51蹤獲Student Team Captures Regional Design-Build Championship

For the second-year in a row, Architecture and Construction Management team is among eight regional winners in the National Design-Build Student Competition

Madison Reslow '16
Students with their engineered robot.
The winning team, from left to right: Brittany Reed, Philip Romagnoli, Joshua Snarski, Brianna Moretti and Anthony Racicot. Image Credit: RWU

BRISTOL, R.I. A group of 51蹤獲 students earned top honors as the Northeast Regional Championship winners in the . The team competed with 31 other student teams from 26 universities to create a comprehensive proposal to design and construct an $18-million, 46,000-square-foot science building on a liberal arts college campus.

The group, which includes three construction management students Anthony Racicot 17, Phillip Romagnoli 16, Joshua Snarski 16  and two architecture students Brianna Moretti 16, Brittany Reed 16 worked side-by-side for 10 days and nearly 100 hours to create a design-build proposal that includes design renderings, pre-construction and construction plans, schedules, cost estimates and safety and quality control plans, among other components. As part of the proposals development, the students consulted with 51蹤獲faculty members, local companies and industry professionals.

The National Design-Build Student Competition, organized by the , promotes the principles of team integration and familiarizes students with the rigors of a design-build selection process. The competition win marks the second consecutive year that 51蹤獲has earned the Northeast Regional Championship title.

The groups faculty advisor, Gokhan Celik associate professor of construction management in the School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management believes the time spent managing the entire design-build proposal process and consulting with industry leaders will prove valuable for the students professional careers.

The Design-Build Student Competition is a well run competition and a true simulation of what a design-build project is like in the industry, Celik says. In addition to applying the technical content they learn in class, the students take away valuable skills in areas such as leadership, working as a team, prioritizing, planning and meeting deadlines.

Snarski served as team captain for the group and found the experience valuable in expanding his leadership skills.

Working on this project for the Design-Build competition helped us expand on what weve learned from class and actually apply it to something in the real-world, Snarski says. Its allowed me to speak with different industry professionals and really demonstrate what I know and what Ive learned in class. Its also been a great leadership opportunity, and I enjoyed leading both architecture and construction management students to make sure we were all communicating and working as a team.

As regional winners, the 51蹤獲team vied for the national title against eight other student groups; early this week, they were notified that they did not place among the top three teams, which now advance to the National Design-Build Competition to present their work to a live jury and audience on Nov. 3 at the Design-Build Conference and Expo in Denver. Student teams from the University of New Mexico, University of Washington and University of Colorado Boulder will advance to the final round of the competition.

Even so, the team's competitive spirit has hardly been dampened. The group is now concentrating on the Associated Schools of Construction Regional Student Competition, which will hold its ASC Region 1 Competition Nov. 13 and 14 in Morristown, N.J.