PCI Award Winners: Big Beam 2022, School Design Awards

Marking the start of school, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, the winners of its Big Beam Competition and educational building Design Awards.

PCI 2022 Big Beam and School Building Design Awards
The Ransom Everglades School's STEM building.
Gate Precast | Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute
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After years of virtual classrooms and online courses, September 2022 marks the restart of the new normal. We find students returning to classrooms, pencils sharpened, and brand new foundations in construction education further built. These students are future engineers; those behind tomorrow's infrastructure projects, building designs, and more. 

In recognition of the return to school, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) has announced the award winners of its 2022 "Big Beam" Engineering Design Competition, 2022 PCI Design Award for Best K-12 School Building, and 2022 Design Awards for Best Higher Education/University Building. 

The Big Beam

Sponsored by ALP Supply and PCI’s ASPIRE magazine and open to college students across the nation, the Big Beam competition was designed to teach participants about important structural engineering skills in an applied learning environment. Teams of students and a faculty advisor design, build, and test a 20-ft., precast, prestressed concrete beam. Local PCI-certified precast concrete producers act as mentors to the teams. Entries are judged on a variety of criteria, including the beam’s performance in stress tests that simulate the types of real-life conditions structural building and infrastructure components must endure to ensure life safety, as well as the quality of their analysis. Reports, and a video overview of their project.

Cash prizes of up to $2,000 are awarded to the top performers in efficient design, highest load capacity, and other categories. The winning team will be honored at the 2023 PCI Convention, February 21-25, in Columbus, Ohio. Videos from all the teams can be found at PCI's Big Beam Contest-2022 YouTube Channel. 

First Place of the 2022 Big Beam Engineering Design Competition: University of Alabama – Team B
Faculty Advisor: Sriram Aaleti
PCI Producer: GATE Precast, Monroeville, Ala.
Student Team: Monica Amaral, Revanth Naidu Vasireddy, Bipul Poudel

Sriram Aaleti, faculty advisor for the winning team and associate professor in the department of civil, construction and environmental engineering at The University of Alabama sees the competition as a great way for students to learn an experience the process of prefabrication, prestressing, detailing, and engineering prediction/failure behavior. "It’s a been a great experience to see the students enjoying themselves when designing and interacting with the precast concrete producer,” adds Aaleti. GATE Precast, Monroeville, Ala., was the sponsoring PCI member of the winning team.

University of Alabama – Team B won the 2022 Big Beam competition. From left to right are Monica Amaral, Bipul Poudel, Revanth Naidu Vasireddy, and faculty advisor Sriram Aaleti.University of Alabama – Team B won the 2022 Big Beam competition. From left to right are Monica Amaral, Bipul Poudel, Revanth Naidu Vasireddy, and faculty advisor Sriram Aaleti.Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute

Bob Risser, P.E. PCI president and CEO congratulated the students and sees the competition as a long-lasting hands-on experience for the students to take with them throughout their careers. "

“These students are the future of our industry. Thank you to all the PCI producer-members who worked with the students and faculty to further the knowledge of prestressed concrete technology," he says.

Due to the pandemic, fewer teams than usual entered this year, recognizing all that participated under the challenging conditions:

Second Place: University of Minnesota Duluth
Faculty Advisor: Ben Dymond
PCI Producer: Molin Concrete, Ramsey, Minn.
Student Team: Sam Pommeranz, Alex Kulzer, Dalton Scharmer, Kal Jackman
Award: $1,750

Third Place: University of Alabama – Team A
Faculty Advisor: Sriram Aaleti
PCI Producer: GATE Precast, Monroeville, Ala.
Student Team: Azize Ceren Satioglu, Maysam Bahmani, Rebekah Spoor
Award: $1,500

Remaining finishers in alphabetical order (all teams received awards of at least $1,000):

Iowa State University
Faculty Advisor: Hartanto Wibowo
PCI Producer: Forterra, West Des Moines, Iowa
Student Team: Danny Vieceli, Nayana Sreekumar, Bharath Melugiri Shankaramurthy

Lehigh University
Faculty Advisor: Clay Naito, PhD, P.E.
PCI Producer: Northeast Prestressed Products, Pottsville, Pa.
Student Team: Riley Conklin, Thomas Szewczyk, Tucker Bayda, Jillian Tamarazzo

University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Faculty Advisor: George Morcous
PCI Producer: Coreslab Structures (OMAHA), Bellevue, Neb.
Student Team: Taylor Drahota, Jack Wilke, Luis Tuarez, Ammar Al Maabreh, Maryam Al-Bayati, Soumitra Das, Abdelrahman Awawdeh

Northern Arizona University
Faculty Advisor: Robin Tuchscherer
PCI Producer: TPAC (an Encon Co.), Phoenix, Ariz.
Student Team: Rebecca King, Logan Gallaga, Mohammed Alyaseri

Keith Kaufman Award for Best Report 

Judges consider the overall presentation of the report when deciding on a best report winner. In addition to verifying the report contains all the requested sections and required signatures, judges look for clear presentation of data, professional look and formatting, and an overall well-written report.

Iowa State University
Faculty Advisor: Hartanto Wibowo
PCI Producer: Forterra, West Des Moines, Iowa
Student Team: Danny Vieceli, Nayana Sreekumar, Bharath Melugiri Shankaramurthy
Award: $500

Best Video

Requirements include a video taken of the precast concrete beam being tested. Teams are encouraged to be as creative as they wish when preparing the final video. Videos with a storyline related to the big beam competition are clear standouts and the judging committee may elect an entry to receive a best video award.

Lehigh University
Faculty Advisor: Clay Naito, PhD, P.E.
PCI Producer: Northeast Prestressed Products, Pottsville, Pa.
Student Team: Tucker Bayda, Riley Conklin, Thomas Szewczkyk, Jillian Tamarazzo
Award: $500

2022 PCI Design Award, Best High Education/University Building

At 50 years old, the Moss and Johns Halls at Longwood University were no longer meeting the needs of college students looking for modern dorms. They were old, dark, had poor insulation, and needed a major upgrade. Using a precast concrete brick-faced panel system, designers were able to match other buildings on campus - with precast concrete insulated wall panels allowing the project to be completed on a tight budget and within a short timeline. Each building was 10 stories and 740 precast concrete architectural wall panels were used in total. 

PCI 2022 Big Beam and School Building Design AwardsThe Moss and Johns Halls at Longwood University.Gate Precast Company Kumar T. Frisbie-Fulton | Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute

Features

  • Architectural precast concrete panels deliver historic architectural detail in a cost-effective package
  • The panel system is supported on separate foundations that do not add load to the existing steel frame
  • Each renovation was delivered within one academic year

Watch more details in the project video:


2022 PCI Design Award, Best K-12 School Building

Inspired by Google and Apple campuses, the Ransom Everglades School's STEM building needed to be as innovative as the learning they would offer within. At 45,000 sq. ft., the building includes 10 classrooms, 11 laboratories, a center of excellence in teaching and learning, faculty areas, and a reconfigurable multipurpose room to host lectures, exhibitions, art installations, and robotic competitions. Set on a vulnerable area of Coconut Grove, Florida, designers chose precast concrete for strength and resilience. 

PCI 2022 Big Beam and School Building Design AwardsThe Ransom Everglades School's STEM building.Gate Precast | Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute

Features

  • Post-tension system reduced slab thickness and eliminated heavy edge perimeter beams
  • The lightweight facade provides 38 lb/ft², exceeding engineering requirements
  • Self-shading elements let in light while preventing glare

Watch more details in the project video:



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