Freedom By Design Chapter Wins Two National Awards

The UNC Charlotte chapter of Freedom By Design™ received two awards at the 2019 FORUM, the national conference of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) held in Toronto, Canada, December 29-January 2. The awards recognized and celebrated the best 15 projects completed in Freedom By Design’s first 15 years. According to the advisory committee statement, every project completed since 2004 was ranked “according to how ambitious the project, the final quality of the project, and the project’s impact on the community.”

The UNC Charlotte chapter was the only on to receive two awards, with recognition going to the Chantilly Montessori Elementary School Playhouse (2015) and the Brown Home Repair (2009), which was also selected as the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) “Favorite Project.”

As the AIAS community service program, Freedom By Design™ encourages architecture students to use their skills to “radically impact the lives of people in their communities,” says the AIAS website. The UNC Charlotte School of Architecture started a Freedom By Design™ program in 2007 under the mentorship of architecture faculty John Nelson, Greg Snyder, and David Thaddeus.

The UNC Charlotte chapter was nationally recognized as the 2014-15 Chapter of the Year and was also awarded the 2014-15 Project of the Year award for the Chantilly Montessori Elementary School Playhouse.