Vectorworks Design Scholarship Winners

John Hill

11. September 2014

Richard Diehl Award Winner: Diego Bermudez: Circasia. All images courtesy of Nemetschek Vectorworks

Nemetschek Vectorworks has announced the winners – fifteen students from eight countries – in is first annual design scholarship for students in architecture, landscape, and entertainment degrees.

Over the summer, Nemetschek Vectorworks asked students to submit their work for consideration for $3,000 USD scholarships to support their studies in any design major at the accredited college or university of their choice. The winning students' schools also receive Vectorworks software licenses for their computer labs and training for students and faculty.

From the fifteen winners, University of Pennsylvania landscape architecture student Diego Bermudez was selected for the Richard Diehl Design Award, named for the chairman of Nemetschek Vectorworks. This prize acknowledges Bermudez's project, "Circasia: Engaging the Creeks" for a rapidly growing coffee community in Colombia, as the top overall entry; he receives an additional $7,000 USD for his studies.

Richard Diehl Award Winner: Diego Bermudez: Circasia

In a statement Bermudez says, "I have always been interested in providing new and better opportunities for people, working almost exclusively in social urbanism. The scale doesn’t really matter; it can be a small vegetable garden providing food for a family or a whole new regional plan protecting people, water sources, forests, agricultural land and cultural assets." Diehl says, "Diego’s design assumes responsibility for the site and addresses a real-world problem that occurs in many areas of the world where misused land is discarded until someone takes on the challenge of fixing it."

Richard Diehl Award Winner: Diego Bermudez: Circasia

The fifteen scholarship winners are listed below in their respective categories, with descriptions from Vectorworks, and images highlighting a few of the winners. The 2015 Vectorworks Design Scholarship begins on March 1, 2015. Those interested can sign up for updates on the Vectorworks Design Scholarship website, where images of all the 2014 winners can be seen.

Michael Signorile: Pixelized Atmospheres, Prague Grand Hotel

Winners in the Architecture category:

- Markus Bobik, TU München, Germany, "who uses the environment to create a protective shell around the soft core of an Alpine chalet"
- Judyta Cichocka, Wrocław University of Technology, Poland, "for coming to grips with the latest ideology of architectural iconism"
- Marcel Hauert, Berner Fachhochschule, Switzerland, "for a macrocosmic vision for an urban public space"
- Michael Signorile, Stevens Institute Of Technology, USA, "who uses glass in winter garden hydroponics for his project"
- Daniel Sweeting, London Metropolitan University, United Kingdom, "who critiques the tourist experience in London"
- Alexander Davey Thomson, K.U. Leuven, Saint-Lucas Campus, Belgium "for his architectural visions of an ecology-based urban future"
- Shao Xing Yu, Southeast University, China, "who uses an open space to find a balance between tourists and residents"

Daniel Sweeting: River Thames Tourist Activity

Winners in the Landscape category:

- Diego Bermudez, University of Pennsylvania, USA, "who demonstrates how reclaiming an area devastated by poor use fosters human interaction"
- Chen Yin Feng, Chongqing University, China, "who transformed abandoned industrial infrastructure into an educational center and public space"
- Andrea Linney, University of Toronto, Canada, "whose expansion of existing path systems transforms a large, cross-site, open-space"
- Tina Simon, TU Dresden, Germany, "for larger-than-life renderings of ornately designed gardens in an urban, Baroque neighborhood"

Tina Simon: Innere Neustadt Dresden

Winners in the Entertainment category:

- Enoch (Wes) Calkin, University of Cincinnati, USA, "for re-telling Broadway’s Carrie as a more intimate and intelligent tragedy"
- Paul Dembeck, Beuth Hochschule Berlin, Germany, "for a stage design that discreetly combines light and video to maintain focus on the artist"
- Wu Xin Jing, Shanghai Theatre Academy, China, "who abandons traditional concert effects for dramatic lighting"
- Lisa Vromman, KASK School of Arts Gent, Belgium, "who explored a façade that communicates with the environment and encourages residents to comingle"