Structures of Imagination: Turning Vision
into Award-Winning Work

Professors at the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design have been recognized in the Architect’s Newspaper 2025 Best of Design Awards, celebrating a remarkable range of innovation from material ecology and cultural dialogue to climate-resilient infrastructure.

Instructional Assistant Professor Daniel Jacobs of HOME-OFFICE was a winner in the Unbuilt–Conceptual category for OPEN-GROUND, which also received a 2025 AIA Upjohn Research Initiative Grant. A climate-responsive design for the Gulf Coast, OPEN-GROUND rethinks public park structures as hubs for flood mitigation, passive cooling, and community resilience. The proposal introduces a multifunctional roof system that collects rainwater, generates solar energy, and shades public spaces, while an underground network of chambers filters and retains runoff. Through collaborations with local nonprofits, civic groups, and schools, the project aims to empower vulnerable neighborhoods, expand access to essential resources, and model a new generation of climate-adapted public infrastructure.

Instructional Assistant Professor Sam Clovis of clovisbaronian earned two Editors’ Picks for Correspondence and Ambience in the Temporary Installation and Unbuilt–Residential: Single Unit categories. Correspondence, created in collaboration with GROUP, brought eight early-career architects from Japan and North America together to experimentally renovate the historic Shinjuku White House in Tokyo. The project fostered a cross-cultural exploration of renovation, repair, and the evolving architectural language of reuse. Ambience, previously recognized by Texas Architect and the NOT A HOTEL competition, expands Clovis’s ongoing work in atmospheric space, material expression, and emerging residential typologies.

Associate Professor and Director of the Interior Architecture program Sheryl Tucker de Vazquez, principal of Tucker de Vazquez Architecture, received an Honorable Mention in the Unbuilt–Conceptual category for The Hair Salon: Entangled Growth. A continuation of her research from her Graham Foundation-funded 2023 exhibition at the Hines College, the project reimagines architecture as an adaptive, living system shaped by braided, woven, and fractal-inspired forms. Recently exhibited at MAS Context Reading Room in Chicago as part of the 18 of a Kind initiative, Entangled Growth explores how collective spatial design can activate underserved urban environments and foster community well-being.

Together, these award-winning projects highlight the depth and diversity of innovation underway at the Hines College, where faculty are not only teaching the next generation of designers but actively shaping the future of architecture through research, experimentation, and visionary practice.