²ÊÃñ±¦µä takes second place in national design-build student competition
A team of five students from ²ÊÃñ±¦µä's Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering took second place in the national Design-Build Institute of America , held Nov. 7-8 in Dallas, Texas.
CEAE students Dana Majer, Katherine Irvin, Julian Kotara, Benjamin Hewitt and Mary Grace Lehmkuhl—competing as the Rocky Mountain Design-Build team—designed a conceptual 200,000-square-foot airport terminal for Bozeman, Montana, advancing through three competitive rounds: a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), a Request for Proposal (RFP) and a final presentation. The team, advised by Teaching Professor Matt Morris and led by Majer, competed against 22 other university teams from across the country.
"Their solution and presentation were impressive," Morris said. "The future is bright knowing students like them are entering the workforce."
The project's goal was to create a realistic, accurate proposal—including a $100 million budget, a comprehensive schedule and a technical proposal—that met all the "client's" specified criteria, said Irvin, a senior in civil engineering with an emphasis in construction management. The students took on various roles to simulate a real-world design-build construction team, including positions such as project manager, safety manager, designer, quality manager and airport operations manager.
Irvin said the most challenging part of the competition was presenting themselves as an established company with 25 years of industry experience, despite being students with limited real-world exposure.
"We had to think on our feet to give an answer that shows expertise and confidence," she said.
The competition offers a real-world simulation of the construction industry, unlike anything typically taught in the classroom, said Majer a fourth-year architectural engineering student.
"The best part is that this is what many of us will be doing when we enter the industry," she said.
Students interested in joining the 2025 Design-Build Institute of America Student Competition can contact Teaching Professor Matt Morris at matthew.morris@colorado.edu