We were honored to once again serve as judges for various regions of the Timber Strong Design Build Competition [TSDB]. This competition tasks each team of university engineering students to design and build an artistically creative 2-story wood light-framed building that is sustainable, aesthetically pleasing and structurally durable. The students operate as a design/build firm and develop skills with wood design, BIM modeling, structural calculations, and hands-on actual construction of their structures at the competition.
Our representatives included Ricky Zabel who helped judge the Pacific Southwest Regional competition [hosted by University of California San Diego – UCSD], and Jared Hudson who judged at the Gulf Coast Region [hosted by Auburn University].
Per Ricky Zabel: “It was great to help judge the TSDB Competition, both for the reports and the in-person build. The combination of the technical design and hands-on building process are an invaluable opportunity for students to gain real life structural engineering experience. The confidence and understanding exhibited by the students really makes me excited about the next generation of engineers in the wood-framing industry!”
The Timber Strong Design Build Competition is sponsored by: Simpson Strong-Tie, APA [The Engineered Wood Association], AWC [American Wood Council], and ASCE [American Society of Civil Engineers].