31ST ANNUAL NOTRE DAME STUDENT BUILD DAY - SOUTH BEND, IN 31st Annual Notre Dame Student Design-Build Commemorating a Decade of Collaboration in Masonry #NDDesignBuild2017
October 12 th 2017 The weather may have been gloomy and chilly, but the Notre Dame School of Architecture students pouring off their charter bus at the Kuert Concrete plant facility in South Bend were anything but. They chattered away as they entered the facility to begin their day of participation in the 31 st annual Notre Dame Student Build Day event. All told, there were 140 guests, with 14 teams who were in attendance. Once again, the International Masonry Institute (IMI) and the Notre Dame School of Architecture came together to give second year students and graduate students actual, hands-on experience with their design-build projects from start to finish to show them how to get their hands dirty courtesy of the industry experts from IMI and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 4 IN/KY. Exactly one week earlier, Dave Collins, IMI Director, was at the Notre Dame School of Architecture to lecture about how masonry and design work together to this same group of students. Then, working as a group for the next week, they put together their own designs. For thirty-one years, this competition has provided a unique opportunity for architecture students to learn and practice masonry design and construction by working directly with IMI and BAC. This year s theme was, Commemorating a Decade of Collaboration in Masonry. The objective is to break down barriers between designers and builders, and encourage future designers to use masonry. With students in the School of Architecture hailing from an estimated seven different continents, there is no question that they will take this day s message home with them to educate still others. After ploughing through the substantial breakfast spread first, the students then turned to Director Collins to hear him lay out directions and instructions for the day s work. Woody Woodiwiss, head of Kuert Products Division, stepped up next to give them a quick overview of Kuert one of Indiana s oldest concrete plants - and
what the company does. Brian Beldon of The Beldon Brick Company also gave an overview of the company, which is the largest family-owned and managed brick company in the U.S. And then it was time to get started. Students first scoured the facility first, looking for any additional materials to use in their proposed projects, picking up tile, concrete blocks, and other materials in addition to the three hundred bricks, provided by Belden Bricks, already allotted to them. Each team s structure was no larger than 4-0 wide x 4-0 long designed for a permanent exhibit of a 14 x4 square statue. A number of young first-year apprentices from BAC Local 4 IN/KY were also on hand to help students bring their projects along from conception to finished product. After manipulating and adjusting their designs the hard work really began. The excitement level was incredible as students and apprentices joined together in a common cause and showed great enthusiasm for what they were doing. Always good to see exchanges of ideas between the designer and the builder once the roles are reversed, commented Director Collins, looking around the cavernous room. They must come to a mutual agreement on how to build their projects. Even after 31 years, it s still a blast. The exchange of information is what we as an organization love to see. It gives the designer confidence that what they ve designed can actually be constructed, and it gives the apprentice confidence that he can interpret the design and get a view into the mind of the designer. Apprentices and students worked side by side the entire day. At times, it was hard to tell who was who. I think I m learning as much as they are, commented one apprentice. With everyone wearing barrier gloves, the students worked their way through a crash course in how to lay bricks something none of them probably thought they would ever do.
And they weren t the only ones putting in a long day. For every project, there were other apprentices doing the mixing, hauling mortar, cleaning up excess mortar spills, moving supplies, and doing the countless other chores that make any work site large or small run smoothly. After an energizing lunch of the famous Barnaby s Pizza, the push was on to have all of the projects ready for judging. Director Collins visited each team, going over the designs with them and having a look at what they were creating. Finally, the deadline rolled around at 2pm once students added the finishing touches to their projects. Tools down! came the command. On hand to judge the top three positions in the competition were architects Kevin Buccellato and Stephen Grotz of Buccellato Design, and Joe Nucciarone of Alliance Architects. winning teams were chosen based on creativity, execution, and use of masonry. The first-place team was awarded with a $50 gift card for each member. Second-place was awarded with a $30 gift card, and third-place was awarded with a $25 gift card. Several other gift cards were handed to those who correctly answered questions about IMI and sizes of different building materials that used within their projects. Notre dame coffee mugs were given to judges and supporters of the program also. This year was full of exceptional designs. We anticipate seeing more exceptional designs for the 32 nd Annual Notre Dame Student- Build Day in 2018.