image: Left to right: students Benyameen Ghareeb (foreground), UM Master of Architecture in Suburb and Town Design program; Victor Santana, UM Master of Real Estate Development and Urbanism program and leader of the UM team; Jared Sedam, UM Master of Architecture program and Jeff Hall, UM Master of Architecture and Master of Architecture in Suburb & Town Design program, presenting a design which aimed to build on the historic urban grid at the proposed site, while achieving a sustainable density and a balance between the public and private realms. view more
Credit: Grant Oakes and the Urban Land Institute
MIAMI, FL (May 26, 2009)—A team of students from the University of Miami School of Architecture and the School of Business placed among the top four at the prestigious annual Urban Land Institute (ULI)/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition '09. Almost 500 students distributed among 98 teams representing 42 universities in the U.S. and Canada participated in the competition.
Through the competition, interdisciplinary teams of students were challenged to create a design and develop a proposal for a 75-acre site, which is located a mile and a half south of Denver adjacent to two light rail stations and the historic Baker and West Washington Park neighborhoods. The competition charged the teams with redeveloping the entire site and creating a landmark, transformative mixed-use community without losing the current, valuable roster of tenants. The event was designed as an exercise in urban planning for the 21st century.
The University of Miami's (UM) team consisted of students from different academic programs led by Victor M. Santana, from the new Master of Real Estate Development and Urbanism program. "Participating in an event of this level has been an incredible learning experience and we all have grown professionally and personally from it," Santana said.
UM's entry titled "Alameda-A New Sustainable Urbanism" aimed to build on the historic urban grid while achieving a sustainable density and a balance between the public and private realms. Team members included students from the Master of Business Administration, Warren Bane; Master of Architecture in Suburb and Town Design, Benyameen Ghareeb; Master of Architecture and Master of Architecture in Suburb & Town Design, Jeffrey Hall and Master of Architecture, Jared Sedam.
"The University of Miami students reaching the final stage as one of four out of more than ninety team entrants is truly remarkable," said Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, distinguished professor and dean of the UM School of Architecture. "Gathered from four different degree programs, never having worked together before, and guided by faculty of a program that has just begun makes this an extraordinary achievement. The ambition, hard work and excellent performance of students and faculty have provided great impulse to the opening year of this new program."
The team was awarded $10,000 during a recent public forum at the University of Denver. First place went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The other two finalists were Columbia University and Kansas State University. Created in 2002, the ULI Hines competition has been funded in perpetuity through a $3 million endowment from urban development pioneer Gerald D. Hines, chairman and owner of the Hines real estate organization. www.udcompetition.uli.org
About the Master of Real Estate Development and Urbanism
The Master of Real Estate Development and Urbanism is a new interdisciplinary program that draws on the strengths of the University of Miami's School of Architecture, Business Administration, and Law to create an a pragmatic learning experience that prepares students for the changing world of urban real estate development. Courses towards the Master of Real Estate Development and Urbanism began in Fall 2008 and the full one-year program launches in Fall 2009.
About the University of Miami
The University of Miami's mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of the diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world. www.miami.edu