouraged students to continue contributing to Toledo’s built environment.
