Designs produced during 2013 studio course reflect alternative visions for the city’s iconic park

San Diego—Dec. 18, 2013— Alumni and students from NewSchool of Architecture and Design (NSAD) received top awards from the Balboa Park Centennial Gateway Competition, including the People’s Choice Award, for their design proposals that provide new visions for San Diego’s iconic park. The competition, sponsored by the San Diego Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, attracted a total of 44 submissions from both students and architects from respected firms.

Competition winners were chosen by a jury panel of architects and designers. A separate public vote was held for the People’s Choice Award, which was awarded to NSAD alumni Jeff Taitano. The outside recognition demonstrates the caliber of work being created by NSAD students and alumni through projects that are inspired by and directly relevant to the community around them. Balboa Park is the nation’s largest urban cultural park comprising 15 major museums, performing arts venues, gardens, and the San Diego Zoo.

In the Juror’s Special Recognition category, two teams of NSAD students were recognized for their entries:
+  Jonathan Chau, Julio Medina and Liza Marie Bajarias received the award for their submission of “Soaring Above.”
+ David Garcia, Mariano Ramirez, David Harrison were recognized in this same category for their proposal of “Balboa Park Experience.”

A third team of NSAD students received a Citation Award for their design proposal of a “Hillcrest Fruit Farm”: Tony Salamone, Jordan Anderson, Justin Freeman.

Recent NSAD alumni Jeffrey Taitano and Craig Howard, also won top awards in the competition.
Taitano, an NSAD alum, received the People’s Choice Award, which was voted on by the public for his design of “Reflections.”

The jury chose three entries to share the competition’s top prize, the Honor Award. Among those three was a team that included NSAD alum Howard. Howard and Pauly De Bartolo, representing De Bartolo + Rimanic Design Studio, were recognized for their proposal for building a building a bridge across Florida Canyon.

The renderings, and others produced by NSAD students during a studio taught by instructor Michael Stepner, are on display at the San Diego Museum of Art as part of an exhibition about alternative visions for Balboa Park. The Looking Towards 2015 exhibit, on display through Jan. 7, is prompted by public and private dialogues taking place in San Diego to address the future of Balboa Park, particularly in anticipation of the upcoming Centennial Celebration.

About NewSchool of Architecture and Design Located in downtown San Diego, NewSchool of Architecture and Design (NSAD) prepares students for career success in design fields through an emphasis on interdisciplinary and global design skills, industry collaborations and real-world projects. The school’s programs include architecture, construction management, product design and interior design. The school also offers programs in digital media arts, game art, game programming and animation. For the past two years, DesignIntelligence has ranked NSAD among the top 10 undergraduate architecture schools in the western United States in its publication “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools.” The school’s design environment provides inspiration for the school’s students and faculty, recognized for their work regionally and internationally, and NSAD students are prepared to work in a global and diverse work environment through the school’s collaborations with award-winning schools around the world such as Domus Academy in Milan, Italy and Media Design School in Auckland, New Zealand. NSAD is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), a national accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, and NSAD’s Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture and Executive Master of Architecture programs are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). www.NewSchoolArch.edu.