Architecture alumna’s thesis reimagines urban design, wins thesis competition

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Makaila Haislip, a recent architecture graduate from the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School, was named the winner of the Department of Architecture’s 2026 Kossman Senior Design Award for her thesis project that rethinks how cities grow and who gets to shape their futures.

Titled “Staging Space,” Haislip’s thesis broadly focused on historically marginalized neighborhoods that are facing controversial visions for future development. Rather than approaching design as a process of replacement, she argued that architecture should “stage rather than replace” communities, which would allow residents to reinterpret and project their own futures.

In her project, Haislip proposed a new design methodology called “Dramaturgical Urbanism,” which treats neighborhoods not as blank slates for redevelopment or revival but as living stages where history and the community actively shape the future of the area.

Drawing from the Merriam-Webster definition of dramaturgy as “the art or technique of dramatic composition and theatrical representation,” Haislip expanded the concept into an urban framework. She translated Dramaturgical Urbanism as site-specific narratives into spatial interventions through systems of reading, notation and performative staging. In this context, history is not a fixed artifact — it becomes an active script.

The site for Haislip’s project was Sweet Auburn, a neighborhood rich in Black cultural history that has experienced the lasting effects of redlining and freeway development, in her hometown of Atlanta.

Growing up in the area, she witnessed firsthand how highway infrastructure shaped communities. Her lived experience, combined with research into the city’s development patterns, informed her decision to base her thesis in her hometown.

“As designers, we hold the ability to spark change at multiple scales, and I have always viewed my thesis as an opportunity to initiate meaningful conversation,” Haislip said.

As a Black female designer, she also said she felt a responsibility to create work that advocates for and honors the cultural legacy of communities that made her own opportunities possible.

Inspired by scenography and set design, Haislip explored how theatrical thinking can shape spatial experiences. She was also influenced by the work of landscape architect Walter J. Hood, which enabled her to look beyond architecture and consider how landscape, art and storytelling can collectively shape the cultural fabric of a city.

She developed her thesis through extensive research into architectural theory, site history and current development efforts in the neighborhood. She balanced her research with iterative design work, supported by faculty advisers Peter Aeschbacher and Rebecca Henn, whose mentorship she described as invaluable.

Beyond her thesis, Haislip said she hopes her work demonstrates the importance of interdisciplinary thinking and diverse perspectives in architecture and urban design.

“I hope this project emphasizes the importance of diverse perspectives within architecture and urban design, recognizing that thoughtful and inclusive design decisions require the representation, acknowledgment and advocacy of a wide range of communities and lived experiences,” she said.

As for being recognized with the Kossman Prize, she said it is an honor and the culmination of five years of learning and growth at Penn State.

“I could never have anticipated, as a first-year student, ending my undergraduate career with such an honor and recognition,” she said. “It is the experiences and people I have encountered along my journey at Penn State that have ultimately led me to where I am today.”

Now a graduate, Haislip will return to Atlanta to join Silver Studio Architects. There, she plans to continue designing in ways that contribute meaningfully to the city’s cultural and urban fabric — ensuring that, like the neighborhoods she studies, its future remains a story written with, not for, its communities.

The jury for this year’s Kossman competition comprised Thomas J. Morton, a faculty member in the Department of History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh; Nida Rehman, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University; Justin Julius, a Penn State alum who is now a partner at RLPS Architects; Jackie Zheng, last year’s Kossman award winner who is now an architectural designer at LSM; and Alex Donahue, a Penn State alum who is the director of planning at Michael Graves.

According to the jury statement, “Makaila Haislip had the most complete thesis, from her foundational research question to its resolution; her methodology was built on existing scholarship (e.g., Erving Goffman's dramaturgical analysis, among others), yet her approach featured elements uniquely her own. The committee was impressed with her ability to curate the story of her project through the careful selection of process diagrams and imagery.”

The annual Kossman Design Thesis Award is presented to the most deserving fifth-year student in the professional bachelor of architecture program for excellence in design based on their senior thesis, as recommended by the faculty and the jury to the head of the Department of Architecture.

Named for 1949 Penn State architectural engineering alumnus Paul Kossman, the thesis competition began in 1990 and has since become a coveted award among fifth-year architecture students.

Recent alumnus Andrew Petras was named the recipient of the James Wines Provocateur Prize, which recognizes student thesis work that takes risks, shows courage and challenges the status quo — all essential design attributes for a future design thinker and maker graduating with a professional degree in architecture. Special consideration is given to work with exceptional wit, storytelling, irony, social commentary and subversion of cliches.