Proposal for eco-hotel on Galveston Island. Image: André Simon and Ivan Ventura
Operable hurricane shutter for eco-hotel on Galveston Island. Image: André Simon and Ivan Ventura
André Simon and Ivan Ventura. Image: UTSA
UTSA architecture students André Simon and Ivan Ventura received a Student Design Award at the November 19 American Institute of Architects San Antonio People + Place Celebration. The winning project, titled Transform for Storm, proposed an eco-hotel for Galveston Island’s Gulf Coast. This barrier island is the site of frequent hurricanes and in 1900 experienced the deadliest storm in U.S. history, a tragic event that killed 8,000 people. The awards jury selected Simon and Ventura’s proposal from a highly competitive field of entries, noting that the “….project sensitively explored the challenges of coastal habitation, offering hope for our shared future.”
The students developed the project in a fall 2018 design studio led by Ian Caine with collaboration from Dr. Hazem Rashed-Ali. This studio explored issues of ecological literacy and resilience through the comprehensive integration of advanced performance metrics and design pedagogy. The studio pursued the topics in parallel while re-examining the oft-misunderstood relationship between architectural sustainability and aesthetics.
The studio also embraced the goals and methods of the Architecture 2030 Challenge, which commits that all new buildings and major renovations will be carbon-neutral by 2030. In 2016-2017, Architecture 2030 selected this design curriculum for its Pilot Curriculum Project, while Metropolis Magazine profiled it in an article titled The 7 Best Sustainable Design Courses in America.