UMD Team Again Reaches “Final Four” in HUD Affordable Housing Competition

An team of graduate students from the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation has earned a slot in the four final of the sixth annual HUD Innovation in Affordable Housing Student Design and Planning Competition, beating out over 70 teams from some of the most prestigious architectural graduate programs in the United States. UMD teams finished first last year and second in 2016, their only two previous entries in the competition

According to HUD, “the need for quality, affordable housing has never been greater,” and its affordable housing competition is intended to “advance the design and production of livable and sustainable housing for low- and moderate-income people through research and innovation.” On April 17, UMD will defend its 2018 competition title, going head-to-head against teams from the University of California-Berkley, Yale University and Virginia Polytechnic and State University at HUD’s Washington, D.C. headquarters.

“We are delighted to have made the final four in the three times that we have participated in this very prestigious competition,” said Maria Day-Marshall, director of UMD’s Real Estate Development Program. “I believe our success is reflected in the interdisciplinary nature of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and the quality of work of our students.”

Team Maryland is comprised of graduate students Kyle Huck (dual master’s degree program in architecture and real estate development), Casey Huntington (dual master’s degree program in architecture and real estate development), Lauren Stamm (master’s degree program in community planning); Andrew Mazer (master’s degree program in architecture); and Nyasha Mandima (master’s degree program in real estate development). The team’s advisors are Day-Marshall and Rob McClennan, senior project manager, Bonstra | Haresign Architects, AIA, and UMD adjunct professor.

The HUD competition challenges interdisciplinary, graduate-level teams to address social, economic and environmental issues surrounding a real-world housing problem in the United States by developing innovative and original solutions through development, design and finance. The competition is guided by the philosophy that ideas and innovations from the next generation of professionals are essential in tackling affordable and sustainable housing.

This year, teams are designing a development on a new 2.58-acre site adjacent to the famous River Walk near downtown San Antonio. The San Antonio Housing Authority would like to add to its public housing communities by building approximately 100 new mixed-income workforce dwellings along with commercial mixed-used space and amenities. Teams were asked to maximize diversity in their designs—diversity of uses, diversity of incomes and diversity of unit sizes. The first round of the competition required schematics and a preliminary pro forma.

"Our team is thrilled to be able to continue to participate as finalists,” Team Maryland leader Huck said. “We have invested significant time and effort into crafting a unique proposal to respond to the site’s specific needs. It has been a great opportunity for us to work in an interdisciplinary environment and we look forward to continuing to improve our design.”

The teams will refine their projects and produce more detail in the weeks leading up to the competition, aided by a site visit in early March. The first place team is awarded $20,000. To learn more about HUD’s IAH competition and criteria, visit their website.