By Elysia Geen, Loyalist College Public Relations Intern and graduate of the Advertising and post-graduate Public Relations programs
At the Ontario Association of Architects’ (OAA) Celebration of Excellence Awards Ceremony in Toronto on Friday, May 10, third-year Loyalist College Architectural Technology student Rosalind Chow was awarded first place from the Ontario Association for Applied Architectural Sciences (OAAAS) Student Award Competition in the Individual Category. This was the first presentation of the award, established in recognition of student excellence in architecture at the provincial post-secondary level.
“Students from every Ontario college Architecture program submitted their final year’s work for judging by the OAAAS provincial jury,” explained Rosalind. “A winner was selected from each college, and then their projects were judged to determine a final winner. It was a huge surprise when I found out I had won! It’s great to have my three years of hard work pay off – a true recognition of the time and effort that went into the final project.”
For third-year Loyalist Architectural Technology students, the final assignment was to create a multi-functional recreational complex, including a swimming pool and gymnasium. Students were given a series of actual sites within the Belleville area to choose from, and then asked to develop their own functional analysis for the project, leading into building, landscape, interior, and structural design of the complex.
“We took the recreation complex from the design stages to final working drawings,” said Rosalind. “During two semesters we covered everything, including where the rooms would go, what the building would be made of, and how it would be built. Since all of the potential sites were in Belleville, our designs had to fit in with the current design of the city. At the end of the project, we each had a set of working drawings.”
“All of the Loyalist third-year projects were at a very complete level to compete for this award,” she added. “Everyone put a little bit of themselves into their design. My building very much reflected my personality – it was open, allowing sound to travel throughout the building, with a lot of light movement.”
Rosalind, who will be graduating in June, currently works as the Design Manager at Kitchens by Paul Holden in Stirling. She is grateful to the program for providing her with experience in both the commercial and residential design field.
“The good thing about the program at Loyalist is that it prepares you to pursue a number of different careers,” she said. “I work in kitchen design, but some people are working in residential or commercial design, as well as architectural firms. It’s really open to what you want to do.”
Rosalind recognizes that a professional award from the OAA is an honour, especially as a new graduate with a variety of career opportunities ahead.
The Architectural Technician and Technology programs at Loyalist combine lab work, classroom instruction, and major building projects in a studio setting. Students work independently and in teams to plan new construction and renovation projects. Graduates of the programs have extensive knowledge of construction materials and building codes, computer-assisted drafting (CAD), and 3D modeling.
Students can choose to complete a one-year Residential Drafting and Design Certificate, a two-year Architectural Technician Diploma, or a three-year Architectural Technology Advanced Diploma.
For more information about the Architecture programs available at Loyalist, please contact Chuck Barsony, Program Coordinator and Professor, cbarsony@loyalistc.on.ca, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2388.