Pictured: Brianna Fagan, Ainsley Pirotta, Isabelle Warfield, Professor Bill Dean, Jackson Eigg, Kyle Battaglia, and Megan Pinzel
From Alfred State College,
An interdisciplinary team of Alfred State students recently placed third in the design-build division of the Associated Schools of Construction Region 1 Student Competition held in Albany.
Architecture and Design Professor William Dean advised the design-build team and preconstruction teams, along with Civil Engineering Technology Professor Erin Vitale, who also advised the open concrete team. Members of the design-build team included construction management student Kyle Battaglia (Spencerport, NY), and architecture students Jackson Eigg (Fairport, NY), Brianna Fagan (Spencerport, NY), Megan Pinzel (Grand Island, NY), Ainsley Pirotta (Lakeview, NY), and Isabelle Warfield (Schenectady, NY).
Fagan served as the team project manager and was honored that her team placed in the competition. “Our team collaborated on design leading up to the competition. Each participant was eager to fulfill their role and spent time beforehand learning new roles and how to best support each other during the competition. Our collaboration and teamwork helped us to produce a detailed schedule and a unique design.”
The competition focused on providing design and construction services for a new parking garage to support a New York Airport’s new Terminal G. The program required the development of a parking garage facility adjacent to the terminal that included 3,000 parking spaces, rideshare pickup zone, connecting roads to the adjacent major airport roadways, electric vehicle charging, freight and passenger elevators, and a dynamic facade system.
On the first day of competition weekend, teams received project documents at 8 a.m. and had sixteen hours to complete their submission to the judging team, comprised of a sponsoring firm that created the challenge. The team’s submission included conceptual design documents, an itemized estimate, a comprehensive schedule, and safety and site logistics plans.
The next day, each team gave an oral presentation to the project sponsors and judging team, Skanska, who judged the written submissions and oral presentations and ranked the top three teams.
Fagan continued, “It was a great experience, and I am proud of how each member stepped into a new situation. We were all grateful for the experience and learned a lot that we can utilize in our own work.”
The design-build category was one of five divisions (pre-construction, commercial, heavy-civil, and open concrete) at the event. Alfred State had strong showings in both the preconstruction and open concrete divisions.
Members of the preconstruction team included architecture students Jessica Budd (Fairport, NY), Fernanda Ceja (New Rochelle, NY), Selena Fullone (Webster, NY), and Connor Welsh (Staten Island, NY), and construction management student Owen Lantiegne (Lafayette, NY). The open concrete team was comprised of sophomores and juniors from both BS Construction Management and BS Civil Engineering Technology programs including Jaelyn Benjamin Wilson (Allegany, NY), Kari Annunziato (Greenwood Lake, NY), Erica Jackson (West Babylon, NY), Joshua Gradner (Saint Louis, MO), Griffin Doan (Cayuga, NY), and Alexander Grohman (Buffalo, NY).
Fullone, project manager for the preconstruction team, said that the competition was one of the most meaningful experiences she has had as an architecture student. “This fast-paced competition pushed me to think beyond design and gain hands-on experience with preconstruction services, which is something rarely learned in a traditional architecture education. It strengthened my understanding of constructability, value engineering, and teamwork under pressure. Most importantly, the competition highlighted the importance of collaboration and different perspectives in achieving a successful outcome. I am extremely proud of what our team accomplished together in the twelve short hours.”
“These types of competitions foster a more comprehensive understanding of the collaborative environment that must exist between architects and constructors,” commented Dean. By directly involving students in the construction planning process, they develop a practical skill set that empowers them to be more effective, responsible, and innovative practitioners. The intended outcome is a generation of architects and construction professionals equipped with the ability to lead and execute complex projects, making them more adaptable and relevant in the rapidly evolving construction industry.“
Dean concluded, “All of these teams moved outside of their individual comfort zones and showed a great deal of dedication and a lot of heart in their approach to the competitions.”
Dean concluded, “Both of these teams moved outside of their individual comfort zones and showed a great deal of dedication and a lot of heart in their approach to the competitions.”
Prior to the competition, the students met with professionals and Alfred State alumni to help their preparation. The professionals provided a valuable and insightful review of the students’ preliminary proposals and gave them an overview of how their firm might approach similar projects.
The design-build team met with Spencer Read, ’05, President of Mitchell Design-Build in Victor while the preconstruction team traveled to meet with a team of architects and construction managers from Buffalo Construction Consultants, including Design Manager Matthew Edwards, ’02.
For more than 20 years, Construction Management and Architecture students have been competing at the Associated Schools of Construction Competition. This competition is made possible by a LeChase Construction endowment that supports our entrance fees; this year Balfour Beatty US provided travel & lodging expenses.
