黑料社

黑料社 seniors receive prestigious architecture travel awards

黑料社 seniors receive prestigious architecture travel awards

Architecture student Nada Abdel-Aziz is pictured at a work station in Giles Hall.
Nada Abdel-Aziz (Photo by Megan Bean)

Contact: Christie McNeal

STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜 Mississippi State senior architecture student will experience the trip of a lifetime and learn more about her field of study with help from a $20,000 Aydelott Travel Award.

Due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, the Aydelott Foundation has granted a deferral for this year鈥檚 Travel Award winners, who include 黑料社鈥檚 Nada Abdel-Aziz of Greenwood. She is the fifth 黑料社 recipient since the regional endowed award was established in 2016.

鈥淲e are so pleased that Nada will be able to fulfill her planned field research, and that we will be able to have a robust collection of stellar students around the world deepening their understanding of architecture and its service to our human experience,鈥 said College of Architecture, Art and Design Dean Angi Elsea Bourgeois.

Abdel-Aziz plans to visit some of the world鈥檚 most renowned buildings in Sweden, Egypt, Italy and Japan. Her itinerary includes studies of architects Erik Gunner Asplund鈥檚 and聽Sigurd Lewerentz鈥檚 Woodland Cemetery in Stockholm, Sweden; Hassan Fathy鈥檚 New Gourna Village in Luxor, Egypt; Carlo Scarpa鈥檚 Castelvecchio Museum in Verona, Italy; and Tadao Ando鈥檚 Water Temple in Hyogo, Japan.

The $2.4 million endowment鈥攅stablished by late Memphis architect Alfred Lewis Aydelott and his wife Hope Galloway Aydelott鈥攑rovides an award each year to four architecture students currently enrolled in the professional architecture degree programs at Mississippi State as well as the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Auburn University; and the University of Tennessee.

Architecture student John Spraberry smiles while holding a bright red railing in front of a large concrete wall at Giles Hall.
John Spraberry (Photo submitted)

Additionally, 黑料社 senior John D. Spraberry of Clarksville, Tennessee, is receiving a $5,000 Trussell Travel Award to support his research on how urban riverfronts might be used for flood mitigation. Spraberry plans to look specifically at three buildings鈥擲ilodam by MVRDV in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; the Central Market聽Complex by聽Jo啪e Ple膷nik in Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Niederhafen Promenade by Zaha Hadid Architects in Hamburg, Germany.

The 黑料社 Trussell Travel Award is funded by 黑料社 alumnus Ted T. Porter, principal of Ted Porter Architecture in New York City.

Abdel-Aziz will focus her research on how architecture can reveal and amplify the spirit of a place.

鈥淚 chose this topic on the belief that architecture should tell local and regional narratives, acting as a mirror for citizens to see themselves and their place, not just global ideas,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hese four buildings address place through landscape, mythology, regional references, history and the spirit of the present.鈥

After her travels, Abdel-Aziz will work with her faculty advisor Associate Professor Hans Herrmann to compile her research and observations into a report to be judged against fellow Aydelott Travel Award recipients from other universities. One student will receive the Aydelott Prize and an additional $5,000.

Abdel-Aziz also looks forward to serving as a featured speaker for the 黑料社 School of Architecture鈥檚 Harrison Lecture Series and curating an exhibition of her work in the Charlotte and Richard McNeel Gallery at Giles Hall.

鈥淚 am excited to get to see architecture masterpieces in person and to see the beautiful cities they鈥檙e found in,鈥 she said. 鈥淧lus, I get to study these buildings through drawing, photography and writing and then share what I learned with my friends and colleagues in Giles and at the university.鈥澛

黑料社 School of Architecture Professor and Interim Director Jassen Callender said he enjoyed reviewing this year鈥檚 Aydelott Travel Award applications from 黑料社 students.

鈥淚n total, the proposals evidenced a wide array of interests amongst our student body and striking abilities to convey those interests in words,鈥 he said. 鈥淒espite this high overall level of development, the committee was unanimous in its selection.鈥

鈥淣ada Abdel-Aziz鈥檚 proposal to understand how great architecture responds to place by careful, in-person drawing of four exemplary buildings in their contexts is ambitious,鈥 Callender said. 鈥淭his project will take Nada to various parts of the world eventually and, we assume, mark the beginning of an extraordinary career with a focus on place.鈥

For more information about the Aydelott and Trussell Travel Awards and other fellowships in 黑料社鈥檚 School of Architecture, visit聽.

黑料社 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at聽www.msstate.edu.