Students compete in annual Laskey, Fitzgibbon Charrettes

Undergraduate architecture students participated in the Laskey Charrette and Fitzgibbon Charrette early this semester. The annual competitions invite a leading practitioner to develop a prompt to students, who work on teams to develop their design response.

Rome Prize-winning architect Germane Barnes led the Laskey Charrette, sharing a prompt that centered the human body as a core building to be adorned. Student teams selected thematic words from a provided list, then designed a garment informed by those words for each one of their team members to wear. An additional requirement was that each garment covered at least one-third of an individual, and the prompt noted that the more ambitious and collaborative the work, the better. Barnes called the charrette “The Bauhaus Ballet, (but in St. Louis),” in reference to artist Oskar Schlemmer’s “Triadic Ballet.”

The Laskey Charrette first prize went to Ava Eberwein, Abigail Johnson, Jade Lo, and Hanna Mitchell.

Catie Newell, architect and professor at the University of Michigan, led the Fitzgibbon Charrette. Her prompt, “Air Space,” asked students to closely consider flowing air, allowing spaces to breathe. Students began by making components that are pliable to air — laser- and hand-cut paper, very thin wood, and 3D printed nodes — then attaching them together to form an aggregate, suspending them from above, and working to form larger collections. Newell described the final installations as operating at the scale of architectural openings with air as the occupant, considering material qualities, weather, and relevant geometries while remaining attentive and aware of our planet and its atmosphere.

Prizes for the Fitzgibbon Charrette went to:

First Prize:

• Frances Bobbitt
  
• Oscar Kreft
  
• Harry Park
  
• Mary Kate Sullenberger
  

Second Prize:

• Jasper Kunz
  
• Luci Li
• Rain Zhao
• Zoe Zuo

Third Place (tie):

• Bao V. Nguyen
• Chin Tial
  
• Mia Yuguchi
  
• Beatrice Hayhurst
• Sam Linde

About the Charrettes

The Laskey Charrette honors the late Professor Emeritus Leslie J. Laskey and his singular approach to design education during his 35-year tenure at WashU. The charrette is sponsored annually by Studio L in collaboration with the College of Architecture.

The Fitzgibbon Charrette is a one-day sketch problem open to all juniors and seniors in architecture. The charrette was established in memory of WashU professor James Fitzgibbon, who was known for his work as a residential designer and structural innovator.