On November 15, four Chaminade undergraduate students were honored at The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Hawaii Chapter Gala for their inspiring and revolutionary designs.
Zhu (Ryan) Fan, Jenelyn Sison, Nicolle Soriano and Catherine Valentine received an honorable mention award for their project “Death of a Mall,” and Jenelyn Sison received an individual Award of Excellence for her project “ALEA Bridge—Human-Centered Affordable Housing.”
“Our professor tasked us with redesigning the current concept of a mall,” says Catherine Valentine. “We wanted to integrate new online shopping technology with the connection that people get when they’re shopping in a social setting, so we integrated augmented and virtual reality with other appealing features that give you a small town feel and make you want to come in and meet your neighbors.”
Three of the students—Fan, Sison and Soriano—graduated from Chaminade in May 2018 and are working for design firms. Valentine will graduate next month.
“I am a military vet and decided to leave my already established career to pursue this passion of mine,” says Valentine. “This award helps make it feel like I made the right choice. The four of us worked so hard and well together and we developed something that we can all be proud of.”
