Growing a Culture of Design Excellence at UTSA
Three years ago, I pitched an idea to the Assistant Director of the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), John Bagarozy: What if we could introduce the AIA Framework for Design Excellence earlier—through an in-house design competition—before students were eligible for the national COTE Top Ten for Students?
That seed has grown into a recurring, student-centered competition that is shaping how future architects think about sustainability, equity, and impact. Now in its third year, the UTSA Student COTE Competition offers a replicable model for other schools to embed the framework into their studio curriculum.
What It Is
Each spring, second-year UTSA students participate in a local design competition based on the AIA Framework for Design Excellence. Students must explore at least three of the ten Framework measures—excluding Integration, which is treated as primary requirement. Many students go beyond the minimum.
We focus on second-year students because it's the right time: they’ve built up enough design and technical knowledge to engage deeper questions but are still early enough in their education to carry this mindset forward into every future project.
How It Works
At the semester’s start, I or another local professional give a lecture introducing the Framework. We hold two sessions to reach all studios and share only a link to the AIA Framework website—no heavy directives or deliverables. Students and faculty are simply asked to select three Framework measures and let those guide the design.
Mid-semester, I help bring in local AIA San Antonio COTE members and professionals for informal desk crits. Students get early feedback and the opportunity to meet professionals who integrate the framework into their work as well.
At semester’s end, each studio nominates one student to present to a jury of local professionals. This year, eight students were nominated, and three were selected as winners.
Finalists present a quick three-minute pitch again during a public event at AIA San Antonio or a local firm to share their design with the public. We then recognize the top three winners with certificates—and this year, $100 prizes made possible through AIA San Antonio COTE and Emerging Young Architects (EYA) support.
This year’s top three winners were Eddie Taylor, Ivana Escobedo, and Allison Hiseley. At the event, students also shared what they learned from the experience.
Taylor, one of the three winners, focused on Energy, Well-Being, and Water, and said: "The AIA Framework for Design Excellence (COTE) competition pushed me to think about architecture in ways I never had before… I incorporated known energy-saving methods like natural ventilation, solar panels, and water reuse, while also stepping out of my comfort zone to explore new ideas like water turbines powered by an aesthetic waterfall and a reverse osmosis subterranean water filtration system. This experience has shaped how I will approach every design moving forward. Architecture is evolving towards a more energy-efficient, conscious future, and I'm grateful for the foundation this competition has given me to be a part of that change. Thank you so much for this opportunity."
Why It Matters
This is more than a competition—it’s a launchpad. Students gain confidence, connect with practicing professionals, and learn to present ideas rooted in environmental and social values. It also builds relationships and career momentum beyond the classroom.
One surprising outcome after the first year was that students formed UTSA’s Student COTE chapter (COTES), which remains active. They host events, collaborate with local professionals, and support one another in pursuing credentials like the LEED Green Associate.
This year, several students from each studio have also registered for the national COTE Top Ten for Students (COTE-TT) competition, thanks in part to a newly created Foundation Category that supports early-year students, including those in community colleges.
Importantly, this initiative wouldn’t exist without supportive faculty like Bagarozy, Steven Cordero, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Second-Year Coordinator, and others who believed in embedding this work into studio culture.
Cordero said: ”Our UTSA School of Architecture + Planning Second Year Studios are thought of as a culmination of our Foundation... The Spring semester Design 4 Studios then dovetail with the ideas of The AIA COTE Top Ten for Students Competition. Folding in the design performance side with the design process has allowed students to think more innovatively about sustainability issues. As UTSA enters its’ 4th year in collaboration with Lake|Flato, the impact of sustainability and design performance on our students and the design professionals who regularly critique and mentor them will continue to grow.”
Looking Ahead
UTSA will continue this program, and we hope others will adapt and evolve it to fit their own context. I’m grateful to the professors who supported this from the beginning, to our local AIA COTE San Antonio community, and most of all, to the students who embraced the challenge and made it their own, and even started the COTE student group!
If you’re interested in starting something similar, feel free to reach out at ksector@lakeflato.com.
Kate Sector, WELL AP, Living Future Accredited, LEED Green Associate, Assoc. AIA, is Lake|Flato Architects’ Design Performance Manager. Kate leads firm-wide efforts to advance sustainable, healthy, high-performing architecture through project-specific goal setting, simulations, certifications, and post-occupancy evaluations. Kate is the former Chair of AIA San Antonio’s Committee on the Environment (COTE) and currently serves as Vice Chair of TxA COTE. In recognition of her leadership, she was named the 2024 Texas Society of Architects Associate of the Year and in 2023 received AIA San Antonio’s Rising Star Award.