The James E. Gui '54 Design Competition was established in 1996 through gifts from James E. Gui (B Arch 1954). Knowlton School of Architecture students take two quarters of their senior year to develop a design project in competition with fellow classmates. The fourth year of the undergraduate program synthesizes the previous years' investigations of form, technique, materiality, and organization. Studios are advanced studies in contemporary architectural production and are supported by architecture seminars and university electives. Design projects are extra-large in scale, with hybrid programs on sites that straddle landscape and urbanism. The first quarter project is an extended investigation of housing with additional amenities on an exurban site. The second quarter features the Gui Competition, which entails an institutional program on an urban site. During the final quarter, students may join vertical studios, the Italy Study Abroad Program, or pursue an independent honors project.
