by Chi Nguyen, Assoc. AIA, EPN Director

2022 was a big year for the Emerging Professionals Network. We launched new programs and improved our study materials library for our aspiring professionals. We also began building connections with local high schools and universities. The final piece was to relaunch the EPN’s largest event of the year, the Design Charrette.  After a 2 year hiatus, we successfully hosted the competition on Sunday, November 13th at Kestrel Coffee Roasters in Burlington!

This year we allowed teams of up to three members to compete. Participants were tasked with reimagining the former Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception located in the heart of downtown Burlington. Even with an extra team member compared to previous events, the three-hour work block seemed to fly by. As we counted down the minutes you could feel the pace picking up in a race to beat the clock.  

We had an incredible panel of judges consisting of Devin Coleman, the State Architectural Historian, Bren Alvarez of SAS Architects, Cam Featherstonhaugh and Josh Chafe of TruexCullens (also past winners), and Josh Crandall of Freeman French Freeman. Teams briefly presented their projects and allowed for a few questions from the crowd. Everyone had amazing ideas which made it quite difficult for the jury to deliberate. In the end, “Team Tugboat”, including Eli Maroscher from Duncan Wisniewski and Alex Terry & Vanille Fricker from Elizabeth Herrmann Architecture + Design took first place, with “Team Clueless” made up of Nichole Thibealt from E4H Architecture and James Mitchell from VTC coming in a close second. The winning design presented us with a year-round farmers market while the second-place design was for a civic center for the arts. 

By the end of the day, the participants were still buzzing and already talking about the next design charrette. We couldn’t have had such a big comeback without the support and encouragement from our sponsors. 

Thank you, Sponsors! 

Scott + Partners Architecture, Guillot-Vivian-Viehmann Architects, Weimann Lamphere Architects, Freeman French Freeman, Engineering Ventures, Neagly & Chase Construction, Efficiency Vermont, Passive House, J.H. Pokorny Associates, and Pella Windows.