A team of Construction Science and Architecture students from the Gibbs College of Architecture made their mark on the national stage this week, earning third place out of 37 universities competing at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Student Competition, held during the International Builders' Show in Orlando, February 16-18, 2026.
The annual competition challenges university students to tackle a comprehensive, real-world construction and development scenario. This year's competition selected a location in Alabama, where teams were charged with selecting a lot, identifying a target consumer, and designing a home from the ground up. Beyond the design element, students were also required to develop a full sales and marketing plan, cost estimates, project schedules, a construction management plan, and a detailed financial analysis outlining how they would fund and ultimately profit from the venture.
The team was composed of students from the Construction Science (CNS) and Architecture (ARCH) programs, bringing together a range of skills and perspectives that represent the way real construction and design projects actually come together. The team was coached by CNS Assistant Professor Bryan Bloom.
Team members included Kendall Knighton, Kate Brigmon, Francesca Costanzo, Jared Schenk, and Matthias Wittenberg from CNS; Sasha Alexander, Chloe Bys, Natalia Koo Vinatea, and Carson Holmes from ARCH; and Barbara Garcia from END.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Thinh "Henry" Duong, a master's student in the Division of Interior Design, for earning first place in the 2026 Robert Bruce Thompson Annual Student Light Fixture Design Competition.
Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) Director and Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design (PLAD) faculty member Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., recently published a new book, Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum.
In May, students from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture's Architecture, Environmental Design, and Interior Design programs participated in an intensive five-day Studio in Residence at Taliesin West, the iconic winter home and desert laboratory of Frank Lloyd Wright.
