ASU Sigmon Design Competition 2013

Words: Lynn NashSeniors Ryan Stell, second from left, and Michael (Tony) Washington, third from left, are the winners of the second annual Appalachian State University NCMCA Sigmon Memorial Design Competition held in Boone in March. Stell and Washington will share a semester's tuition as their prize.

Twelve teams participated in the competition to design and model a hypothetical masonry in-fill building section as a graded assignment in the ASU Senior Architectural Design Studio II class.

Pictured above from left to right, David Jason Miller, ASU Assistant Professor of Building Science; Stell and Washington; Past NCMCA President Doug Burton, Chairman of the Sigmon Design Competition, who served as judge for the completion; and Jeff Tiller, PE, Chairman, ASU Department of Technology and Environmental Design.

ASU Professor Lee Ball and former architecture student Miles Smith joined Burton in judging the projects.

The Sigmon Memorial Scholarship Design Competition, now at ASU and at NC State University, is named in memory of brothers Dwyane and David Sigmon, and Dwayne’s son Randy.
Beyond the Block: Aesthetic Innovations in CMU Construction
August 2026

Concrete masonry units (CMUs) have long been a mainstay of construction. They are well known as a “tried and true” material with a long history of high-strength structural performance, affordability, ease of assembly, and a long lifecycle. CMU constructio

The Most Overlooked Profit Center on Your Job Site
August 2026

The real cost of equipment ownership isn't what you pay on day one. It's what happens over the years that follow. The purchase price of a new mortar mixer, grout pump, material handling system, or masonry saw is only part of the investment. What happens

Installation Starts Before the First Course
August 2026

Some of the most expensive masonry installation problems begin long before crews arrive onsite. By the time a project reaches the field, many coordination decisions have already been made. Dimensional conflicts, congested reinforcement, specialty materia

Designing for Performance: Key Considerations for Efficient, Durable Masonry Projects
August 2026

A successful masonry project starts well before the first stone is set. The craftsmanship on site matters, of course, but many of the decisions that shape the final result are made much earlier—during design, detailing, and material selection. Those choic