During the Spring 2018 semester, the college’s schools and departments each held award ceremonies to honor and recognize faculty, students, alumni and friends. Below is the listing of the top awards recipients.
Architecture:
Lifetime Achievement Award
Gary Siebein, MAARC ‘80
Distinguished Service Award
Cynthia Peterson
Young Architects Design Award
Everald Colas, B.Des ’05, M.ARCH ’07, MSAS ‘08
Design Excellence Award
Larry Scarpa, B.Des ’81, M.ARCH ‘87
Interior Design:
Rising Leader Award
Smita Sahoo, MID ‘06
Landscape Architecture:
Distinguished Landscape Architecture Service Award
Elisabeth Manley, MLA ‘00
Architecture:
Lifetime Achievement Award
Gary Siebein, MAARC ‘80
Gary W. Siebein, FASA, FAIA, has conducted internationally significant research in architectural acoustics; integrated the results of this research in the acoustical design of 2,000 significant buildings and inspired thousands of architecture students through his research, teaching, critical practice and publications.
He was a professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Florida from 1980 until 2015, where he directed a graduate program that pursued over three decades of groundbreaking research with master’s and doctoral students in architectural acoustics and environmental technology. The focus of the program was to conduct research sponsored by NSF and other agencies in methods to explore the integrated soundscape and architectural design of cities; buildings, especially performing arts facilities; and natural spaces.
He currently is a Senior Principal Consultant at Siebein Associates, Inc., an international consulting practice in architectural and environmental acoustics and soundscape design with a distinguished portfolio of over 2,000 innovative projects that are forming the state-of-the-art in acoustical design around the U.S. and the world.
He lives in Gainesville, Florida, with his wife, Rita and dog Snowball; and lives close by his six children, their families and his six grandchildren, soon to be seven.
Distinguished Service Award
Cynthia Peterson
Cynthia Peterson, MLIS, CA, holds a Master in Library and Information Science with a concentration in Archival Science and Preservation from Simmons College, Boston, MA. She is a Certified Archivist (CA) and a specialist in the preservation and description of architectural archives. She has worked with important historical architectural collections including those at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Florida.
She was the former curator of the University of Florida Architecture Archives and helped to establish the acquisition and collection of historical architectural archives in Florida. She was previously the Director of Operations of the Elling O. Eide Charitable Foundation in Sarasota, Florida. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Foundation for Architecture.
Peterson was the former CEO of the Center for Architecture Sarasota (CFAS) before her retirement and now serves as the Advisory Board Chair, a nonprofit organization in partnership with the UF Graduate School of Architecture. She founded the organization, was responsible for the fundraising and developed the partnership with the University of Florida Graduate School of Architecture. In addition, she helped develop the UF CityLab scholarship fund that raised over $60,000 in scholarships for the graduate students. The organization is responsible for the preservation of an important mid-century modern building which houses the organization’s headquarters, a gallery and a lecture hall. CFAS provided the space for the UF CityLab Sarasota program. In five years, CFAS has grown to over 600 members with over 5,000 attendees at the more than 200 programs, which include public exhibits, public lectures, workshops and children’s programs focused on architecture and the built environment.
She was awarded the Florida American Institute of Architects Bob Graham Architecture Awareness Award for her continuing efforts to identify and preserve the important documents and history of Florida’s built environment. In addition, Peterson was recently awarded an honorary membership in AIA Florida in recognition of her years of efforts in the preservation and education of Florida’s architectural heritage.
And in 2017 was honored with the distinction of Honorary Membership in the National AIA for her notable contributions and service to the Institute.
Young Architects Design Award
Everald Colas, B.Des ’05, M.ARCH ’07, MSAS ‘08
Everald Colas is an architect and educator with design experience in commercial, aviation, multifamily and institutional buildings. Currently, Colas is a Principal at WJ Architects where he is the lead WJA Architect for the James Museum of Western + Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Prior to joining WJA, Everald was a senior designer for Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and co-lead the mixed-use E126 Gotham Residential project in New York City. Prior to joining BIG, Colas was a specialist at Grimshaw Architects where he worked on the Qatar Civil Aviation Building in Doha and a project manager at Kliment Halsband Architects, where he completed several New York projects.
Colas received his Master of Architecture and Master of Science in Architecture Pedagogy at the University of Florida. In 2016, he was awarded the AIA Garcia Award for design excellence.
As a designer, Colas specializes in projects that require a sensitive approach to integrating mixed-use buildings in a historical context. He is skilled in guiding clients through the process of finding their project’s identity within numerous constraints, helping to ensure that complex projects are distilled to their design essence.
As an educator, Colas’ research focuses on architecture as a field manual; constructing unique spatial narratives and solutions in architecture to ensure the longevity of the built project. He also focuses on designs as a tool of social change. He has been a guest critic at Columbia University, Pratt Institute, University of Pennsylvania, University of Florida, Marywood University and the University of Cincinnati.
Design Excellence Award
Larry Scarpa, B.Des ’81, M.ARCH ‘87
Awarded the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Award in Architecture, Larry Scarpa has garnered international acclaim for the creative use of conventional materials in unique and unexpected ways. He is also considered a pioneer and leader in the field of sustainable design.
Scarpa’s firm, Brooks + Scarpa, has received more than 100 major design awards, including the National and State Firm Awards, 21 National AIA Awards, Record Houses, Record Interiors, the Rudy Bruner Prize, five AIA Committee on the Environment “Top Ten Green Building” Awards and the World Habitat Award, one of ten firms selected worldwide. He has also received the lifetime achievement awards from Interior Design Magazine and the AIA California Council.
He is currently on the faculty at the University of Southern California and has taught and lectured at the university level for more than two decades. He is a co-founder of the Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute Livable Places, Inc., a nonprofit development and public policy organization dedicated to building mixed-use housing and to help develop more sustainable and livable communities.
Interior Design:
Rising Leader Award
Smita Sahoo, MID ‘06
Through Smita Sahoo’s experience in both architecture and interior design, she has worked on a diverse range of projects in commercial, higher education and healthcare design. Her focus on creating effective and visually stimulating design solutions through a holistic approach creates meaningful and distinctive environments.
Smita’s experience in planning and strategies provides clients with the foresight in developing adaptable environments that can grow with every organization. This is accomplished with her ability to lead a project and align the varied goals of different stakeholders into a coherent design. Smita’s strengths in communication are reinforced by her 3D visualization, modeling and rendering skills that allows clients to become visually interactive with the project during the early stages of design.
Smita earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Mumbai and a Master of Interior Design degree from the University of Florida. She is a NCIDQ registered interior designer and a registered architect in India.
Landscape Architecture:
Distinguished Landscape Architecture Service Award
Elisabeth Manley, MLA ‘00
Elisabeth Manley is a professional landscape architect and principal of Manley Design, LLC, a landscape architecture and site-planning firm located in Gainesville, Florida. Elisabeth serves as the Florida Chapter ASLA representative and board member to the Florida Greenways and Trails Foundation, whose mission is to advocate for and create a system of connected regional trails and greenways across Florida.
Locally, she serves as past chair and current secretary on the City of Gainesville’s Public Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. She is also part of the Gainesville Regional Utilities Urban Design Standards working group, whose charge is to develop proactive solutions regarding utilities and land development.
Elisabeth volunteers at her childrens’ school as part of the ‘Green Team’ sustainability program at Littlewood Elementary and offers support for the “Kids in The Woods” U.S. Forestry program at Westwood Middle School. She received her Master’s of Landscape Architecture in 2000 from the University of Florida, where she has since participated in numerous guest lectures over the years.