Two Mississippi State University architecture teams were recognized by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture based in Washington D.C. for their work in building and design.
One team consisting of members from the College of Architecture, Art and Design and the MSU Extension Service was presented with the 2014-15 Collaborative Practice Award for the Green Roof Demonstration Pavilion at the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum located in Starkville. 
Cory Gallo, professor of landscape architecture and first faculty member to get involved with the project, said the award affects more than architecture departments.
“This is a collaborative award for different disciplines working together on a site,” Gallo said. “Landscape architecture, graphic design, building construction science, landscape contracting and art were all involved.”
Betsy Longest, volunteer at the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum, said the green roof, built from a structure donated by a local gas station, is maintained by an impressive system.
“We had a drainage problem under this building,” Longest said. “So we contacted the landscape architecture department, and they started out by finding a way to use a dry gully and a sand filter to drain the stuff away and it fills up a cistern. When the cistern fills up, that water is used to water the roof.”
Faculty members being honored by the Collaborative Practice award include Cory Gallo, associate professor of architecture; Hans C. Herrmann, assistant professor of art; Suzanne Powney, assistant clinical professor of architecture; Justin Taylor, extension associate in landscape architecture; Brian Templeton and associate extension professor Wayne Wilkerson. 
A second MSU architecture group was honored with the 2014-15 ACSA Design Build Honorable Mention for supervising the project to build public transit shelters developed by a team of students for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in Philadelphia. This award was given on the basis of  curricula-based design-build projects that include a variety of efforts, scope, scale and setting, but at their core they present constructions that show design learning outcomes from start to completion.
Along with Herrmann, faculty honored with the Design Build award included assistant professors of architecture, Emily M. McGlohn and Alexis Gregory; assistant professor Tom Lethem and lecturer Lee Carson of the college’s building construction science program. 
Herrmann, who played a part in the development of both awarded projects, said it all comes down to promoting the students and their education. 
“While we are extremely excited about the various programs being recognized, we are most excited that our students’ learning and research efforts have been validated nationally,” Herrmann said. “The collaborative educational models we have developed are putting our students at the forefront of professional education through carefully designed and executed applied research and scholarship.”