Multiple districts — Imagine a college dormitory made of modular units. It’s built with sustainable materials, incorporates study areas, living spaces and greenspace. It’s set in a semi-urban area, is ADA compliant and has efficient heating and cooling.
Twenty-two area high school students envisioned such a facility and planned it from idea to final plan — outlining engineering, designing, building, budgeting and the many other details necessary to bring it to life.
The students recently practiced presenting their project in anticipation of the Construction Industry Round Table National Design and Construction Competition, which they participated in this month as part of the local ACE Mentor Program.
Their challenge in the competition was to design a structure that incorporates at least one cutting-edge, tech-enabled modular construction technique. They had to demonstrate why their structure is a preferable, sustainable method over standard building practices.
“One of the main things that our project is seeking to solve is the housing crisis that is prevalent today due to the lack of affordable, sustainable housing for people all over the world from all different backgrounds,” said East Kentwood High School senior Jima Gai-Agot. “We sought to remedy this by creating a modular building project. This can cut down design time as well as construction time, which makes it more sustainable.”
This is the fourth year Jima, who plans to pursue architecture in college, has been involved in ACE. She received a $2,000 college scholarship from the program.
She said she’s learned a lot about what working in the field entails.
“You have to be very organized as an architect,” she said. “You have to make sure your work is all together. You have to know what you’re saying and what you are presenting. You have to run (your plan) by the construction workers and engineers and make sure the foundation of the building you are all working on stands up.”
‘A lot of students come in thinking ‘Hey, I’m kind of interested in architecture, what’s this all about?’ And they might find a love for construction or they might find that engineering is really cool.’
— engineer Jacob Loew
Mentors Expose Students to Careers
An affiliate of the 32-year old national ACE program, the West Michigan group met at Progressive Companies in northeast Grand Rapids and at Rockford Construction.
The program consists of ninth- through 12th-graders and industry mentors in engineering, architecture and construction from various local firms.
Delving deep into the study of careers, students invited to participate through their high schools have spent one evening a week for the past 13 weeks with 12 mentors who actively work in those fields. Districts and private schools currently represented include Grand Rapids, Comstock Park, East Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Forest Hills, Rockford and Grand Rapids Christian.
The group has toured the Acrisure Amphitheater construction site in downtown Grand Rapids, participated in hands-on activities and broken into teams to create the collaborative housing project for competition.
Jacob Loew, structural engineer with Progressive Companies and board chair for the ACE West Michigan affiliate, said the goal of the program is to expose students to the vast array of careers in STEM.
“I think there is a lot of unawareness for students,” Loew said. “There’s this whole realm of professions and opportunities that a lot of students just don’t even know about.”
Students often join the program with an inkling of an idea of what career they would like to pursue, but that often shifts and changes as they learn the many careers available in each discipline, he said.
“It’s really a low-stakes way to suss things out, see what makes sense, see if it’s something they enjoy,” Loew said. “A lot of students come in thinking, ‘Hey, I’m kind of interested in architecture, what’s this all about?’ And they might find a love for construction or they might find that engineering is really cool.”
As for the mentors, they get to share their expertise and expose students to a real work space. Progressive Companies is an open-space hub where professionals design and collaborate every day.
“I’ve had a lot of great mentors, and in these professions you need mentors,” said Robert Ferguson, senior design architect and founding board member for the local ACE chapter. “Personally, it’s been a joyful thing to share what my mentors have shared with me with these future architects, engineers and constructors.”
Ferguson said he’s enjoyed trips to work sites and seeing the growth in students who have the chance to “see themselves in those spaces, so they can know they belong in those spaces.”
Students often exit the program and pursue internships and college degrees in the industries, then return to Grand Rapids to work at Progressive and other firms.
Many Paths to Explore
With a group of mentors and other students, East Grand Rapids High School junior Conner Quigg worked on best incorporating modularity and sustainability into the HVAC systems in the dormitory project. He said working with engineers has given him a great idea about what a real-world project involves.
“My teacher recommended (ACE) as a good learning experience,” Conner said. “I came in here really thinking about doing mechanical engineering, but I still wanted to learn about different aspects of this industry. I thought it was a really good experience for me. I found stuff about structural engineering interesting too.”
He said learning from engineers is different from taking a high-school engineering class, especially when it comes to project-based learning.
“We’ve learned how a building comes together, not necessarily just about engineering, but how we can design for the conditions for whatever the building wants to be,” he said.
Forest Hills Northern High School freshman Keith Holt he’s enjoyed learning the details of everything — like the intricate plumbing planned for the dormitory. He started ACE with an interest in mechanical engineering, but now likes civil engineering as well.
“The mentors have been very helpful and answered all my questions. It’s been a very fun experience,” he said. “This place has basically become like a second family to me. Whenever I get stuck with something or am confused, they always help me understand what I am trying to ask and find the words to say it.”
Read more:
• Opening career pathways through work-based learning
• A career in auto repair? For some students, it starts in high school
