Architecture senior Nick Jackson received the Merit Award at the Excellence in Architecture Design Awards 2009 student competition. This competition was in the Texas chapter of the American Institute of Architects, where Jackson was awarded for his outstanding achievements in the field.
There were 22 entrants, including students from the University of Texas-Arlington and Texas A&M University. There was one Honor Award winner and two Merit Award winners, which were won by Houston students.
“I was the only entrant from UH, there were two entrants from Rice, and we basically swept the floor,” Jackson said. “Houston just completely represented in that competition.”
Jackson said the event is based on design and is an architecture student competition that is part of the awards that they give to professional architects as well. He said that AIA was trying to recognize some of the Texas students that excel in pursuing architecture.
For the Honor Award, AIA offers a scholarship. Jackson said that though he did not receive a scholarship, on a personal level, winning gave him a lot of references, and he was able to meet a lot of professionals at the awards center.
He said that it is beneficial to his career, looks great on a resume and brings recognition to the college.
“One of my professors recommended that I enter one of my projects that I did. So, I cleaned it up, got it ready and submitted it,” Jackson said.
It took him a whole semester to work on the project, but prepping it for the actual affair did not take more than a couple of days to add the finishing touches, format it and write an essay.
The essay was a one-page explanation of the project coupled with a 20-page PDF. It contained images and drawings of the project.
Jackson said his interest in architecture started during high school through drafting and photography, and he fell in love with it at UH. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture. He is in his final year of the program and will be graduating in the fall.
Jackson’s affiliations include The Honors College, American Institute of Architecture Students, Student Government Association, Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society and The National Scholars Honors Society. He plans to either start working right out of college and become a licensed architect or attend graduate school to obtain a master’s degree and teach on the side.
Jackson is currently working on his spring semester project, which will include a series of research institutes for the Fort Worth Botanical Garden.
AIA, a professional membership organization for licensed architects since 1857, consists of 300 component chapters around the world.
