Antonio Vigil Wins International Student Design Competition

University of New Mexico master of architecture student Antonio Vigil designed an Albuquerque-area recycling center within a local market as part of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and Portland Cement Association’s third annual sustainable concrete student design competition. Vigil’s first place award-winning design was selected from entries from more than 800 students from 33 architecture schools around the world.

Photo: Antonio Vigil

Students either created an environmentally responsible recycling center focused on reusing today’s materials – primarily concrete – to preserve tomorrow’s resources, or designed a building element that provides a sustainable solution to real-world environmental challenges.

Vigil’s first place recycling center featured “[an] interesting blend of programmatic elements built around the prominent sustainable theme of reduce, recycle, reuse,” ACSA judges reported.

Vigil noted that Albuquerque’s current recycling center is on the West side, pushed out of the city and not visible to residents. He wanted to draw people into the recycling center to be aware of how much people waste.

His designed the recycling center in an area that features both industrial and retail space, at I-25 and Montano, where Beach Waterpark used to be. Included in his design is a “mercado,” or market where people can sell – effectively “recycling” used goods.

Vigil said that the market would draw people into the recycling center while also providing a venue for local artisans and food vendors to offer goods and services in ways that indigenous people have traditionally conducted commerce. “And since it is outdoors, it uses no energy to run,” he said.

“I chose the site because of nearby ‘big box’ stores – Home Depot and Costco – that are located everywhere and have no local identity or connection to the culture. I wanted to make a statement in the area that my own ‘big box’ has its own identity,” Vigil said.

He designed the recycling center to be layered high enough to be visible from the freeway. He used concrete to “wrap” the building, “in the same way that recycling centers condense and then bundle materials with wire,” Vigil said.

Concrete is an expensive material, he said, but enduring. “It was a challenge to figure out how to use it in a sustainable way. Like adobe, concrete is massive and functions similarly in climate and conditions,” he said.

Concrete is also challenging from an engineering perspective. Vigil said that it was important that the competition was part of Associate Professor Geoffrey Adams’ architectural technology studio course. “I was able to focus on how concrete would be supported and determine how it would actually work in a detailed environment,” he said.

Vigil received a $2,000 prize. “The prize money was nice because I just got married, but just as important to me was the knowledge that the UNM School of Architecture and Planning received recognition. It helps put us on the map,” he said.

Vigil earned his undergraduate degree in architecture from UNM in 2006. He will graduate with a master’s in architecture in May 2009.

“I am extremely pleased for Antonio, this is a wonderful accomplishment which emerges from the combination of individual hard work and acumen supported by the collective cauldron of the architectural studio environment. It is worth noting that Dean Cowdrey, one of Antonio’s studio mates was awarded one of three honorable mentions in this competition. These accomplishments speak well of our program and the school as a whole,” Adams said.

“We applaud these students for coming up with such innovative submissions and pushing the boundaries of concrete in green building,” said David Shepherd, Portland Cement Association’s director of sustainable development. “Concrete’s durability, energy efficiency and versatility make it an ideal building material for sustainable design. This competition clearly illustrates its many applications.”