DDC ACE Team 8 Year In Review

June 29, 2018

ACE: Architecture, Construction and Engineering.
 
The ACE Mentor Program of America, Inc. (ACE) helps mentor high school students and inspires them to pursue careers in design and construction. ACE not only engages sponsors and volunteer mentors to expose students to real-world opportunities, it also financially supports each student's continued success through scholarships and grant opportunities.
 
DDC ACE Team 8 consists of twelve high school students from Brooklyn and Queens, and twelve mentors from DDC, the School Construction Authority, and Structure Tone. Over the course of the year students participated in the Construction Industry Round Table “Design a Flexible Home” challenge where they learned how to read blueprints, sketch diagrams, and create models for their final project.
 
The first field visit was to the live construction site managed by Structure Tone. During the tour students learned about the full spectrum of logistical and administrative challenges that accompany any type of construction in an urban environment.
 
A few weeks later Team 8 was given an in-depth tour of the DDC Urban Post-Disaster Housing Prototype. Students were able to get a feel for what it is like to live in a modular housing unit. It also helped them make critical design decisions for the layout of their flexible home.  Staff members from Ennead Architects also presented some of their favorite works including the Shanghai Planetarium which is currently under construction, and an architectural firm based in New York City that focuses on creating solutions for the public realm. Ennead staff members gave the students pointers on presenting their projects. 
 
The year ended with DDC ACE Team 8 presenting their final project to a panel of industry judges and other NYC ACE teams. Students received critical feedback on their designs and had an opportunity to network with industry professionals. The year was a great success. We bid our senior team members farewell and congratulated them on graduating high school. We are proud of the fact that they will be attending college in the fall to pursue degrees in architecture and engineering. We look forward to welcoming them to the ACE professions in the near future.