2018 AIA Film Challenge winners

The 2018 AIA Film Challenge invited architects and filmmakers to collaborate in telling stories of architects, civic leaders, and their communities working together toward positive community impact, creating a Blueprint for Better.

Participants produced, shot, and edited documentary-style short films showcasing their Blueprint for Better story to win cash and experiential prizes, distribution at film festivals, and exposure on AIA’s online channels, as well as partner film and architecture organizations.

A panel of judges made up of architects and film/media professionals selected the Grand Prize Winner, the Runner Up, and the Third Place Winner based on the films’ adherence to the prompt, storytelling arc, architectural placement, and technical merit. The judges and the AIA extend congratulations to the winning filmmakers and project teams.

Grand Prize - Past/Presence: Saving the Spring Garden School

The 2018 Grand Prize winner is "Past/Presence: Saving the Spring Garden School" by filmmaker Cheryl Hess. The film tells the story of Spring Garden School, a North Philadelphia school that sat abandoned for nearly 30 years before the Philadelphia Housing Authority, nonprofit Help USA, and architecture firm Kramer + Marks came together to convert the property into the Lural Lee Blevins Veterans Center, an affordable housing development for low-income senior citizens and homeless veterans.

Runner Up - A Joyful Gathering Place

The 2018 Runner Up is "A Joyful Gathering Place" by filmmaker Christopher Langer. The film illustrates the mission of architects at Robert P. Madison International to renovate and restore the historic Karamu House in Cleveland, Ohio, the oldest operating African American theatre in the United States.

Third Place - ChildSafe: Designed to Heal

The 2018 Third Place winner is "ChildSafe: Designed to Heal" by filmmaker Isaiah Redon. The film follows Overland Partners' development of a new campus for ChildSafe, a nonprofit organization that helps restore dignity, hope, and trust to children who have been traumatized by abuse and neglect in the San Antonio region, which continues to have the highest proportionate rate of confirmed child abuse cases of all major metropolitan cities in Texas.

People's Choice - Ka Hale: A Revival

The 2018 People's Choice award goes to "Ka Hale: A Revival," a short film by MarQ Morrison that highlights how architect Francis Palani Sinenci sparked the revival of ancient Hawaiian hale building in an effort to save indigenous cultural practices.