This past September, three undergraduate students from Kent State University’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design earned three of the five awards presented at the 2025 AIA Ohio Student Design Awards. These awards are characterized by innovative design that combines conceptual strength with technical and social awareness.
First-year student Carmella Buffone earned second place for “Observatory for Natural Forces: Celestial Ascension,” a project that elevates celestial observation into a spatial journey. Inspired by the striking basalt formations of Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, the design translates vertical geological formations into soaring conical structures that rise toward the stars. Four linked towers, joined by balconies and stairways, create an experience that is as much about movement as it is about stargazing. Inside, operable walls open to reveal the expansive night sky, while stepped interior surfaces allow visitors to climb upward, physically and metaphorically connecting to the cosmos. The project blends conceptual clarity with an evocative spatial narrative.
In addition to Carmella Buffone’s second place achievement, another two students, Garrett Scott and Ryan Shaw, received honorable mentions for their work. In second-year Garrett Scott’s project titled ” Kinetic Skin: Fire Station 28,” architecture becomes a medium of communication and reimagines a fire station as an urban landmark through a kinetic billboard façade, a modular system of panels that act as both shelter and signal. The scaffolded structure creates a clear organizational spine, dividing programmatic zones while maintaining flexibility. Circulation flows horizontally through scaffold partitions and vertically between structure and skin, emphasizing legibility and movement. More than a building, the design positions the station as a civic interface-visibly present, adaptive, and deeply connected to the rhythms of its surrounding neighborhood.
For second-year Ryan Shaw, his project titled “Confluence: Fire Station” is not only essential infrastructure-it’s a gathering point. This project explores how fluid architectural forms can express civic identity. Three elevated, interlocking volumes define the building’s sinuous massing, directing circulation and framing views. A shared intermediate level mergers with public and private realms, reinforcing the station’s dual role as an operational hub and community space. The design’s interplay of geometry, light, and movement transforms an everyday building type into a civic landmark.
Together, these award-winning projects reflect the breadth of talent emerging from Kent State’s architecture program. Each design represents the student’s ability to merge conceptual rigor with human experience. Ryan Shaw states “Receiving the AIA Ohio Student Design Awards Honorable Mention was an incredibly exciting moment. It’s both humbling and energizing to have my work recognized at a state level, and it reinforces the value of the ideas and effort behind the project. This acknowledgment is a powerful motivator to keep pushing my design work further.” As the boundaries of architecture continue to expand, these designers are reshaping how we look at buildings, not just as structures, but as powerful narratives woven into the fabric of our cities and landscapes.