Urban Studio Welcomes New Third- and Fifth-Year Classes

The event brings together students, alumni and the local architecture community to celebrate another year of students in Birmingham and provides students with valuable networking opportunities.

The event was sponsored by SS&L Architects, Niles Bolton Associates and Birchfield Penuel Architects, three of the many local firms who regularly partner with the Urban Studio.

“If it had been an option when I was in school, Urban Studio would have been my first choice,” said Jimmy H. Seay, Jr. ’74, Senior Principal at SS&L Architects. “It gives students the opportunity to learn more about practice in an urban environment that requires creativity, logical thinking and complex problem solving.”

This year’s thesis class includes Taylor Anderson, Abby Best, Jordan King, Gracie Lafont and Reese Miller. They will be in Birmingham for their fifth year of school, which concludes with an eight-week internship with local architecture firms. Often students have spent their summer working in the city.

Urban Studio also welcomed a group of third-year students who chose to come to Birmingham for their fall semester: Nicolas Armstrong, Daniel Coffman, Bergin Hairston, Joshua Hanje, Addison Holden, Grant Robinson, Tran Vo, Barrett Wilson and Javier Wurster.

“It was great getting to know past alumni, their projects and how they’re establishing themselves post-graduation,” he said.

“It was nice to get to know the professionals who are local to Birmingham, as well as where the alumni of Urban Studio have rooted themselves in the profession,” Abby Best added.

It’s also not unusual for graduates to find their first post-graduation jobs through the contacts they make while at Urban Studio.

“Three of the five thesis students were employed by us over the summer. All were exceptionally talented and hard-working individuals,” Seay added. “We have hopes that they may consider SS&L as their professional home after graduation.”

One of the things that stuck out to Anderson about the breakfast was the number of alumni who ended up staying in Birmingham following their time at Urban Studio.

“As much as the city has impacted me personally, I’m really excited, as a rising young professional, to begin my career here,” Anderson said.

In Birmingham, the architecture community is a close-knit and welcoming one, something Best discovered.

“It was striking to me how easy it was to start getting to know some of the alumni and architects based on our shared experience at Urban Studio or just having connections in common with one another,” she said.

Special thanks to our sponsors for this event:

SS&L Architects

Niles Bolton Associates

Birchfield Penuel Architects

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