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For the second consecutive year, Lafayette students took top honors among all undergraduates in the United States Green Building Council’s Natural Talent Design Competition in New York City.
The Lafayette team designed a complex that includes a middle school and affordable housing for a 7,500-square-foot lot along Adam Clayton Boulevard in Harlem, close to the historic Apollo Theater.
The school included flexible classrooms and learning labs for approximately 150 students in grades six through nine, along with a library, gymnasium, kitchen and cafeteria, and administrative office space. The design for housing accommodates singles, couples, families, and elderly and physically challenged residents.
The contest provides an applied learning experience in integrated design, sustainability, innovation, and social consciousness, components of the building council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system.
The Lafayette team of civil engineering graduates Corey Cattano ’09, Jeff Harrington ’09, Pat Kelley ’09, Mike Marin ’09, and Kim Petrelis ’09 placed third, trailing only two teams of professional architects. The multidisciplinary competition is open to college students of all majors and to individuals within five years of graduation.
Lafayette teams also took two honorable mentions, “essentially fourth and fifth places,” says David Veshosky, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering.
Turner Construction of New York City provided funds that allowed the teams to visit the site and cover other costs associated with competing. John H. Pierce ’82, vice president and general manager of Turner Construction, was instrumental in arranging this support.
Students on the honorable mention teams included civil engineering graduates Nicole Barbero ’09, Jeff Beavan ’09, Gavin Kaiser ’09, Meghan Kelly ’09, and Laura Werkheiser ’09; civil engineering majors Daniella Colon’10 (Bronx, N.Y.), Nico Gonzalez ’10, (Bronx, N.Y.), and Mark Sliwinski ’10 (Glen Ridge, N.J.); Diana Hasegan ’10 (Tirgu Mures, Romania), who is pursuing a B.S. in civil engineering and an A.B. with a major in economics and business; and Jason Siegel ’10 (Purchase, N.Y.), a mechanical engineering major.
“I believe that the students’ performance in this year’s and last year’s competitions is helping to make architectural, engineering, and construction firms in the New York area aware that Lafayette is serious about teaching sustainable design,” says Veshosky.
Veshosky and John Greenleaf, visiting assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, served as the teams’ advisers.
A number of alumni contributed their expertise to the project as consultants. They included Chris Blechschmidt ’99, structural engineer for Lock Ridge Engineering, LLC, Macungie; Richard Guether ’91, New York City Planner, Bronx Office; Thomas Hoffman ’00, mechanical engineer for HBEngineers, Inc., Orefield; Michael Nilson ’04, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, New York City; Martha Minogue ’82, Turner Construction, Philadelphia; John H. Pierce ’82; and Cheryl Rishcoff ’00, project engineer for TRC Worldwide Engineering, Inc., Allentown.
Marc Gallagher ’93, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, New York City; Bruce Anderson ’79, The Pidcock Company, Allentown; Mary Wilford-Hunt, director of facilities planning and construction; and George Xiques, manager of sustainability and environmental planning, also provided informal guidance.