AIA Design Awards Presented to Two Sam Fox School Projects

AIA St. Louis, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects, has presented awards to the Office for Socially Engaged Practice for the Gateway Pavilion designed by Assistant Professor Wyly Brown and Cody Heller, MArch ’24, for his Year End Show 13.0 exhibition design.

Cody Heller, MArch ’24, won in the Small Projects category of the AIA Design Awards with his curatorial proposal for last spring’s annual Year End Show. The exhibition, presented in Steinberg Gallery, features culminating work from graduating architecture students.

Heller shared last spring that his design had “a lab-like quality, not dissimilar to an incubator; a machine brewing this next generation of architectural ideas and discourse.” The box-in-box design transformed the gallery with twin wall plastic and metal studs. “It sought to be an illuminated, ethereal presence — something other and strange,” Heller shared.

The Gateway Pavilion at Peace Park received a Distinguished Award in the Unbuilt category. The pavilion has been a hands-on opportunity for students and assistant professor Wyly Brown, whose research looks deeply at how bamboo can be used more widely. Initially constructed on campus in the fall of 2022, the pavilion was moved to the College Hill neighborhood park, near the Grand Ave. water tower, in fall 2023. An opening celebration for the park is anticipated in spring 2025.