Honors Captured By Sonoma County Architecture Students

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Rain pounded the canyon. Students slept outdoors beside structures they designed with their own hands. And in the middle of California Polytechnic State University’s demanding Design Village competition, a first-year team from Santa Rosa Junior College emerged with one of the event’s top awards.

The newly launched Architecture Studio Club at Santa Rosa Junior College won the Best Construction Award in the Visiting Competitor division during the April 24–26 competition hosted by California Polytechnic State University.

Held in Poly Canyon behind the Cal Poly campus, the annual event challenges students to design, build, transport, assemble, and inhabit temporary shelter structures for 48 hours outdoors. About 90 teams entered this year’s competition, including roughly 45 visiting teams from colleges and universities across California.

SRJC students entered four categories — Best Theme, Best Overall, Best Construction, and Most Innovative Design — and captured the construction award during the club’s first-ever appearance at the event.

Students designed and built the structure in one week using equipment and maker space resources from SRJC Career Education programs and the Larry Simons FAIA Innovation Center. A larger group collaborated on the project, while five students represented the college at the competition site.

A faculty advisor, Peter Levelle, said the students understood they were setting the tone for the future of SRJC’s returning architecture program.

“Overall, I feel the students really felt an obligation to perform and set the standard for future SRJC students, and I think they did well,” Levelle said. “They definitely showed up and let their presence be known.”

Students worked late into the night preparing the structure before hauling it to Poly Canyon, where teams assembled and occupied their shelters through the weekend. Rain forced competitors to cut the experience short Saturday night, but students said the challenge transformed the way they think about architecture and design.

“Seeing your ideas come to life in front of you was really satisfying,” Diego Salanueva said. “Having to physically manifest your ideas shows you a different side of design that the drawings can’t do alone. It was one of the greatest learning experiences I’ve ever had.”

The competition also connected SRJC students with architecture faculty and students from universities throughout California. Judges included Cal Poly faculty members and visiting professors from other architecture programs statewide.

The award arrives as SRJC rebuilds its architecture program after relaunching architecture studios in fall 2025. The college plans to restore its full architecture degree program in fall 2026.

The Architecture Studio Club at Santa Rosa Junior College won Best Construction Award in the Visiting Competitor division during a California Polytechnic State University competition. Photo complement of Bronte Alverde.