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TCA Announces Winner of International Design Competition “TCA/PCA Storm Housing 2007”

The competition sought to challenge entrants to creatively solve the problem of replacing large volumes of single-family housing for lower income levels in Biloxi

Mt. Vernon, Iowa (August 29, 2007) -- The Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) – a non-profit international organization that serves to expand and improve the use of Tilt-Up as the preferred construction method – has announced the winners of “TCA/PCA Storm Housing 2007,” an international design competition.

Students in the field of architecture, currently in graduate or undergraduate programs, were invited to present conceptual designs for a storm-resistant housing complex located along the Gulf Coast using site cast concrete Tilt-Up panels for their shell components. 

The competition sought to challenge entrants to creatively solve the problem of replacing large volumes of single-family housing for lower income levels in Biloxi, Miss. – one of the regions hardest hit by recent hurricanes along the Gulf Coast. Entrants were encouraged to present prominent, architecturally significant design solutions for housing units that could be placed in new rebuild communities that provide measurable improvements to long-term durability.

“We were overwhelmed by the amount and quality of the responses,” noted Jim Baty, Technical Director of TCA. “Bringing their ingenuity and new ideas to the table, these talented students responded to this challenge of creating storm housing in a way that many in the Tilt-Up industry may not have been able to envision.”

In all, 141 students and faculty from 30 colleges and universities (both national and international) registered for the competition, and a total of 56 entries were received from six different colleges and universities including Alfred State College, University of Maryland, University of Utah, Howard University, University of Miami, and WAPB – Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning in Bialyastok, Poland.

All entries were judged by a four person panel including Jim Baty, Technical Director of TCA, Ed Sauter, Executive Director of TCA and practicing architect, R. Glen Stephens, Principal of Stephens Architectural Associates, and Alan Wilson, a registered architect and vice president at The Haskell Company. The following criteria were used to evaluate the submittals:

Judges were extremely pleased with the submittals. “The creativeness and imagination of these future architects and their designs was quite amazing,” said Glen Stephens. “The solutions reflected the wide possibilities available through Tilt-Up concrete in a residential project.”

In addition, Alan Wilson stated, “All the entries illustrate the inventiveness of the students, the variety of form that Tilt-Up allows, and the continuing evolution of Tilt-Up as both a construction technique and aesthetic response to design challenges.”

The first place winner was Jonathan McKearin, a graduate student in architecture at the University of Maryland. His proposed solution carefully responds to both the tragic disaster that precipitated the need for new housing as well as the intrinsic nature of Tilt-Up concrete construction. The design strategy utilized individual townhomes that are articulated by overlapping, interlocking volumes of bold color with each volume constructed with interlocking concrete panels. Through the tectonic expression of interlocking planes and volumes, the project quietly speaks to the role of each individual in the composition of a diverse, integrated community while figuratively enabling the members of the community to reassemble their lives.

Entitled “Putting the Piece Together,” judges noted that this project followed its title. This project was selected as the winning submittal for the overall design and completeness of the presentation, including street elevation, wall section, panel layout, and nicely scaled and articulated third perspective – all reinforce the very strong design concept. Further, the concept of puzzle pieces was used literally in the presentation as a metaphor for Tilt-Up pieces being assembled into a building and figuratively as the people of the Gulf Coast putting the pieces of their lives back together.

Submitted by Ritsaart Marcelis from the University of Maryland, the second place project attempts to address the housing problem created by Hurricane Katrina through the use of Tilt-Up panels in combination with recycled steel frame walls, floor and roof assemblies. Specific design feature of this submittal include the home being raised above flood level, 20 units on the site that are equally spaced, various customizable options and deep overhand to shield south exposure from sunlight in the summer. This project employed a “Card House” concept. Judges noted that the designer skillfully utilized the “cards,” creating an aesthetic which is both well considered and undeniably Tilt-Up. Further, they commented that while there are many ways to design “Storm Housing” using Tilt-Up, this is a well-executed solution that is clearly and unabashedly Tilt-Up.

Demonstrating a detailed understanding of the geographic area, the third place project features porches, a driving force to creating neighborhoods in Southern communities, created from elevated piano nobile. Submitted by Artur Marques Kalil, a graduate student from the University of Maryland, the homes sit on “stilts,” which allows for a safety buffer from storm surges yet still allows the ground floor to be used for porch and garage area. Decorative punched openings in the ground floor utilize the design freedom that Tilt-Up affords while providing ventilation. The panels encasing the staircase are stabilizing structures perpendicular to large panels on sides of the house. Judges noted that this was a simple but elegant solution for storm housing that is essentially a modern adaptation of the traditional two-story front porch. The simplicity of the solution also makes it a realistic design response to replacement for the region.

In addition to the top three projects, nine additional projects received the honorable mention distinctions. Of the nine honorable mention projects, five were from Alfred State College and four were from the University of Maryland. TCA presented the awards to the 12 winners at the Annual Convention on the University of Maryland campus in College Park, Md. on Oct. 5. All the entries were on display at the Convention to share the insight of these students with the Tilt-Up industry’s top professionals.

“As judges, we reviewed these projects in a vacuum, not able to relate entries to a particular student or university program,” states Baty. “What was quite evident once we concluded our results is that two programs placed an emphasis on this opportunity with their students and greatly enhanced their knowledge of the systems and the applications. Alfred State and the University of Maryland are to be commended for this additional effort.”

Based on the overwhelming positive response to this year’s contest, TCA and Portland Cement Association (PCA) have announced that they will sponsor an annual competition with similar dates for submittals next year.

TCA was founded in 1986 to improve the quality and acceptance of site cast Tilt-Up construction, a construction method in which concrete wall panels are cast on-site and tilted into place. Tilt-Up construction is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States, combining the advantages of reasonable cost with low maintenance, durability, speed of construction and minimal capital investment. For more information about the TCA, visit www.tilt-up.org.

contestresults

Check out the all of winners plus the rest of the entries of this year's student design competition.