A report led by Associate Professor Philip Stoker and alumna Alyssa Fink delivers the most comprehensive climate assessment of Tucson Unified School District’s 2024 operations to date. The study establishes a greenhouse gas baseline and outlines strategies to reduce emissions, energy use and costs, supporting the district’s sustainability goals. Sponsored by Jobs With Justice, the project also highlights the impact of student-led, community-based research.

Architecture Professor Teresa Rosano, Research Coordinator Greg Veitch, and their students won the 2026 ACSA Collaborative Practice Award for their “Tucson Hope Factory Micro Shelter Village” project. The studio partnered with the community to design and build micro-shelters, emphasizing equal collaboration between students and community members. This approach fostered student agency, teamwork, and meaningful impact. The project was praised for advancing inclusive, community-driven architecture. Rosano and Veitch will present the work at the ACSA conference in Chicago.

Students in CAPLA’s ARC 201 studio, guided by faculty including Christopher Domin and others, completed the "Gather Light" project focused on understanding and designing in harmony with the Sonoran Desert environment. Through observation, drawing, and modeling, students explored how light, nature, and architecture interact. Key activities involved studying desert plants, translating their forms into design systems, and developing canopies that filter light and enhance outdoor spaces. The project emphasized hands-on learning, teamwork, and iterative design using 2D and 3D representations to create thoughtful architectural interventions that respect and respond to the desert landscape.

Jesus Robles, an Assistant Professor of Practice and co-founder of the architecture studio DUST, was selected to showcase Tucson-inspired work at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, one of the world’s leading platforms for design innovation.

For the ARC 201 Design Studio, students worked on defining a shadow caster threshold in a publicly accessible space. The "Gather Light" project was led by professors Christopher Domin, Oscar Lopez, Stefan Mostert, Mike Silver, and Siri Trumble.

The architecture of Tucson's Museum of the All Souls Procession serves as a daily reminder of multicultural strength, bridging past and future. The museum's design embodies the procession, uniting history and modernity with weathered steel and wood, mirroring the cyclical renewal of tradition.

The architecture of The Temporal Passage responds to the site's volcanic conditions by being conceptually rooted in scale, time and the moving materials of our living earth in an attempt to convey the magnitude of these natural forces. It further explores the spatial and conceptual juxtapositions between the human-operated straight line and the ensured chaos of nature.

“For thousands of years, the beauty of the Sonoran Desert has invoked wonder among its human inhabitants,” says Hunter Lohse when introducing the Sonoran Soundscape project that he and fellow MLA students Alizabeth Potucek and Christian Galindo created with Assistant Music Professor Yuanyuan (Kay) Le for the UArizona Wonder House at South by Southwest in March.

The Apelido Theatre Company in the historic mining town of Bisbee, Arizona, is inspired by Brazil, where practitioners of Capoeira use their bodies to create artistic performances in displays of martial prowess, and from the lessons of historic designers whose work brought forth fresh ideas about performance, dwelling and presence.

The Agricultural Center at Mochik Ranch is predicated upon the concept of interdependence, which is a central tenet of Yoeme spirituality and culture. The project goal was to use architecture to facilitate agricultural production and cultural ownership through an interdependent deployment of climactic forces and culturally significant building materials.

Maggie Collopy's Root Down is a mixed-used building that accommodates institutional, educational, commercial and public uses. Located in the multicultural heart of Tucson, the project serves as a beacon for public integration and educational exposition, and an example of how buildings can be sustainable.

Kathy Le's Housing Project for Domestic Violence Survivors is a community designed for women and children victims of domestic violence. Le's main goals were to address and resolve issues with security, comfort and community, seeking not just to provide shelter but also to provide nurturing.