Celebrating a legacy: Architecture students compete in 35th annual Walk on Water

For more than three decades, FIU's iconic Walk on Water event has brought together the Panther community to cheer for students as they go up against the ultimate challenge: To walk across the lake behind the Steven and Dorothea Green Library at MMC wearing jumbo-sized, water-resistant "shoes" they constructed themselves.

Will their shoe designs carry them across the lake or will they take a dunk in the water? The suspense brings people to the event year after year. 

This week, hundreds of students, faculty, staff, supporters and members of the media gathered on Nov. 7 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the highly-anticipated event. They watched eagerly as 52 teams of architecture students raced to the finish line, all in pursuit of good grades, bragging rights — and a $1,000 grand prize. This year Juan Goya and David Mora (whose team name is "The Bullet Bills") secured the win with a finish time of 59.60 seconds.

"Winning feels surreal right now. I can’t believe I won," said Goya, a second-year architecture student. "I feel so happy. I didn’t think I’d get this far, but thank you so much to [my teammate], David.”

Mora said all the hard work paid off with a victory. "It feels great! Juan and I worked really hard throughout the entire semester," he said. "We poured a lot of sweat, tears and effort into this. We’re proud of the position we got.”

The race is always a fun, high-energy affair, but the real magic of the event lies behind-the-scenes during the design process. Students sketch and construct shoes made to endure the 232-foot-wide lake.

This wasn’t just a test of durability. It was a challenge of functionality and water resistance. Born from the materials and methods course, the race allows students to bring their designs to life, practice and compete for the prize, as well as receive a passing grade for the course.

Sketching is a foundational aspect of the design process, guiding each competitor through problem-solving stages. Without effective sketching, students may struggle to create secure, functional shoes, making it challenging to test their durability and, ultimately, limiting their chances. Freshmen architecture students (who will be taking to the lake next year) sketch the event as part of their coursework — and prepare for the future.

"Last year, I remember watching, feeling a bit nervous and scared, wondering if I could do it," Mora said. "But after Juan and I teamed up, we knew that if we put all our effort into it, we could accomplish it—and here we are."

This year's event offered even more excitement as Jaime Canaves, professor of architecture and the founder of Walk on Water, was honored by Congressman Carlos Giménez, U.S. representative for Florida’s 28^th Congressional District. Walk on Water was entered into the Congressional Record, recognizing the impact this tradition has had not only on FIU architecture students, but also on the wider community.

"Today’s race was as good as it gets—a beautiful day!" said Canaves. "I now have a Congressional Record for the Walk on Water event [as recognized in Congress]. Congressman Carlos Giménez and the students did a phenomenal job. I’m very proud of them, and we had a great time."

Above all, the race highlighted the equal importance of research, theory and application.

“FIU CARTA emphasizes our students ‘learn by doing,” said Brian Schriner, dean of the College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts (CARTA). “Walk on Water is a wonderful example of the many ways we achieve that goal. It’s truly another example of CARTA creative forces at work.”         

Goya and Mora proved that with great design and plenty of practice, walking on water is possible...as long as you have the right shoes.