A student team representing all three academic sections within the Knowlton School was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2019 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Hines Competition for its EXPO Cincy proposal. In its 17^th year, the ULI Competition challenges graduate students to propose a comprehensive design and development scheme for an actual site in an urban area. Unique to the competition is that the five-member teams must have student representation from at least three different disciplines pursuing at least three different degree programs.

The competition is strategically structured to encourage cooperation and teamwork—necessary talents in the planning, design and development of sustainable communities—among future land use professionals and allied professions, such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and design, real estate development, finance, historic preservation, engineering and law.

“While working on a cross-disciplinary team, it was particularly interesting to see how the design concept evolved over time based upon feedback from people with different backgrounds,” said Andrew Souders, a dual-degree graduate student in both city and regional planning and landscape architecture. “The most valuable thing I gained from this process was a notion on how to synthesize different ideas into one cohesive design.”

This year’s site was in Cincinnati included portions of a highway, the central business district and the central riverfront along the Ohio River. Participants were challenged to deck the highway and combine it with adjacent parcels, with the goal of integrating both areas in the creation of a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented, sustainable, mixed-use neighborhood.

One of nine honorable mentions selected from 90 entries, the EXPO Cincy team’s proposal envisioned a return to Cincinnati’s rich heritage of expositions and trade fairs, with a revitalized cityscape that completes The Banks project along Cincinnati’s riverfront.

“Though challenging at times, collaboration provided balance and clear direction during the design process," reflected graduate landscape architecture student Jonathan Stechschulte. Sam Bonnell-Kangas, a team member in the master of architecture program added: “My teammates brought perspectives and design approaches different than mine, showing the importance of topics I might have overlooked. By listening and working together we were able to create a well-rounded project.”

The EXPO Cincy team members were:

• Matthew Arnistine, MBA
• Sam Bonnell-Kangas, MArch
• Michael Schwartz, MArch
• Andrew Souders, MLA, MCRP
• Jon Stechschulte, MLA