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Bruce and Phyllis Nicholas Engineering Student Projects Studio.

Each year state chapters of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recognize crowning achievements and exemplary design in a variety of practice areas. The annual AIA awards are among the most prestigious in the industry.

Two Rutgers projects have received 2023 state AIA Design Competition Merit Awards. The Bruce and Phyllis Nicholas Engineering Student Projects Studio on the Busch Campus has received an AIA New Jersey Merit Design Award in the Built Sustainability Category.  AIA-NJ recognizes the project’s excellence in ecological stewardship, including reduced environmental impact and energy consumption, as well as attention to quality of life issues, resiliency, and community engagement within the environment.  The Nicholas Projects Studio also received an award from AIA Connecticut Merit Design Award, and the Connecticut judges called the facility “a beautiful, rigorous project that makes a big impact using simple industrial materials.” The studio was built for Rutgers School of Engineering clubs and is the first net-zero building in the Rutgers portfolio. In addition, AIA-NJ also recognized Rutgers Proctor Hall in the category of Built Interiors, recognizing design excellence in a project focusing on interior space.

You can read more about the Nicholas Engineering Student Projects Studio here.

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Front of Proctor Hall located on the New Brunswick campus.

The AIA-NJ awards gala will be held in January, and the AIA Connecticut gala was held December 7.

Dave Schulz, IP&O Vice President and University Architect and a member of the AIA for over three decades, noted that “Rutgers pays attention to design.  These awards are recognition of our attention to detail during design, and what is most notable is how well these spaces serve members of the Rutgers community.  In these instances the design of the spaces are incredibly responsive to student needs and, in the case of the Nicholas Project Studio, the Rutgers Climate Action Plan.”

AIA New Jersey and AIA Connecticut are local chapters of the American Institute of Architects. The AIA promotes the role of Architects and Architecture in American society.

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