CIRT-ACE Mentor National High School Design Competition
Celebrates 10 Years - Greater New York City/Team 30 Wins National Title

WASHINGTON, DC – April 28, 2016 – The Construction Industry Round Table (CIRT) in partnership with the ACE Mentor Program of America hosted the 10^th Anniversary National Design Competition earlier in the week where more than 60 high school students and 30 mentors from across the country came to the nation’s capital to present their design/construction projects before a panel of industry judges.  A record 55 projects -- representing 20 Affiliates/Chapters – were entered into the competition.  To recognize this milestone, for the first time ever a total of nine teams competed in two presentation steps: a semi-final round (for each project option) and a final national championship round.

The championship round presentations were conducted before five judges and an audience of over 150 people as the three teams squared-off in a high-stakes finale pitting the survivors of the semi-final rounds.  In the end, it was the project from ACE of Greater NYC/Team 30 for their “RESILIEN-City” (Shoreline Design challenge) that earned the sought-after national title and a $5,000 award. Second place went to ACE of Eastern PA for “The Last Stop” (Historical Revitalization challenge) with a $3,000 prize; while third place went to ACE Mentor Program of Northeast Florida/Orange Park HS Team for “Unity Bridge” (Bridge Design challenge) and a $2,000 prize.

Earlier in the day, three teams in each of the three project challenges competed for the chance to move-on to the championship round. The semi-finals saw a more “apples to apples” comparison of entries in the following categories with the first and second runner-ups each receiving a $1,000 and $500 award respectively as follows:

Bridge Design/Redesign & Construction Challenge:

• 1st Runner-Up: ACE Mentor San Francisco Bay Area/Peninsula Team-1 for “Connecting the Bay”
  
• 2nd Runner-Up: ACE Mentor Program of Eastern PA for “Make a Wish Bridge”
  

Historical Revitalization Challenge:

• 1st Runner-Up: ACE Mentor Program of Central Iowa for “The YMCA”
  
• 2nd Runner-Up: ACE of Frederick, Maryland/Team Retroit for “Detroit Terminal Harbor Revitalization”
  

Shoreline Design Challenge:

• 1st Runner-Up: ACE of Houston, TX/Galleria Shore Tect Team for “Guwahati’s Waterfront Development Plan”
  
• 2nd Runner-Up: ACE of New Haven, CT/Wednesday Team for “River Street Resiliency District”
  

A special award was also given to a non-finalist team for the “Best Presentation Boards” ($250 award); which went to ACE Mentor Program of Seattle, WA for its entry “Sound Connection.”   CIRT also recognized the Greater Houston area Affiliate for having the most entries in the competition (10 total).