USC Architectural Guild Charrette at AC Martin

AC Martin hosted the 2025 USC Architectural Guild Charrette at our Los Angeles office in the Wilshire Grand Center on Saturday, January 25, 2025.

The USC Architectural Guild Charrette is an intensive, juried design competition that challenges fourth-year, fifth-year, and graduate architecture students to apply their classroom knowledge in a real-world scenario. Over the course of a week, interdisciplinary teams from various design disciplines—such as Landscape Architecture, Heritage Conservation, Building Science, and Architecture—collaborate to develop innovative solutions based on a project brief.

 USC Students at AC Martin on Jury Day

This year’s charrette project brief was centered around the LA28 Olympic theme, “Creating What’s Next” and called for students to design a mass-timber constructed Olympic Pavilion to be situated in the Exposition Park / LA Memorial Coliseum site. In the wake of the devastating firestorms in Altadena and Pacific Palisades, it is more crucial than ever to consider the environmental and sustainability impacts of the built environment. By embracing the hope and pride inspired by the Olympics, the city can focus on sustainability, resilience, and groundbreaking environmental innovation on a global stage.

Danielle Martin Spicer, Principal at AC Martin and member of the USC Architectural Guild participated in the charrette and said, "Helping the Architecture, Building Sciences, and Landscape Architecture students at USC navigate the sustainable and socially responsible building technology that Mass Timber can provide to projects, while thinking about the upcoming stage that Los Angeles will be on for the 2028 Olympics was extremely satisfying. I can't wait to see these future thought leaders enter the practice, and make Los Angeles a resilient and inspirational city, that welcomes all ideas." 

 USC Students Collaborate at AC Martin on Jury Day

In just a few days the 14 teams of three students worked together to explore countless possibilities in an intensive charrette over countless possibilities and distill their creative output into a single idea. The competition not only fosters creativity and cross-disciplinary collaboration but also helps students refine their ability to articulate design concepts effectively, preparing them for future client interactions and professional success.

 USC Students Collaborate at USC prior to Jury Day 

Satoshi Teshima, Design Principal at AC Martin was a juror for the charrette and said “The teams’ sense of ownership and responsibility to represent the City of Los Angeles, the Olympic spirit, and desire for resilient sustainability culminated in a vast array of solutions that were highly inspirational. It was an honor and privilege to share thoughts and ideas with this incredibly talented group of future changemakers. The future is in good hands!”

 Jurors and Winning Students

Jurors:

• Ric Edwards - LA28, VP, Brand Design & Look of the Games / Executive Design Director
• Yo-Ichiro Hakomori - USC, Director of Global Studies; Professor of Practices
• Nina Mahjoub - Holmes Structural Engineering, Principal
• Satoshi Teshima - AC Martin, Design Principal

Sponsors:

• DCI Engineering: Salma Syed, Structural Project Manager, and Natasha Nazarian, Senior Structural Project Manager
• Timberlab: Gennelle Dedek, Project Manager
• AC Martin