Student Architects Win Honors for Ecology Project

Competing against projects by some of the biggest-name architects in Los Angeles, an environmentally conscious--and consciousness-raising--trailer designed by Woodbury University students recently captured a prestigious architectural award.

The Mobile Eco Laboratory received an Honorable Mention from the American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles chapter, making it the first student effort to be recognized in this competition for Los Angeles architects. Led by their instructor, Jennifer Siegal, 15 fourth-year architecture students at the Burbank school last spring transformed an old trailer into a traveling classroom as part of their “Design/Build” course.

Students collaborated with the Hollywood Beautification Team to build a mobile classroom that will travel to L.A. schools, spreading the group’s message of protecting the environment. The beautification team gets to keep and use the Eco Lab.

“I wanted a project the students could build and also [from which] the community could receive a gift and get something from,” said Siegal, an assistant professor who runs her own architectural design firm in L.A.

Students added two steel platforms to the 8-by-35-foot trailer that can be extended for use as mini-stages. They also installed wood floors, into which they carved the message, “You are ecology,” with an accompanying leaf.

For a window, they wove strips of wood to create lighting effects inside the trailer. They also built a TV and VCR into the cabinetry.

The wood and steel used for the project came from recycled materials, Siegal said. For architecture students who don’t typically get to build the projects they design, the Eco Lab was a valuable assignment.

“It was just overwhelming,” said student Larry Cheung, 24. “At the beginning of the day, we’re tearing down something from the trailer, then we would see something else as a replacement. By the end of the day, something was different. We were amazed at what we had done.”

The Eco Lab’s first stop will be Le Conte Junior High School in Hollywood.