A construction competition places CUE students in the pressure cooker of real-world projects

Every year for the last 35 years, the group Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) has held a regional competition calling for civil engineering students from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic to create a real-world response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Invitation for Bids (IFB) from a participating sponsor — drawn from among the largest and most iconic construction companies in the region.

This year, the event was held in Albany, and NYU Tandon sent a team to compete in the “Pre-Construction” category. It involved working on a multi-building complex — renovating one historic structure to provide updated space with additional offices and work areas; creating a new addition with an elevator tower; and demolishing and replacing another building. Competitors were required to come up with a budget, a staffing plan, site logistics, a safety plan, and all the other elements required before so much as a shovel is picked up in any proposed construction project. 

One hitch: while the preconstruction phase can take weeks and even months in the real world, competitors were given less than 24 hours to prepare a set of deliverables for the sponsors of the category, in this case the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. Another hitch: mimicking the roadblocks construction managers often face, judges sometimes added new conditions and problems to the mix (the need to build a retaining wall, for example, or the presence of a nearby museum whose artifacts could be damaged by vibrations or excess dust).

The team, which was led by junior Matteo Przyszczykowski, had prepared all semester as part of Tandon’s Vertically Integrated Projects initiative, but none had ever before competed in the ASC event. That made it all the more remarkable when, after a frenzied day and sleepless night, they secured a solid third-place finish. “It was a real team effort, and we owe a lot to Professor Larry Chiarelli, who drove us to Albany in a van borrowed from the athletics department, and to our VIP advisor, Chris Katsanos,” Przyszczykowski asserted. “It was grueling, but we learned a great deal, and if you’ll forgive a construction pun, we built a strong foundation so that our VIP team can do even better next year.”

Two members of the team might even have learned more than they bargained for; Ashton Goberdhan and Myar AlDayel, both sophomores, were tapped at the last minute to join forces with students from other schools in order to field a team in the “Open” category, which this year involved a concrete structure — a massive, multi-level parking garage. The category was sponsored by Baker Construction, who wrote in the competition call to action: “A comprehensive renovation and expansion of the existing and new structures are needed to respond to changes in building codes and regulatory requirements and to meet requirements for information technology, building security, environmental sustainability, and energy efficiency.”

It was a daunting prospect, especially considering that neither had worked extensively with concrete before this. “Luckily, you can get a lot done in a short period of time if you just don’t sleep,” Myar quipped.

Their sleeplessness paid off: despite being first-time competitors with no materials-specific expertise, they landed in second place.

“We feel like we crammed a semester’s worth of learning into 12 hours,” Ashton added, “and besides the competition, there were presentations and a great career fair. All in all, it was a very full two days.”  

Other team members:  

• Neil Patel
• Katherine Rodriguez (an Electrical Engineering major)
• Carlos Alexandre Vieira Saddy Torres de Medeiros
• Yousef Abukwaik
• Konstantine Flouras