Bustler - During the yearly ACSA/AISC Steel Student Design Competition, students across North America get to flex their skills in inventive structural steel designs. Organized by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and supported by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), this year's competition attracted 240 submissions from 745 students in 44 North American universities.
1st Place: VertiCali
Student: Mario Ramos
Faculty Sponsor: Peter Stapleton Raab
School: Texas Tech University
Project excerpt: "Industrialized food production divorces the connection to fresh greens for the citizens of Los Angeles's urban core. Food scarcity means trouble for many who don't know how to grow their food. Food growth experience belongs to individuals located in rural farms. Education in food growth promotes healthy and sustainable life styles that have positive effects on the local community. VertiCali is a beacon of edible light, exposing is green contents to promote local food growth, healthy life styles, and sustainable communities. It vegetates the urban core and connects Downtown L.A. and East L.A. by creating a central food hub in the Arts District. It expands its boundaries into the revitalized L.A. River alongside the 4th Street Bridge and over existing rail lines to provide pedestrian pathways of elevated landscape. Its program consists of a market, community gardens, education areas, and different levels showcasing innovative farming techniques..."
Read the story here.