Photo by Kaydence Wilkinson

Carefully balancing one piece of paper over another, junior Ryder Wilkinson builds a paper tower with his team at the Architecture Club’s second meeting. Ryder said he was interested in architecture in the past, but the Architecture Club allowed him to get back into it and learn new things. “I [won] one of the competitions, the first one that we had,” Wilkinson said. “[In the second competition] we lost [because] we could not build a tall enough tower that could withstand the blow of a powerful fan, [but] I still had fun because I was with my friends.”

After hours of sketching, days of carefully choosing supplies and months of arranging materials piece by piece, a building is complete. The moment a blueprint becomes a building, an architect’s job is done and they have created something they will be proud of forever.

To provide opportunities for students to learn more about architecture and the steps required to build a model, juniors Mateo Guerrero and Chance Meyer recently started the Architecture Club. Guerrero said that one of the reasons he started the club is because he hopes to work in architecture one day.

“Since I was a little kid, I’ve been telling my parents I wanted to be an architect,” Guerrero said. “My dream is to one day make a beautiful building. I want to see it when I’m going to work, or I’m going downtown, or wherever, and I hope to bring beauty to the world through architecture.”

Chemistry teacher Lauren Buntin is the sponsor for the Architecture Club.

“When some of my former students approached me about potentially sponsoring their club, I could tell it was something they were excited about and had put a lot of thought into,” Buntin said. “I was happy to support them and help them pursue things they are passionate about.”

So far, the architecture club has had two meetings on Jan. 29 and Feb. 5. Going forward, they will meet every other Tuesday in Ms. Buntin’s room, number 5001.

“Our first meeting was a really good success,” Meyer said. “I think everyone was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the meeting was [and] they were surprised by how much planning we put into [it].”

Guerrero said one of the most important parts of being an architect is learning how to collaborate with others and they were able to recreate that aspect of teamwork in the first meeting. In groups of four, students worked together to build the tallest tower using only 20 pieces of paper and tape.

“[In] each group, [students] collaborated on [the tower], which is a big part of what somebody would do as an architect,” Guerrero said. “Even if they’re not collaborating with other architects, [they may be] collaborating with a construction planner, an interior designer [or a] structural engineer, so we think it’s very important to teach collaboration.”

There is no architecture class available for students at Cedar Park High School, so if students are interested in architecture, their only option is to take the district architecture class at Leander High School. Meyer said he hopes to bring architecture to students who aren’t able to dual-campus at Leander.

“Someone who has never done architecture and just joined the club for fun might [think architecture is] what [they] want to do,” Meyer said. “Especially for those freshmen and sophomores who still haven’t decided what they want to do for college, [the Architecture Club] may be the only opportunity they have to experience architecture.”

The Architecture Club is not only for people who want to be architects; it can be beneficial to everyone, according to Meyer.

“I think even if you don’t do architecture [as a career], the knowledge from joining architecture club will help you in some sort of way down the road,” Meyer said. “You develop a taste, a style, so when you’re looking at houses [in the future], you know what looks good for you rather than if you looked at a house with no sense of architecture, design [or] history.”

Throughout the rest of the semester, members of the Architecture Club will focus on creating a small [building] model of their own. According to Meyer, an architectural model can take six months to a year to build and students should attend as many meetings as they can to finish their model within the semester.

“I want our members to be involved in Architecture Club; I don’t want them to show up just for the competitions [or] just for their friends,” Meyer said. “I want them to [attend] and enjoy architecture, or at least start to enjoy architecture, and that includes making a model. I want them to have the interest in building a model [and] have the dedication to finish building that model.”

After building interest in architecture, Guerrero and Meyer said there is a possibility of an architecture class being implemented at the school in the future to provide more opportunities for students.

“My hope is that whenever we have enough people joining the architecture club, an architecture class will be started at Cedar Park,” Guerrero said. “I’m also hoping that regardless of whether a class opens next year, we’ll be able to join a design competition and compete with one of our designs. Win or lose, I think that it’ll be a great experience to participate [in the club].”

According to Buntin, the Architecture Club is a good place for students to gain skills and learn more about architecture.

“This club can positively impact our school and our students because there aren’t any other clubs or classes available at CPHS for students interested in architecture,” Buntin said. “I think it’s so important to give students opportunities and the information they need as they consider future careers, and I think this club will definitely accomplish that.”