2020 PROJECT PRECAST DESIGN COMPETITION DREW TOP UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TO COMPETE

THE CHALLENGE: Design a Texas high school football stadium for a modern era

CHICAGO, March 19, 2020 --- What Might A Future High School Football Stadium Look Like? That was the design competition for Project Precast 2020. Just in its second year, the competition brought college and university students together with industry mentors for three days in Fort Worth, TX, the site of PCI’s annual Precast Show.

“The students had no idea what their project was, nor had they ever met the industry mentors or other members of their teams before they arrived in Texas,” said Marty McIntyre, Chicago-based executive director of the PCI Foundation and host of the competition.

The night the students arrived they were given an abbreviated version of the design challenge. In keeping with the locale, the challenge was to design a Texas high school football stadium for the modern era, using precast concrete.

The teams were given just 30 hours to research, collaborate, complete a one-page summary, prepare a PowerPoint presentation and present their final design to an audience of more than 100 who packed the meeting room at the PCI Convention in Fort Worth on March 6th. The overall sponsor was SIKA with Paul Ramsburg involved as the supplier expert, moderator and a member of the jury.

The winning team - To see a YouTube video of the winning presentation, click here.

From left to right, is winning TEAM CLARK PACIFIC

Courtney Prentiss, a graduate student in architecture and construction management,

Washington University in St. Louis

Sarveswaran Ganapathy, a graduate student in architecture, North Carolina State University

Lev Darney, undergraduate engineering student, CSU Sacramento

Photo above: Industry leaders and NFL alumni served as jurors including from left, Paul Ramsburg, SIKA; David Welber, Vice President Turner Construction Company; Larry Mallory an NFL Alumni member who played for the New York Giants; Gary Wildung, precast concrete expert and founding partner of FDG; Matt Shea, University of Colorado Denver, College of Architecture and Planning and Liffort Hobley, President of the NFL Alumni Dallas Chapter.

“The 16 students chosen are examples of highly intelligent, competitive, team-oriented and enjoyable leaders of tomorrow,” explained McIntyre. They made up 5 teams with one alternate. Each team was composed of three students: one from architecture, another majoring in engineering and a third studying construction management.

Student members and sponsors of the 5 teams included:

TEAM CLARK PACIFIC (First Prize winners of $3000)

Coach: Doug Bevier, Tom Anderson, Nick Smiderie and Mike Ryan

Lev Darney, California State University, Sacramento

Courtney Prentiss, Washington University in St. Louis

Sarveswaran Ganapthy, North Carolina State University

TEAM CEG – Consulting Engineers Group (Winners of Honorable Mention Award)

Coach: Peter Niemczak

Jesse MacDougall Lopez, University of Southern California

Patrick Logan Murray, Washington University in St. Louis

Isabella Zapata Vivas, Florida International University

TEAM METROMONT

Coaches: Harry Gleich, Suzanne Aultman, Clay Putnam and Gary Lentz

Tanmay Vasishta, Colorado State University

Daniel Bridi Valentim, University of Alabama

Hanui Yu, Washington University in St. Louis

TEAM CORESLAB

Coaches: Bill Doughty, Vern Smith and Todd Culp

Aaron Joseph Cordle, Clemson University

Ivan Antonio Sanchez, Sacramento State University

James Preston Taylor, Sacramento State University

TEAM TINDALL (Winners of Audience Choice Award)

Coaches: Chuck Wynings, Isaac Perkins and Patty Peterson

Jeffery Cheung, University of Southern California

Mohamed Hassan, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)

Joseph Martin Moya, University of Arizona

SIKA USA was the sponsor of Project Precast Design Competition 2020

Alternate team member extraordinare: Mahesh Mahat, Idaho State University

Next year Project Precast 2021 will be held in conjunction with the PCI Convention “The Precast Show” will be held in New Orleans February 23 – 27, 202.