Awards & Honors

SSA places 2nd in 2025 Concrete Masonry Student Competition

09. 16. 2025
  • Illustration of a fire station's exterior. The building has a modern, textured brick facade with large arched windows and doors. A fire truck is parked in front, and a firefighter stands near one of the arched doorways.

  • Architectural presentation board. The top half is an illustration of the fire station's street-facing facade, showing a fire truck parked outside the arched garage doors. The bottom half is a site map of the surrounding neighborhood with callouts highlighting local businesses and community goals.

  • Illustration of a community marketplace courtyard. The space features large pillars and arches made of light-colored, textured blocks. People are sitting on benches and planters, and there are small vendor stalls visible in the background.

  • Architectural presentation board showing various design elements. The top of the image shows a site plan and a 3D rendering of the building's modules. The middle section shows technical drawings of CMU blocks and arched roof systems. The bottom shows a rendering of the interior courtyard with people and market stalls.

We are proud to announce that Rafah Alzindani B Arch  ’28 and Era Hulaj B Arch  ’28 have won second place in the prestigious 2025 Concrete Masonry Student Competition. Their winning project, East Harlem Fire Station & Local Marketplace, was sponsored by Prof. Suzan Wines and was recognized for its outstanding design and community-focused approach.

Hosted by the Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association (CMHA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the national competition challenged students to design a fire station using concrete masonry as the main material while incorporating elements that promote local civic engagement.

The winning design by Alzindani and Hulaj stood out for its innovative concept, reimagining a fire station as a multifunctional civic hub. The project skillfully combines essential emergency services with a lively, permanent outdoor market, directly supporting East Harlem’s small business community. The jury praised the students’ creative use of concrete masonry units (CMU), especially their innovative arched vaults, which function as both a structural element and a unifying design feature.

For more information, please visit Winners of the 2025 Concrete Masonry Competition.

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