What do you get when you bring 24 top university students together and give them 48 hours to complete a design project? In a word, magic!
2023 PROJECT PRECAST DESIGN COMPETITION DRAWS TOP UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
THE PROJECT: Design an In-Reach Community Center in Franklinton, Ohio
CHICAGO, March 15, 2023 --- Only the 4th year for the innovative Project Precast design competition and it continues to exceed all expectations. This year, more students, more sponsors, more presentation attendees and more interest in precast.
The 2023 project: use precast to build a community in-reach center to serve the needs of a regentrifying and historic community. Given just 48 hours to create the design, teams from universities across the US, met for the first time in Colombus, Ohio at the 2023 Precast Show.
With a total of 6 teams, four students on each team, from architecture, engineering and construction management and coaches from the industry’s top precast producers and suppliers, the clock began.
What was at stake? Resume’ bragging rights and prize money. The Overall Prize-winning team got $4,000, the People’s Choice team award was $2,000 and a new award for one individual, called the WOW Award was $500. Students were chosen by applications and a draft selection process, all their expenses were paid to come to Columbus where they also visited the Franklinton site, participated in industry events and experienced the trade show floor.
“The students had no idea what their project was, nor had they ever met the industry mentors or other members of their teams before they arrived in Columbus,” said Marty McIntyre, Chicago-based executive director of the PCI Foundation and creator of the competition. “This competition is exceeding all our expectations,” said McIntyre.
Beyond the 48 hours to research and design the in-reach project, students were also expected to complete a one-page summary, prepare a 15- minute PowerPoint presentation, go through a brief presentation training and present their final design to an audience of more than 130 who filled the meeting room on Friday afternoon of the show.
The overall sponsor was SIKA with Paul Ramsburg involved as the supplier expert, moderator and a member of the jury.
Photo
clockwise: a jury of community and industry leaders chose the Overall Award-winner: Paul Ramsburg with SIKA, Marty McIntyre PCI Foundation, Tim Hawk, WSA Studio FAIA, Ashley Montana from the Franklinton Development Association, Bob Mills with Hamilton Form Company and Carlos Barrios Kleiss, PhD, Clemson University.
The People’s Choice Award was selected by the presentation audience and the WOW Award was chosen by the Foundation.
Hamilton Form Company sponsored the $2,000 prize for the People’s Choice Award, presenting below is Hamilton Form Company President Peter Ollmann.
“The 2023 winners of the People’s Choice Award not only impressed the audience with their design incorporating architecture, engineering and construction management, but with their collective presentation skills. Humor had an impact on the choice of this year’s winners, Team Wells.” explained Ollmann.
The WOW Award is brand new to Project Precast and is given to the student who stands out on an individual basis. This year’s inaugural award recipient was architecture major, Chase Rogers, Kennesaw State University.
In photo above, Marty McIntyre presents the check for $500 to Chase Rogers, Kennesaw State University. Paul Ramsburg, SIKA is on the right.
Photo above: Team Metromont won the Overall Prize for best project design and the team received a $4000 check, representing $1000 for each student.
l to r: Marty McIntyre, Executive Director of the PCI Foundation, Brady Andrus, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Kennesaw State University, Ajay Baniya, University of Delaware, Ethan Lowndes, Washington University in St. Louis and Paul Ramsburg with SIKA.
Student members and sponsors of the 6 teams included:
TEAM CEG – Consulting Engineers Group
Paul Acuna, North Carolina State University, Engineering
Sean Rancapan, NJIT, Concrete Industry Management
Dominique Wiktorowski, NJIT, Architecture
Maya Yildirim, Washington University in St. Louis, Architecture
TEAM CLARK PACIFIC
Sierra Chacon, Cal Poly Pomona, Architecture
Brian Kilgore, Sacramento State, Engineering
Austin Jared Torralba, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Architecture
Maria Wagner, NJIT, Concrete Industry Management
TEAM CORESLAB
Meilinda Dawmawan, Cal Poly Pomona, Architecture
Diego Gonzalez, Cal Poly Pomona, Architecture
Jonathan Orton, Brigham Young University, Engineering
Fernando Gonzalez, Sacramento State, Construction Management
TEAM METROMONT (First Prize winners of $4,000)
Ajay Baniya, University of Delaware, Engineering
Brady Andrus, Minnesota State University Mankato, Construction Management
Ethan Lowndes, Washington University in St. Louis, Architecture
Elizabeth Rodriguez, Kennesaw State University, Architecture
TEAM TINDALL
Robert Mazzilli, NJIT, Concrete Industry Management
Karly Savinon, NJIT, Architecture
Eman Abdullah, North Carolina State University, Engineering
Chase Rogers, Kennesaw State University, Architecture (Winner of $500 WOW award)
TEAM WELLS (Winners of $2,000 People’s Choice Award)
Kenny J. Olsen, University of Delaware, Engineering
Armin Saadegh-Vaziri, NJIT, Concrete Industry Management
Bailey Kijek, Kennesaw State University, Architecture
Luke Duarte-Silva Barry, UC Denver, Architecture
SIKA USA was the sponsor of Project Precast Design Competition 2023
Next year the PCI Convention “The Precast Show” and Project Precast 2024, will be held in Denver, February 6-9, 2024. Details will be posted at www.pci-foundation.org.
Student applications for Project Precast 2024 can be found here: https://www.pci-foundation.org/students
ABOUT THE PCI FOUNDATION
The PCI Foundation is the educational entity that supports the Precast/Prestressed Concrete industry. The mission of the PCI Foundation is to foster educational and research initiatives focused on innovative approaches to the integrated and sustainable use of precast concrete design, fabrication, and construction. It is a charitable 501(c) 3 corporation, based in Chicago, which supports the inclusion of precast concrete programs at accredited college and universities. To learn more, visit the PCI Foundation website at PCI-Foundation.org.
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