ACE Crowns Building Winners

A program that strives to close the labor gap in architecture, construction and engineering, recognizes excellence in the emerging generation. By Silvia Lattoz

As part of the NKBA’s efforts to spotlight and help remedy the shortage of skilled labor in the design and construction trades, the association participated in the ACE Mentor Program of America Board of Directors meeting and 12^thAnnual CIRT (Construction Industry Round Table) Design & Construction Competition, held in Washington on April 30.

This is NKBA’s second year on ACE National’s Advisory Council.

Among the highlights of the day, Toronto-based construction software company CMiC, an ACE Mentor Program national sponsor, revealed a pledge of $10 million (USD) to advance the construction industry in memory of its founder, Allen S. Berg. An initial $3 million grant established the CMiC-Allen Berg Memorial Scholarship Awards, administered through ACE (which stands for Architecture, Construction and Engineering). The awards will recognize outstanding high school students each year — from all corners of the U.S. — who demonstrate promise in architecture, construction or engineering. Specifically, the grant includes a donation to ACE of $500,000 each year for an initial period of six years.

Following this resolution was a presentation of Outstanding Mentor Awards, sponsored by ENR (Engineering News-Record) and its parent company, BNP Media. Five winners for the 2018 ENR – ACE Outstanding Mentor award were chosen from among nominations from 22 affiliate chapters.

Each Mentor’s affiliate receives a $2,500 scholarship to be named in her or his honor. Winners include Casey Williams, Boston; Randy Schmidt, Indianapolis; Andrea Stalker, Los Angeles/Orange County; Tricia Elms, Greater New York, and Casey Riske, Washington (Seattle).

Andrea Stalker, who is senior associate and director of learning environments for Steinberg Hart, a full-service architecture firm with offices throughout California and in Shanghai, related that not all students join the program specifically to enter the architecture, construction or engineering and design fields; some join because they want to be “something,” and it is up to the mentors to provide guidance, support and career direction.

“To get our ACE students interested,” she said, “I usually ask them: Have you ever wanted your home, your school, your community to be a better place? Being an architect, engineer or contractor gives you the opportunity improve the lives of the people around you by improving the places around us. Whether you design it, engineer it or build it, you get to make a difference. And while you’re doing that, you also get to be creative, solve interesting problems, and work with a lot of great people.”

Next, Nadene Taylor was recognized in an Alumni Presentation. Taylor, an architectural designer at Beyer Blinder Belle in New York, was an ACE mentee while attending high school in Orange, N. J. While in the program she was inspired by her mentor to pursue a career in architecture. She received a Bachelor of Architecture from New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2012, and is using her experience in high-rise, multifamily, academic, and cultural building design to mentor students in the Greater New York City area, hoping to inspire more young women to enter the field.

The program them moved into the 12th Annual CIRT (Construction Industry Round Table) Design & Construction Competition. A record 60 entries from 26 affiliates were submitted, reflecting the creativity and perseverance of 481 students and their 297 mentors. By comparison, in its first year, the competition attracted just 6 entries.

The distinguished panel of judges was headed by Michael Bellaman, president and chief executive officer of Associated Builders & Contractors, and also included Kevin Hilton, ceo of the Ironworkers Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT); Patricia Rodgers, ceo of Rodgers Builders; Mark Cain, president of Smoot Corp., and Dan Johnson, president and ceo of Mortenson.

The competition was so close, it required two rounds of judging to ultimately determine a winner. Selection was based on the competence of the overall project as well as the team presenter’s ability to make a coherent, well thought-out presentation on the design/construction approaches within the project’s objectives while being fully responsive to the competition package elements, staying within the limits of constructability and budget. The categories included Flexible Home; Revitalize an Urban Block, and Envision an Ideal School.

“It was a dead heat,” said Bellaman, as he announced the winners.

In First Place, with a prize of $5,000, was the team from ACE Mentor Program of Central Iowa for its Flexible Home entry: “One Shell of a House.”

Second place, with a prize of $3,000, went to ACE Mentor Program of Washington (Seattle/Team 2) for its Urban Block entry, “Releasing the Dragon.”

In Third Place, earning a prize of $2,000, was the ACE Mentor Program of Central Florida: Lyman H.S. Team for its Ideal School entry, “Delta Design.”

The first-place team described its project as “A shell built with the intent to house a single person that then has the capability to later infill the voids to accommodate a full-sized family. The floor plan is prescribed by the buyer, in which they are able to choose how many modules they want to build.

“Prefabricated modules are built within a factory and brought to the site on flatbed trailers, the team continued. “Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing elements will be installed in the space between the first and second floors during initial shell construction, which will allow connections to future modules. This will reduce cost to the owner when additional modules are needed.”

The team cited the home’s most innovative feature as the capability to be entirely managed by the homeowner’s voice. “Thanks to technology like Google Home and Amazon Alexa, we have been able to input groundbreaking AutoML — a self-learning program created by Google to, theoretically, create a house that learns with you. Elements like lighting and temperature are able to be set and remembered by the house through automation.”

“The energy, enthusiasm, and passion the three national finalist teams brought to the program made it a very special and memorable event,” said Mark A. Casso, Esq., NAC, and president of CIRT. “If this is any indication of the kind of character and diversity we are attracting to our ranks, then the future of our industry will be in good hands!”

Silvia Lattoz, NKBA’s Government Relations Specialist, serves on ACE National’s Advisory Council.