Posted on August 28, 2026 by Klesse College Staff

Conversations with SA+P School Director Michelangelo Sabatino, PhD
Veloris Marshall

On July 28th Veloris Marshall (BS Arch ‘26) received the AIA San Antonio 2026 Student Design for his Carve-Canopy project he completed for a studio this past spring with Professors Tamra Collins and Scott Carpent. This new series (SA+P Studio Brief) is a new series with which we celebrate the achievements of our students and alumni.

Studio Brief

This advanced architectural design studio challenged students to conceive an international youth hostel as both a civic catalyst and an architectural ambassador for San Antonio, cultivating a global citizen-architect perspective through research into travel, cultural exchange, international precedents, and the social mission of hosteling. Grounded in the city’s historic neighborhoods, evolving urban corridors, climate, material culture, and diverse communities, the project employed place-based education by treating San Antonio as a living laboratory in which students could directly investigate the relationships among architecture, memory, identity, tourism, and contemporary urban life (Professors Tamra Collins and Scott Carpenter)  
 the Carve Canopy hostel project showing a skateboarder

Questions with Veloris: 

Courtyard view of the Carve Canopy project

1. Please describe how you became interested in architecture and your personal journey before and during your time at UTSA:

I originally went to school in Florida for Aerospace Engineering, but after moving back to Texas and taking architecture classes at San Antonio College, I realized I had found what I truly loved. That passion led me to UTSA, where I grew into the designer I am today.

Study model for Carve Canopy showing a porch-inspired timber structure that explores the transition between built and unbuilt space through light, shadow, and landscape.

2. Please discuss the tenets of the studio (the role that the vernacular porch plays in the day-to-day experience of architecture):

My senior studio taught me that some of the most meaningful architecture comes from the simplest spaces. A porch isn't just an architectural element—it's where a transitional space mends the built and unbuilt, connects communities with each other, and allows experiences to be made under the implied spaces of a building.

Site plan of the Carve Canopy youth hostel proposal, showing the porch-inspired building arrangement, public gathering spaces, and landscape connections that link the project to San Antonio's urban fabric and community.

3. Please describe your future plans and aspirations as you start a new journey:

I'm excited to start my career at RVK Architecture, keep learning from the people around me, and continue designing spaces that are thoughtful, welcoming, and built to last.

Rendering of the Carve Canopy youth hostel showing a welcoming courtyard where timber porch structures, landscaped pathways, and gathering spaces encourage movement, collaboration, and community connection.
— Klesse College Staff