M2L Associates was recognized Nov. 4 at the AIA Houston Annual Meeting at Architecture Center Houston with one of four Presidential Citations for the firm’s long-term support of AIA Houston and its outreach efforts.
AIA Houston has been the force behind one of Galveston’s most popular annual events, the AIA Sandcastle Competition, which brings together greater Houston’s architecture and design community to put its talents on display on the beach, creating masterpieces made of sand and water instead of brick and mortar. In 2023 the event expanded to a second day, added music to the lineup and became known as the Galveston Sandcastle Festival.
Each year approximately 10% of the total proceeds go to the Houston Architecture Foundation (ArCH), which provides essential funding for public programming such as exhibits, youth outreach, facility tours, the annual Gingerbread Build-Off, and much more.
Beginning in 2010 M2L has supported AIA Houston and the sandcastle event, working with project partners on sandcastle builds and more recently as a corporate Gold Bucket sponsor, arriving two days early to set up and stake the beach site prior to the big event.
“Every year we close our office to take the team down to East Beach to set up for the build,” said M2L Principal Lynn Mauer. “We prep the team with a nice dinner and trivia game in Galveston the night before beach staking. Staking is a precise process and the day always seems to have a twist of nature thrown in, but it’s so much fun to work on the beach as a team with AIA Houston staff and volunteers.”
It’s also an essential, behind-the-scenes support activity that helps the build event go smoothly on Saturday. This year one of M2L’s long-time partner–collaborators, PGAL (along with Manhattan Construction Group) took top honors among the 25 teams competing at the 38th Annual Sandcastle Competition Sept. 13. According to PGAL, the team’s entry, “Shrek Island,” combined the humor of Shrek with the drama of Love Island to earn the coveted Gold Bucket Award for creativity, craftsmanship and storytelling.
M2L’s support goes beyond prepping for the build. Landscape architect Malinali Jimenez, an M2L associate, serves on the organizing committee, whose work putting on such a large event takes most of the year. “When I moved to Houston to join M2L, I wanted to get involved with organizations and events that would introduce me to unique and fun aspects of life in my new city,” she said. “I love how working with AIA Houston has given me a front-row seat to this one-of-a-kind festival in Galveston while getting to know some of the most creative and talented people in our industry.”
Photo caption (left to right): AIA Houston President Ricardo Martinez, M2L Principal Lynn Mauer, M2L Principal Michael Mauer, M2L Principal Karen Rogers.
Check out this year’s winners and keep an eye on next year’s event