TigerStorm
First TigerStorm event helps students learn about collaboration, sustainability
On Saturday, October 30, 2010, TigerStorm rolled through Auburn University, engaging over thirty students, faculty and professional contractors in developing new ways to use old land. Sponsored by the Alabama Chapter of the Associated General Contractors, Inc. (AGC) and the Auburn University Natural Resources Management & Development Institute (NRMDI), the event engaged six teams of undergraduate and graduate students from Architecture, Biosystems Engineering, Building Science, Landscape Architecture and Community Planning in an all day collaborative visioning activity to propose ideas for use of a 450 acre tract of land in Russell County that AGC has made available to Auburn University’s School of Forestry and Wildlife Science, as well as the Colleges of Agriculture; Architecture Design and Construction; and Engineering.
The event was coordinated by Mike Kensler, Director of Outreach for NRMDI’s Water Resources Center, and Charlene LeBleu, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, College of Architecture, Design & Construction. According to Kensler, “This event was a wonderful opportunity for experiential learning by students that was generative, interdisciplinary, and engaged with a real world challenge. At the same time, it provided AGC the opportunity to acquire a range of creative and innovative ideas about how best to manage and develop this property.”
Jimmy Latham, President of WAR Construction and 2011 AGC President, and Henry Hagood, 2010 President of Alabama AGC, told students about the mission of AGC, described the Russell County property and outlined what the AGC representatives hoped to take away from the day-long event.
Student teams were asked to bring ideas for land use with them to be expanded upon during the day. Throughout the morning, AGC members and faculty experts rotated among the teams offering suggestions and information for developing ideas. The students quickly drew and modified their schemes, and after lunch presented them to the six AGC representatives in attendance.
Some of the ideas for the site included: a series of duck ponds, outdoor classrooms, a gasifier for biofuels, green building approaches, entrance design, walking trails, solar powered facilities, and mobile research stations. AGC representatives remarked afterwards that there were ideas from each team that would likely be implemented in a comprehensive site plan, and as a result cash awards were made to all six teams.
Feedback from the workshop revealed that the event was an overall success and much interest was expressed in conducting another TigerStorm in the future. One student commented that the TigerStorm event introduced a new way of thinking, while another said that the exercise strengthened their presentation skills and ability to think quickly. The organizers feel this event could serve as a model for an effective way to facilitate interdisciplinary, collaborative, applied learning that includes instructional, research, and outreach components.
About Alabama AGC
The Alabama Chapter of the Associated General Contractors is an 82-year old organization of qualified construction contractors and industry-related companies dedicated to skill, integrity and responsibility. The Association provides broad influence and a full range of services satisfying the needs and concerns of its members, partners and the industry, thereby improving the quality of construction and protecting the public interest. For more information, visit their website at: http://www.alagc.org/aboutALAGC/?fa=aboutAGC