It is a phenomenal occasion to show your talent as a young designer, and work with a young contractor (from the Master Builders Association of Western PA), and an apprentice from the school.
I have never had the opportunity of working in a team like this, and I learned a lot about construction. Great exercise, for future projects.
Our assignment, for each of the 6 teams, was to build a bench with sun shade system. We were given dimensions, budget, suggested materials and techniques. We had to come up with a design, feasibility study, budget, and construction schedule (considering the available 1 1/2 day, at the Training Center).
A little detail to spice up the competition: each team was assigned a State where the Carpenters are represented, and my Team got Maryland. We were asked to include a symbol of the State. We decided to go with... the Terrapin turtle.
Following are the drawings I developed, and the photos of my team in action, and the final result.
Every bench will be donated soon.
If you want to attend next year (2017 edition) contact the Carpenters Training Center around March-April. Contest will be around mid May.
Also: don't miss the hands-on evening classes that the Carpenters Training Center hosts around February and March. Great experience, on a variety of topics, and good training opportunity before the competition. All free! More info at dplutt@kmlcarpenters.org or yaf@aiapgh.org.
Below, professional photos from http://www.georgethomasmendel.com/
