Natalia Berdyukova Beard
UTSA student wins national architecture design award
(June 25, 2003)--University of Texas at San Antonio architecture student Natalia Berdyukova Beard placed second of 279 entries from 45 schools in the annual Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) 2002-03 Student Design Competition.
The 2003 competition called for an innovative and meaningful use of structural steel in the design of a 50,000-square-foot fine arts center in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn. on the banks of the Tennessee River. Students were encouraged to be creative in their use of steel, paying particular attention to its properties and benefits as a structural material.
Beard's award follows UTSA student Kirk Bruni’s win last year of an honorable mention award out of nearly 450 entries. This brings UTSA the sole distinction of winning awards in two consecutive ACSA/AISC competitions.
Both winning projects were done as class projects under the supervision of Mahesh Senagala, UTSA assistant professor of architecture. The winning students and Senagala received cash prizes of $2000 and $1000, respectively. Beard's project was done as a part of the Computer Projects in Design course taught by Senagala.
"Beard's conception took into account the nine locks that regulate the
river's water levels and boat traffic," said Senagala. "Using the
center as a tenth lock on the river, she incorporated into the design early
20th century steel techniques and construction to allude to the long history
of the Chattanooga steel industry."
"These wins are part of an emerging wave of international-level work produced by our students," said Julius Gribou, dean of the UTSA School of Architecture. "We attribute this to the advanced digital-design techniques and contemporary design methods they are learning."
A native of Khabarovsk, Russia, Beard moved to the United States five years ago and began pursuing an architecture degree at UTSA.
"The UTSA architecture program offers an excellent approach for me," said Beard. "The excitement of a growing program has allowed me freedom in exploring the design process, and a practical approach to utilizing all of one's artistic abilities."
Open to students in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the competition is sponsored by AISC and administered by ACSA, based in Washington, D.C. First, second and third prizes were awarded in addition to nine honorable mentions. A total of $9,000 in cash prizes was awarded to winning students and their faculty sponsors.
The UTSA School of Architecture began as a program in 1979, became the Division of Architecture and Interior Design in 1995 and a school in Fall 2002. The School of Architecture takes advantage of the unique culture in South Texas and the borderlands of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, offering a laboratory setting focusing on the intersection of an historic setting and contemporary theory.
For more information, contact Mahesh Senagala at (210) 458-4299 or visit the UTSA School of Architecture Web site.
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2003