Congratulations to nine Ball State Architecture and Master of Science in Historic Preservation students who earned FIRST PLACE in the 2026 Charles E. Peterson Prize for their measured drawings and documentation of the historic Silas Moffitt House in Carmel, Indiana.

Built in 1827, the Moffitt House is the second-oldest masonry house in Hamilton County. The project was completed primarily through ARCH 606 Documentation Studio, led by Jonathan Spodek, FAIA, FAPT, in partnership with Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation, which recently acquired the property as part of the expansion of Heritage Park along the White River.

The Charles E. Peterson Prize is a national student competition that honors the legacy of Charles E. Peterson, a founder of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). Now in its 43rd year, the competition promotes awareness of historic American buildings while adding measured drawings to the HABS/HAER/HALS collection at the Library of Congress. To date, student teams have contributed more than 7,300 sheets of drawings to the collection.

The Ball State team received the $10,000 first-place award, continuing ECAP’s tradition of excellence in historic preservation and documentation.

Student Team: Travis Clatterbuck, Lainey Decker, Nik Kruger, Ashton Locke, Claire Matney, Kelly Mesterharm, Emma Pearcy, Kayla Prince and Elizabeth Wickware

Faculty: Jonathan Spodek, FAIA, FAPT, professor of architecture

The Peterson Prize award ceremony was held on October 29 in Indianapolis as part of the 2026 Association for Preservation Technology International Conference.

Congratulations to our students and faculty on this outstanding national achievement!