Vectorworks has revealed the winners of this year’s Vectorworks Design Scholarship, naming Brenda Vaca Michan as the Richard Diehl Award winner. With over 1,000 submissions, scholarships were awarded to 21 students for 18 projects in the architecture, interior design, landscape and entertainment industries.
The winning Richard Diehl submission “Venus” by Vaca Michan is a lighting design project for the 19th-century play written by Suzan-Lori Parks and directed by Mike Payette at the National Theater School of Canada. Vaca Michan utilised Vectorworks Spotlight for the lighting design to maintain consistency.
“Brenda’s project description communicated the long and complicated journey of the main character and how she resonated with the plot,” said Len Levine, Lighting Designer, International Cinema Lighting Society member and one of this year’s Scholarship judges. “Secondly, she perfectly used light to create different moments as the set piece remained the same throughout while trying to maintain a cohesive look for the show. Finally, her clear documentation in the overhead and deck plots made the show straightforward to rigging.”
“Vectorworks has allowed me to understand space and light as an imperfect language,” said Vaca Michan. “I’m extremely appreciative of this award as it signifies strength to my thoughts, voice and creation.”
Entertainment Winners:
- “(Mourning) Star” by Xotchil Musser, Carnegie Mellon University
- “The Gemstone Forum – Marc Palladis” by Jakob Grimm, Central Hesse University of Applied Sciences
- “Urban Sprawl” by Enza Kim, University of the Arts London.
- “Venus” by Brenda Vaca Michan, National Theater School of Canada
Winners received the equivalent of up to USD 3,000 in their local currency. As the Richard Diehl Award winner, Vaca Michan received an additional prize package, including the equivalent of USD 7,000 in local currency and professional networking opportunities. Winners’ schools will also receive free Vectorworks Design Suite software and free virtual workshop training for faculty and students.
