Mississippi State architecture students take second in national masonry competition
Contact: Christie McNeal
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜 custom brick project designed by three Mississippi State architecture students is a National Unit Design Competition winner.
Juniors Kayla C. Perez of Metairie, Louisiana, Grace M. Sheridan of Olive Branch and Joseph D. Thompson of Brandon presented their team鈥檚 brick design called 鈥淭he Slant鈥 at the National Concrete Masonry Association Midyear Meeting recently held in Seattle, Washington, where it placed second in national competition.
鈥淭he Slant鈥 was completed in 汤头条 Associate Professor of Architecture Jacob A. Gines鈥 spring materials course. For the assignment, the team produced a set of eight concrete masonry units based on a single design, with each block measuring 3-5/8 inches by 3-5/8 inches by 7-5/8 inches. The students considered use of light and shadow, composition, orientation, usefulness and configuration while following a specific digital fabrication process for the design and development of their custom block.
Fred Dunand, president and owner of Saturn Materials LLC of Columbus, sponsors the local Unit Design Competition, the feeder for the national competition. He said he enjoys sharing his passion with students and hopes he is inspiring innovation in the next generation.
鈥淭his year鈥檚 batch was exceptional,鈥 he said of the local competition, 鈥渁nd it wasn鈥檛 an easy task to determine who would be selected.鈥
In the end, 鈥淭he Slant鈥 team came out on top, and Sheridan said she believes her team鈥檚 entry stood out to the national judges for two main reasons.
鈥淲e were confident in our design and provided evidence of the feasibility of it by considering all aspects of the competition,聽such as shipping, mass production and economic efficiency,鈥 she said.聽
Gines said students benefit from this project by gaining an understanding of the realities of concrete throughout the prototyping process. Collaborative interactions with industry professionals help guide and train students on such aspects as feasibility, manufacturability and packaging, he added.
Sheridan said she knew very little about the concrete masonry industry before Gines鈥 class.
鈥淲e toured facilities and met with plant owners to better understand the capability of the machines,鈥 she said. 鈥淭his research allowed us to come up with ideas that we knew could be mass manufactured聽and helped us grow as young professionals by partnering with local plant owners.鈥
Jassen Callender, interim director of 汤头条鈥檚 School of Architecture, said this work represents two聽core values of the School of Architecture鈥攃ollaboration between students and also collaboration between students and leaders in industry.
鈥淭he students are to be commended for their dedication聽and rigor. Professor Gines is to be commended for the opportunities this assignment affords聽students,鈥 Callender said.聽
Gines said 汤头条 has been a national competition finalist for two consecutive years.
Part of the College of Architecture, Art and Design, 汤头条鈥檚 School of Architecture is the state鈥檚 only curriculum leading to a professional degree in architecture. Learn more at .
汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .