Kean University School of Public Architecture Announces 2026 Innovation Awards

Kean University’s School of Public Architecture at Michael Graves College has announced the recipients of its 2026 student awards recognizing excellence in architectural design, research, technology, writing and public service.  

Now in its fifth year, the awards program highlights student achievement across undergraduate and graduate programs. The centerpiece is the Public Architecture Innovation Prize/Donald Rappaport Prize, which honors the most innovative and practical proposal integrating site context, public architecture and mixed-use design.  

The award was established through a generous contribution from the William and Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation in honor of Donald Rappaport, a New Jersey educator and the father of Kean faculty member Nina Rappaport. 

Graduate student Daniel Gutierrez received the $5,000 Public Architecture Innovation Prize/Donald Rappaport Prize for his Master of Architecture thesis, Housing without Erasure. The project was recognized for its thoughtful exploration of housing equity, site-specific design and the ethics of architectural intervention. 

At the undergraduate level, Taylor Jacobson and Nick Mancino each received $1,500 awards for outstanding design projects completed in the fourth-year Cohabitation Acts studio. Jacobson was honored for HydroDroplet Museum and Aquatic Center, while Mancino was recognized for Other Residents. 

Rida Sajjad received a $1,000 Undergraduate Development Award to support continued work on her project, Organic Waste to Mycelium Industry, during the summer. 

The Dean’s Award, which recognizes sustained academic excellence, was presented to graduate students Jake Haenggi, Alexa Acuna and Stephen Argant, and undergraduate student Karen Arroyo. 

A faculty jury also recognized student achievement in a range of academic and leadership categories: 

• Graduate Scholarship and Writing: Kamila Diaz Calderon and Emily Soden 
• Design Research — Undergraduate Representation: Edwin Hackett and Anthony Sorrentino 
• Design Research — Graduate Representation: Lauren Taravellas, for her thesis Beyond the Books and her super section drawn for the Graduate Complex Program Studio 
• Design Research — Graduate Building Technology: Vanessa Vallejo, for her thesis Banana Fiber Insulation 
• Michael Graves Rome Prize (undergraduate): Leilianni Hubbard, Datt Patel, and Bryan Yunga  
• Graduate Thesis — Best History/Theory Research and Analysis: Alexa Acuna, Behind the Counter: Domestic Architecture in Frame 
• Graduate Thesis — Best Project: Jaylene Rodriguez, Breaking Ground: Reclaiming Paterson Through Games of Civic Repair 
• Graduate Thesis — Best Applied Research: Cristian Caiza, Off the Shelf, Zero Waste 
• Graduate Thesis — Student Choice Award: Jake Haenggi, Instant Party 
• Undergraduate Public Service and Leadership: Peter Ezomo 
• Graduate Public Service and Leadership: Rasha Lababidi and Omosola Mustapha