A trio of Alfred State students in the Department of Architecture and Design were recently honored with Bob Pahl Sketching Awards. Jacob Rightmyer (Brockport, NY) was honored with first prize, Ruby LaDue (Tupper Lake, NY), was awarded second, and Stephen Meeker (Baldwinsville, NY) earned third.
The award, which has been given annually since 2012, recognizes three students who kept the top sketch journals while studying abroad in Sorrento, Italy, as part of their Urban Sketching & Journaling course. The Architecture professors at Alfred State review and judge the contest.
Bob Pahl, a Boston-area architect, graduated from Alfred State in 1981 with a degree in architectural engineering technology. Pahl donates monetary prizes to the honorees. As a first-year student, Pahl was inspired by the introduction to architecture course taught by the late Jeffrey Johnston who founded the Sorrento Study Abroad program.
The trio of students traveled to Sorrento with Professor William Dean, AIA, last spring. “Each week the students had an assignment that expands on their sketching and journaling. This award is a great incentive for the students to carefully document their travel experiences and observations.”
“Jacob went above and beyond with his sketches. He sketched all over Sorrento and throughout his travels in Europe. Ruby and Stephen did amazing work as well. It is very rewarding to see each of the students’ progress through the semester. I am proud of the work they produce.”
Studio Sorrento at the Sant’Anna Institute is a program is open to Alfred State architecture students in their third year of study and provides participants a unique opportunity for a spring semester experience that also includes courses in Italian and Archeology in addition to Studio Sorrento.