57th Annual Spire Design Competition

Spire Energy awarded seven Auburn University architecture students for their designs as part of the 57th annual Spire (formerly Alagasco) Design Competition for fourth-year architecture students.

The competition studio, Studio 5, was led by Professors Mark Blumberg, David Hinson, Kevin Moore, and Amadeu Santacana. Leaning on the enduring work of American Urbanist, Jane Jacobs, Studio 5 focused on what makes urban areas thrive and how building design affects the city.

The Auburn faculty team worked closely with Eric Myers, Director of the Chattanooga Design Studio to identify a site in downtown Chattanooga, and students were tasked with confronting physical and social site conditions and designing a mixed-use housing building with an additional public amenity. Myers and Chattanooga-based Auburn alumni hosted the students during a site visit in August and served as advisors to the students over the course of the semester.

The student work was juried by architects Robert Siegal of New York; Jennifer Pindyck of Atlanta; Michael LeBlanc of Boston; Eric Myers; along with Auburn alumni Thomas Palmer and Craig Peavy of Chattanooga; and Amanda Loper of Birmingham. The jurors critiqued the student projects and selected the winners based on response to the city, response to the program, life safety, structural integration, and integrative design. Jeff Jeong won first place, followed by Henry Savoie in second place, and Stone Ray and Ellis Finnegan tying for third place. Honorable mentions included Owen Railey, Jonathan Schneider, and Lauren Wertz. Spire generously donated the prize money totaling $5,000.

Representatives from Spire recognized the winning students at a luncheon sponsored by Spire at Auburn University. Tom Morse, Manager of Commercial Business Development at Spire, led the presentation. Also representing Spire at the ceremony were Mike Swinson, Director of Economic Development; Reynolds Anderson, Director of Business Development for Alabama and Mississippi and Griffin McNeil, Commercial Development Representative for the Auburn-Opelika area.