The Great Big Home & Garden Show 2020: Results – “23rd Annual Student Model Home Design Contest”

The Great Big Home and Garden Show, January 31 through February 9 at the I-X Center, will showcase the top ten area high school model home designs from the 23rd annual Student Model Home Design Contest, held January 18, 2020 at Cuyahoga Valley Career Center in Brecksville.

This year’s student contest theme was “The Great Opportunity Zones House.”

The Westlake High School team of JACOB MEYER, MICKEY HAMILA, DREW MATHER, & ARYA KIRPEKAR took first place and the overall grand prize winning the $1000 scholarship. They also won the specialty categories of “Best Model” ($100), “Best Presentation” ($100), “Best Smart Home Technology” ($150), “Best CAD/3D Drawings” ($100) and the coveted “Architectural Design Award of Merit” ($100).

Second place overall and winning $300 went to the Auburn Career Center team of ISAAC LIST, PAIGE STEPHENSON & SAMUEL HOLBERT. They also won the “Best Green Building” category and $200.

Finishing third overall and winning $200 went to the Westlake High School team of TIM GERENT, JOHN MUDRYK, DANNY (DK3) KEENAN, & SHANE BURICH.

Finishing fourth overall and winning $100 went to the Westlake team of ALEXANDRA FERNANDEZ, SOPHIA DEVITO, MICHAEL STENGER, ETHAN DRAKE, & TAKI PSAROPOULOS.

Finishing fifth overall and winning $100 went to the Westlake High School team of SIA BAVISHI, JACE KOLESAR & JP MOGYORDY.

Finishing sixth overall and winning $100 went to the Westlake High School team of STEPHEN BLAIR, TANNER AMY, MACK KEENAN & MANTAS VIAZMITINAS.

The remaining TOP TEN finalists and each team winning $50 were:

7th – the team of LUIS SALDANA, AMANDA JANSTO, & ENRIQUE PEREZ (Auburn Career Center);

8th – the team of REYNALDO MARTINEZ, NANCY SOTO, LUZELI VAZQUEZ MENDOZA, & NELENA RODRIGUEZ (Auburn Career Center);

9th – CASSIDY FARNSWORTH (4 Cities Compact in Wadsworth);

10th – the team of ADARA TSIRLIN, JACOB BARAONA, ADAM MUNDAY, JADON GUARNIERE & BRYAN WESTFALL (Excel TECC in Mayfield).

All entries of the top ten finalists will be displayed at The Great Big Home & Garden Show, January 31 through February 9 at the I-X Center (booth #922 next to the ferris wheel).

Sponsored by the American Concrete Institute NE Ohio Chapter, Equity Trust, Holdfast Technologies, Brian Gilbert of Coldwell Banker, Northeast Ohio Technology & Engineering Educators Association, and Marketplace Events, these future architects, engineers, designers, contractors, inventors, makers, and artisans were challenged to design a single family house in an urban area that’s marketable, innovative, energy-efficient, and addressed the wants and needs of a young family.

The 2020 theme was based on the Opportunity Zones incentive. This is a new community investment tool established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage long term investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide. Opportunity Zones provide a tax incentive for investors to re-invest their unrealized capital gains into dedicated Opportunity Funds.

Students were to create a functional and aesthetically pleasing residence, incorporating the above grade concrete system (ICF – insulated concrete form) system into the design. The house was to be no larger than 2,200 sq. ft. with green & smart technology features, and they were to incorporate appropriate and creative use of other building elements, such as energy efficient and environmentally conscious products and systems to reduce energy costs.

Concrete building technology design offers homeowners increased energy efficiency, lower maintenance and substantial cost savings. Because of their unique construction properties, concrete buildings can be designed with virtually any type of exterior and interior. Concrete is one of the most fire-resistant construction materials available, and the strength and durability of concrete walls offer unmatched resistance to the devastation of major storms.

Using their knowledge of architectural design, green building design technology, smart home technology, and concrete construction, student entries included floor plan & elevation drawings as well as a scale model. They were judged in 15 separate categories, including design, planning and innovations, energy-conserving features, drawing presentation, model presentation, and exterior design. Schools entered this year included Auburn Career Center, Avon Lake High School, Excel TECC (Mayfield), Theodore Roosevelt High School (Kent), 4 Cities Compact (Wadsworth), Westlake High School, and host Cuyahoga Valley Career Center. A panel of building industry professionals from across the area evaluated the student designs.

In its 23rd year, the student contest is nationally recognized by the International Technology & Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) for promoting technological literacy, energy efficiency and environmentally conscious design, engineering, construction, technology, and architecture.

“The students really rose to the challenge tackling a very relevant and interesting theme. This is the first theme of its kind where the project is based on an actual site in Cleveland (East 85th street just north of Chester)!” said Craig Schmidt, CADD Engineering Technology Teacher at Excel TECC in Mayfield. The “Great Opportunity Zones House” theme helped students realize and appreciate that designers, architects and builders sometimes have to adapt to trends and accommodate the wants and needs of a client different than a typical suburban home. There are many opportunity zone houses being designed and built across the country, and the city of Cleveland is off to a terrific start in this regard”.

“Also, incorporating many Green and Smart building features in the design was a great way to bring innovative construction technology into a project of this kind. It’ll be a real must see and highly visual display at the I-X Center for this year’s show. We are very fortunate to have The Great Big Home and Garden Show management (Marketplace Events) provide a first-class venue to showcase the students’ work. It’s truly a great way to recognize and honor the outstanding efforts made by these future architects, engineers, designers, builders, inventors, and artisans.”