city/build Issue 3- Spring 2012
UNDA urban neighborhood design alliance
A
21 drydock
7th floor
boston, ma 02210
t 617 426 5401
f 617 426 5491
www.undalliance.org
city/build Brighton High School
Spring 2012 Partner Tata Hall at Harvard Business School Harvard Business School William Rawn Architects Bond Brothers Construction Special Thanks to
Boston Foundation for Architecture Haley & Aldrich Le Messurier map-lab inc. Joseph Stromer Daniel Cuddy Elly-May O’Toole
About City/Build
City/Build is a curriculum enrichment program for Boston public high school students run by The Urban Neighborhood Design Alliance. City/Build offers students the opportunity to learn about the construction process and encourages them to become more actively aware of their neighborhoods as physical spaces. City/Build employs a methodology for participants to apply their classroom knowledge to real-world problems, and inspires career motivation in the fields of building and design. We aim to expose students to new ways of thinking about their physical environments and to involve them in ways that can lead to lasting impacts on their communities. City/Build participants are introduced to the building process from the planning stage to construction through a series of hands on activities. Professionals come to the classroom to work with the students. Students tour a construction site and develop their own final design project integrating skills learned during the program. All of these activities synthesize to show the direct application of school subjects to professional work. The construction partnership is a tremendous asset to the program. Professional volunteers donate their time to work with students in the classroom on various projects related to the overall scope of a building project. The students then visit the partners’ construction site. This activity allows the students to apply their classroom knowledge to a real-world situation. The partnership aims to give students exposure to a wide variety of professions that are not often discussed in high school classrooms. The City/Build program wraps up with a final design project that challenges students to use their new skill set to solve a design problem related to the partner’s project.
City Build Statistics Since 2010 City Build
4 classrooms, with 93 students,
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5X=15Y
8Y=5X-4
4X=2-10Y
8Y=5X-4
4X=2-10Y
has been in worked
and engaged over
53
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5X=15Y
8Y=5X-4
4X=2-10Y
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4X=2-10Y
professionals as volunteers.
at
2
City of Boston Public High Schools,
In 2012 City Build held for
35
1
class at
Brighton High School
students in an 11th and 12th grade physics class.
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During the course of the program, students worked in teams to build and test
calculated and built
5
21
toothpick truss bridges,
cantilevers,
and designed and presented
More than
10
6
ideas for a classroom of the future.
Professionals volunteered their time to work with the students through the City Build program.
With our Sponsors from Tata Hall (Harvard Business School, William Rawn Architects, & Bond Brothers Construction) Students built
learned about more than
5
professions,
toured
1
10
Marshmallow towers,
business school campus,
and visited
1
construction site.
City Build 2012
What the Participants are saying... “Building bridges as a team was awesome because we learned about the importance of team work. I also enjoyed the cantilever activity and thought it was a great experience because most of us did not know what they were but now we can talk about them and calculate them. I loved when the construction team brought in the sandbox to show us how they excavate the site. The activity they did was exciting because we got to learn and see the forces and techniques they use to dig the foundation for the building as well as how stable the earth around the hole has to be. The best part of the City/Build program was all of the workshops and learning something new each time. I would not change anything about the program because everyone who we worked with knew what they were doing and talking about.” Joseph P., 12th Grade
“It was a great experience to build a bridge out of toothpicks. In order to be successful we had to use our physics knowledge to determine the best way to make the bridge strong so it can hold the most weight.” Elizabeth M.,11th Grade “I thought the sandbox excavation activity was cool. When I went on the field trip, I saw the construction site and it actually looked like the acitivity we did in the sandbox. The best part of the City/Build program was when we went to visit the construction site at Harvard Business School. While we were there, I saw the model for how the building was going to look when it is complete.” Porshia S.,12th Grade “The professionals visit was a great experience that I was glad to be a part of. While building the marshmallow tower I noticed something and felt something real powerful. As I looked at my partners I noticed we were all in sync and focused working together. I realized that with cooperation and focus you can accomplish anything.” Kwamie C., 11th Grade “The walking tour of Harvard Business School was a magnificent experience because I never thought I would be at Harvard, not even for a tour. The presentation’s by the engineers about Tata Hall was the best experience of my life because I want to be an engineer. I loved the presentation the construction company gave on the 3D computer model they made of the building because I love how computers work. Viewing the construction site was great because I hope to work in a similar setting.” Allisom S.,12th Grade
Classrooms of the future designed by the City/Build participants for their final project.
“I have been coordinating workforce development programs in Boston Public Schools as a PIC employee for 15 years. The City Build Program beautifully combined professional engineers providing hands on, project based learning with classroom instruction for our high school students. They were able to learn about an ongoing construction project from the design phase to walking the beginning stages of the construction site. The overall learning experience was one of the best I have ever been a part of during my career in job training education. The field trip was an awesome day for everyone involved from support staff, to teachers and especially our students! The day will have a lasting affect on our students who have immediately reached out to me to inquire about summer engineering internships.” Dan Cuddy, Senior Career Specialist, The Private Industry Council at Brighton High School “I think we all had as much fun as those students did. I was happy to be part of a great team. We could all tell that the students were really engaged. It was a great experience for all involved.” Jim Keefe, General Superintendent, Bond Brothers “When City/Build approached us to explore the idea of connecting a class of high school students with our Tata Hall construction project, we immediately saw it as a practical way to make a difference in our neighborhood. What we didn’t anticipate was just how enjoyable and useful the project would end up being for the architects, structural engineers, construction leaders, and representatives of Harvard Business School on our team. We are deeply grateful to City/Build and Brighton High School for the opportunity to discuss some of our knowledge and experiences with a truly wonderful group of young people from Allston-Brighton, and also for an extraordinary team-building experience that will continue to pay dividends as our construction project progresses.” Toothpick truss bridges designed by the City/Build participants for strength.
Gabe Handel, Managing Director, Dean’s Office at Harvard Business School
engage with professionals from construction projects to learn about the process generate awareness of their neighborhoods as physical spaces
create a space to reflect lessons learned throughout the course
inspire motivation in the fields of building and design
UNDA
21 drydock ave
7th floor
boston,ma
02210
t 617 426 5401
f 617 426 5491
www.undalliance.org