2023-2024 NAWIC Drafting Design Competition

Alyssa with her award

By: Maggie Lehman, Drafting Instructor - SWCTE

The 2023-2024 Architecture & Engineering students participated in the NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) Drafting Design Competition. Once again, this year, Dickinson CTE found continued success. The group had their 5th consecutive individual Regional Winner for the contest, Alyssa Sadowsky, who was just recently awarded the first national finish for DHS as the runner-up.

The contest required each student to create their own design for a training facility for USA Gymnastics. The facility needed to include 200 apartment units for athletes, coaches, and staff, a gathering area for shopping and eating, as well as a training gym and parking garage.  Students applied the drawing techniques and layout expectations they learned in their previous class to this larger project. While this was a team project at an industry level, each student was responsible for their own part. This helped them understand the importance of each component, and that each student must take time to verify that each part is correct before moving on.  It forces them to pay attention to the small details needed for every project.  

The students were tasked with creating a cover page, floor plans, electrical layouts, site plans, section views, interior elevations, and exterior elevations. Additionally, they had to choose two extra plans from a list of eight options. With guidance from their instructor, the students had to manage their time effectively to complete the project between September and February.

While working on this project, none of the students were gymnasts, so they had the opportunity to explore and research the training facility at DHS. The students gathered information from the coaches and took field measurements of the facility. They had to learn about the size requirements for each of the training apparatus, as well as safety tie-downs and pits. Height requirements and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) code for commercial buildings also had to be taken into consideration. Since this particular design was in the historic district of Indianapolis, the students had to consider that when choosing the exterior finishes.

Many long hours and stressful moments went into each design.  This project gives the students the real-world experience of the daunting, long time frame of realistic construction and design projects.  At the end of the semester, the students have a portfolio that showcases their work from the first engineering class to the last. There were many enjoyable moments shared, and the students also reflected on their progress as they compiled their hard work. These portfolios have helped students secure work-based learning opportunities and long-term employment.

This year's design challenge is now open for the next group of Architecture & Engineering II students to begin their designs. We hope to continue the success at SWCTE.