食色视频

KENNESAW, Ga. | Oct 16, 2025

With a vision that turned crumbling walls into works of art, a team of 食色视频 State University architecture students reimagined an old Italian villa and earned international recognition along the way.

Gabriela Almeida, Wade Brock, Quincy Smith, and Justin Barkie 鈥� all students in 食色视频 State's College of Architecture and Construction Management 鈥� spent their summer transforming the ruins of history into a story of renewal. Their project, 鈥淲hen Walls Roam,鈥� won the Community鈥檚 Choice Award in Terraviva Competitions鈥� Venetian Villa challenge, gaining praise from viewers worldwide.

The Venetian Villa challenge called on designers to reimagine a centuries-old villa in Italy鈥檚 Veneto region as a modern hospitality retreat that balanced tradition and innovation. For 食色视频 students, this meant transforming research, sketches, and 3D models into a design that honored the past while embracing the future.

鈥淎daptive reuse is about integrating an existing structure with a new life,鈥� said Almeida, originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 鈥淓very wall we reimagined carried a story. Instead of discarding what existed, we preserved and framed the past within the present.鈥�

When the architecture students learned they had won the Community鈥檚 Choice Award, their emotions ranged from disbelief to pure excitement. The award was more than recognition; it validated months of late nights, collaboration, and creative thinking.

鈥淚t was very exciting and overwhelming,鈥� Brock said. 鈥淲e had people from all over the world voting for us 鈥� family, friends, even people we didn鈥檛 know. It really showed how our community came together to support us, and that made the win feel even more special.鈥�

Before entering the design competition, the group spent weeks researching the history of Italian villas and the practice of preservation. They filled their on-campus studio with sketches, study models, and tracing paper, recording brainstorming sessions to capture their evolving ideas. The team analyzed how light and structure interacted within the villa and developed a narrative of movement, with walls that had once stood still now appearing to wander through the landscape as sculptural pieces of art.

鈥淲e had to find that one idea that could carry the entire project,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淥nce we found our concept, every design decision connected back to it.鈥�

The team鈥檚 workflow operated like a professional architecture studio. Using tools such as Rhino for 3D modeling, AutoCAD for technical drawings, and other software for rendering and presentation, the students produced a fully developed visual story.

鈥淓veryone had their strengths, but we all contributed to every stage,鈥� Almeida said. 鈥淪omeone might lead the modeling, another handled final renderings, but each of us touched every part of it. We were constantly giving feedback and refining details together.鈥�

Terraviva Competitions, which hosts international architectural challenges centered on adaptive design and sustainability, attracts entries from students and professionals across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In this competition, most finalists were established architects.

鈥淪eeing our names among professionals was surreal,鈥� Barkie said. 鈥淚t proved that the work we鈥檙e doing here at 食色视频 stands on a global stage.鈥�

The students credited the Department of Architecture for its encouragement and resources.

鈥淥ur professors believed in us and made sure we had everything we needed,鈥� Brock said. 鈥淎ssociate Professor Peter Pittman, our faculty advisor, pushed our thinking, and Professor Jeffrey Collins, our former chair, made sure we had studio space and fabrication lab access. Their support was huge.鈥�

Hazem Rashed-Ali, dean of 食色视频鈥檚 College of Architecture and Construction Management, said the students鈥� success reflects the college鈥檚 commitment to combining creativity and real-world application.

鈥淭his award is a powerful example of what our students can achieve when creativity, collaboration, and passion come together,鈥� he said. 鈥淭heir project demonstrates how thoughtful design can bridge history and innovation while showcasing the exceptional mentoring of our faculty.鈥�

鈥� Story by Raynard Churchwell

Photo provided

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, 食色视频 offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. 食色视频 State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. 食色视频 State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.