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Lafayette students took top honors among all undergraduates in the United States Green Building Council’s Natural Talent Design contest to create the most sustainable learning environment in New York City and revitalize premier park space on the Brooklyn waterfront.
The students designed a middle school, community arts center, and commercial space to transform the Empire Stores and Tobacco Warehouse and adjacent Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park while preserving the neighborhood’s historic nature. 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 majors Lindsey Brough ’08, Deb Perrone ’08, Dave Kendall ’08, Ryan Clark ’08, and RJ Sindelar ’08 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.
Other participating Lafayette students included anthropology and sociology, engineering studies, and mechanical engineering majors as well as civil engineering students. Arthur Kney and David Veshosky, associate professors of civil and environmental engineering, were the 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; Michael Nilson ’04, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, New York City; John H. Pierce ’82, vice president and general manager of Turner Construction; Cheryl Rishcoff ’00, project engineer for TRC Worldwide Engineering, Inc, Allentown.