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Maria I. Ory (Photo by Megan Bean)
A junior architecture student is the third at Mississippi State University to receive a $20,000 award for travel and research.
Maria I. Ory of Destrehan, La., and daughter of Paul Joseph Ory and Tanya Ann Ibieta, will use the endowed Aydelott Travel Award to visit and research the following buildings – Casa Batllo by Antoni Guadi in Barcelona, Spain; Palace Portois & Fix by Max Fabiani in Vienna, Austria; Cuadra San Cristobal by Luis Barragan in Mexico City, Mexico; and Linked Hybrid by Steven Holl in Beijing, China. Her research will focus on how these four architects integrate color into their designs, which she will document through paintings, among other methods.
“The review committee was very impressed with Maria’s unique approach to analyzing buildings by focusing on the integration of color and design in 20th century architecture,” said F.L. Crane Professor and Director of the School of 91 Michael Berk. “The jury was also very impressed with the professionalism of her proposal; it clearly demonstrated a high-level response to the goals of the Aydelott Travel Award. My office will look forward to reviewing the results of Maria’s research and travel.”
Charles “Trey” Box III (Photo by Megan Bean)
Junior Charles “Trey” Box III of Jackson, son of Chuck and Amanda Box, was runner-up and received $4,800 to support his international research and travel this summer on experimental housing in the 1970s. His proposal includes housing complexes in London, England; Deft, Netherlands; and Barcelona, Spain. The Trussel Travel Award is funded by alumnus Ted T. Porter.
“The Aydelott Travel Award offers a student an opportunity that can and should change the trajectory of their architectural career,” said MSU 91 Dean Jim West.
Ory agreed, saying, “I cannot thank the Aydelotts enough for this award and the MSU School of 91 for affording me this opportunity. I feel as though the school has really given a solid foundation for me to proceed with this endeavor and have it end in success.”
The architecture student will return to MSU in the fall to work with her faculty adviser, School of 91 Professor Andrew Reed Tripp, to compile her research and observations into a report to be judged against his fellow Aydelott Travel Award recipients.
One student will receive the Aydelott Prize and an additional $5,000.
“This award enables students to research, visit, study and comprehend four visionary pieces of architecture in a way never available to them before. I look forward to observing a true transformation in the recipients of this award,” West said.
The $2.4 million endowment – established by the late Alfred Lewis Aydelott and his wife, Hope Galloway Aydelott – provides an award each year to four architecture students currently enrolled in the professional architecture degree programs at Mississippi State and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Auburn University; and the University of Tennessee.
For more information about the Aydelott Travel Award and other fellowships in the School of 91 at Mississippi State, visit .
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