Gurusha Mengi’s Graduate Thesis Wins Two Awards at AIA East Bay
Restitching the Capital Edge wins the Honor Award in the Student Category and the People’s Choice Award.
Most stadiums sit apart from the city, surrounded by parking that stays empty most of the week. Gurusha Mengi’s graduate thesis at UC Berkeley asks what else a stadium could be. Restitching the Capital Edge: Reimagining the Anacostia Riverfront as a Mixed-Use Civic District proposes a new future for the former RFK Stadium site in Washington, D.C. In her project, the stadium becomes an urban room, connected to the neighborhoods around it and to a restored riverfront.
At the 2026 AIA East Bay Design Awards, the jury recognized the project with the Honor Award. The public chose it for the People’s Choice Award, a sign that the idea connects with people well beyond the profession.
We’re proud to have Gurusha on the team, and a few WRNSers were there to cheer her on at the David Brown Center.
Congratulations, Gurusha!
We look forward to what you do next.
View her submission: Restitching the Capital Edge
