MBMA announces 2024 Student Design Competition Award winners

The 2024 Student Design Competition had the largest turnout since establishment, with a total of 49 entries from schools across North America.

The Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) is pleased to announce the winners of its fourth annual Student Design Competition. On February 25, 2025, the association granted $31,000 in awards to eight winners and to their faculty sponsors in both undergraduate and graduate divisions in an online ceremony.

For the Undergraduate Division, the first-place award and $5,000 went to Maya Westbrock, a student at California State University Sacramento. She is the first two-time winner of the competition, having taken second place in the 2023 contest. She was advised by Mark Roddy from the department of design. The second-place award, along with $3,000, was presented to the team of Carlos Martinez and Naman Desai at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Their advisor was Marcel Erminy, professor of practice at the Texas A&M University College of Architecture. Third place, and $2,000, went to the team of Michelle Quan, and Gabriel Paz, students at the Universidad del Istmo in Frajinas, Guatemala. They were advised by Luis Miguel Sagastume of the faculty of architecture and design. Two awards of merit, along with $500, were also awarded. The team of Cade McCue, Daniel Resch, Amanda Cetorelli and Kara Barnes earned one award of merit. They were advised by Adam Yaracs of the College of Architecture & Environmental Design at Kent State University. The other award of merit went to Stacy Romana, a student at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Charlotte. Her faculty advisor was Greg Snyder, associate professor and the undergraduate program director at the School of Architecture at UNC Charlotte.

In the Graduate Division, Pragathi Chandramouli, from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, earned first place and $5,000. She was advised by professor Stephen Schreiber, chair of the department of architecture in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. Second place and $3,000 went to Pranav Dale, also a student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He was advised by professor Caryn Brause of the department of architecture in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. Leonard Morse-Fortier, lecturer in structures at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, also advised both contestants. Third place, along with $2,000, was awarded to the team of Farzad Saeidi Samet, Seyedehaysan Mokhtarimousavi and Shiva Manshour from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Their faculty advisor was Grant Mosey, assistant professor of architecture at the School of Architecture.

“We congratulate Maya Westbrock and her advisor Mark Roddy on earning the top prize in the 2024 MBMA Student Design Competition,” says MBMA General Manager Tony Bouquot. “It’s wonderful to see someone use their experience from last year’s competition and do even better. We also would like to thank the faculty sponsors for their work and the time they put in to make this competition even better.”

“This was the fourth year of the competition and the largest ever, with a total of 49 entries from schools across North America. We are excited to see the design competition grow and introduce metal building systems to students across the country and beyond,” says MBMA Director of Research and Engineering Lee Shoemaker, PhD, PE.

The competition took place during the 2024 fall semester, with entries due January 6, 2025. The contest for undergraduate and graduate architecture students challenged each participant to create an innovative metal building design for a new campus recreation center.

The five-member panel of judges included: Eric Pros, AIA, director of design for DS Architecture in Cleveland, Ohio; Terri Meyer Boake, LEED AP, professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Architecture, Cambridge, Ontario; Lauren Gwaltney, AIA, senior associate with Williams Blackstock Architects in Birmingham, Alabama; John Underwood, consultant to Behlen Mfg. Co., Columbus, Nebraska and chair of the MBMA Education Committee; and Robert Tiffin, national accounts manager with Silvercote in Greenville, South Carolina and chair of the MBMA Architect Committee.

About MBMA

Founded in 1956, MBMA serves manufacturers and suppliers that work with industry professionals, architects, building designers, educators, building code officials and others to advance the metal building systems industry. The efforts of member volunteers and association staff regularly lead to industry improvements and groundbreaking research. Resources at MBMA.com include technical materials, research reports, videos and design guides. The MBMA News provides the most current research and new ideas to propel the industry. MBMA also provides graduate and undergraduate educational resources at MBMAeducation.org.