Baker College of Flint graduate wins online design contest for Alaskan house

FLINT, Mich. – Joshua Steere, a 2012 Baker College of Flint graduate with a bachelor’s degree in architectural technology, won a contest for his design of an energy-efficient Alaskan home on Arcbazar.com, a crowd-sourcing, design website.

Steere received $1,200 and will potentially work with the owners of the 2.25-acre, Alaskan hillside lot.

This is the second architectural contest that the Grand Blanc resident has personally entered since graduation. He also led a team of students to enter an Arcbazar.com contest when he was design chair of the student architecture club, American Institute of Architecture for Students-Baker College of Flint (AIAS-BCF), while at Baker College.

Athanas Manyama, associate professor in the architectural technology program at Baker College, is not surprised about Steere’s recent success. “Joshua took advantage of every opportunity to learn from the local architects who taught his classes here at Baker College, and he was involved in many Flint community projects,” Manyama said. “He was the go-to guy to get things done.”

Manyama recognizes many of Steere’s personal design strengths and interests in the Arcbazar.com entry: creativity, sensitivity to the environment, selection of natural materials, incorporation of the building into the landscape and the professional presentation.

Steere credited his education at Baker for the training he needed to be successful. “I value my education at Baker College” Steere said. “Not only did I gain the knowledge and techniques to create designs, but my instructors were very inspiring, “ Steere recalled. “They gave me the tools, and it was up to me to take it to the next level.”

The owners praised Steere’s design in the evaluation: “A beautiful design that captures virtually all of the elements we were hoping for. It is compact, yet open, offers great public spaces as well as cozy nooks. It nestles nicely in the site, features natural, low-maintenance materials, maximizes solar gain and retention … and uses sustainable, natural materials.”

Steere’s design and other information about the contest is at Arcbazar.com, click Browse, then Residential Design.

For more information about Baker College of Flint’s bachelor’s degree in architectural technology and associate degree in architectural/construction technology, contact the admissions office at 810.766.4000 or jodi.cuneaz@baker.edu.

The largest private college in Michigan, Baker College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It is a nonprofit higher education institution, serving more than 35,000 students on 12 campuses and in three satellite locations. Baker grants certificates and associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business, health sciences, education and human services, and various technical fields, as well as a doctorate of business administration. As a career college, the Baker College system is pleased to report that 97 percent of its available graduates are employed. For more information about Baker College, please check out our website at www.baker.edu.