University of Maryland Newsdesk.

For Immediate Release
February 25, 2011
Contacts: Beth Cavanaugh, 301-405-4625 or bcavana@umd.edu

Terps Make "Final Four" -- in National Design Competition

College Park, Md. -- A team of University of Maryland graduate students has clinched one of four finalist slots in the 2011 Urban Land Institute/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition, beating out more than 160 teams from some of the finest and most prestigious graduate-level programs in the United States and Canada.

	UMD's design team will compete for the top prize in the ULI/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition.

A collaboration of top talent within the University, the team consists of: Fran Dohrety (Master of Community Planning), Heather Howard (Master of Real Estate Development), Matthew Sickle (Master of Landscape Architecture), Sean Douty (Master of Architecture), and Emilie Rottman (Master of Architecture). The team's primary advisor on the project is Architecture Professor Matthew Bell, with Margaret McFarland, director of the Real Estate Development program, serving as an additional advisor.

The competition, now in its 9th year, challenges interdisciplinary teams of graduate students to tackle a large redevelopment site in the United States, by creating an exciting vision and proposing real design solutions to urban challenges. This year's site is the North Rainier neighborhood in Seattle, a 33.5-acre area surrounding one of the city's transit stations, the Mount Baker Station. The site was chosen because it represents a specific challenge for Seattle; how city neighborhoods with new transit stops can encourage sustainable living and also offer new development with unique identities.

A key to Maryland's entry is its resourceful and inventive approach to five basic elements: design and place-making; context analysis; land-use planning; illustrations of new development; and development programming and financing.

"The team is developing an exciting mixed-use scheme that leverages the existing investment that has been made in the city's transit system, but also takes advantage of potential connections to the regional parks system," says Bell, the team's advisor. "We seek to make a great place for this neighborhood."

Maryland's team will now go back to the drawing board to further develop their scheme. The team will visit the site to gain more perspective and return to Seattle in late March to present their final design to the jury. The winning team will go home with a $50,000 prize. This year marks the second consecutive year that a University of Maryland team has been selected for the final four of this competition.

"This is a terrific achievement, and a good example of how Maryland students consistently set themselves apart in a competitive arena," says David Cronrath, dean of the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. "We will be cheering them on as they head to Seattle for the finals."

While the competition is designed as an exercise, it allows students to engage in real-world scenarios dealing in responsible land use. Because the primary goal of the competition is to encourage teamwork and cooperation across a variety of professional fields, teams are required to represent at least three disciplines. The competition is open to graduate-level students pursuing degrees in urban design and real-estate related fields.

Media contact:
Christine Cestello Hinojosa
Communications Coordinator
School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation
hinojosa@umd.edu
301-405-6286

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