Troy, N.Y. — Two teams of fifth-year architecture students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute garnered top honors — first and third place overall — in the Global House 2005 International Design Competition, selected from among more than 250 entries from 44 countries.

Hosted by Arquitectum, an enterprise dedicated to the organization of architectural contests, the Global House competition challenged professional architects and architecture students ages 28 and under to create a house that best represents the values of contemporary global society and that can exist on any site, anywhere in the world.

“This architectural competition was particularly fascinating because it challenged the immediate relationships that a house or home has to a specific place, and the social and cultural conditions of that place,” said David Riebe, clinical assistant professor of architecture, and program chairperson who helped facilitate the Rensselaer students’ participation in the competition. “Participants were essentially asked to rethink the traditional concept of shelter and site, to define a new class of housing reflective of the social, physical, technological, and aesthetic changes the new global society is facing.” 

Stephanie Cramer of Castleton, N.Y., and Ryan Salvas of Old Saybrook, Conn., saw an opportunity to incorporate housing into the bridges, sign trusses, and on and off ramps associated with highways. Their proposal involved using highway sign trusses as a structure for houses that would be suspended over the roadways. The team was awarded first place and a prize of $2,000 for their design, titled 56West: Utopia.

NOMAD, designed by Priyanka Mara of New Hartford, N.Y., Moniera Buck of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Brian Janeczko of Garden City, N.Y., won third place, and a prize of $500. Designed for nomadic users, the group proposed a reconfigurable housing unit made up of telescoping tubes that could be shifted, pushed, and pulled, providing users with a high level of flexibility within a small amount of space. 

“Architects must be prepared to function in a global environment, incorporating considerations of local landscape, economy, politics, and culture into design,” said Alan Balfour, dean of the School of Architecture. “Once again Rensselaer students have demonstrated their capacity as global thinkers, creating architectural designs that have the potential to enhance living environments, and improve the human condition on a universal scale. I applaud them for their creativity and for this achievement.”

This is the eighth year Rensselaer students have been selected as finalists in international professional competitions, according to Dean Balfour. All Rensselaer fifth-year architecture students are required to submit designs to selected international competitions as part of their final senior project.

Winning proposals can be viewed online at: http://www.arquitectum.com. Click on “international competitions,” click on “current,” and then click on “The Global House 2005.”