Here’s your assignment: identify how a planned high-rise in Seattle can meet the toughest national standard for green building construction as established by LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environ-mental Design, guidelines. Sounds straightforward enough; an engineering/construction company might take a month to draft such a proposal. Except you have only 14 hours. And no access to a phone or to e-mail.

Six civil engineering undergraduates tackled this exact assignment in February at the Associated Schools of Construction Student Competition in Sparks, Nevada. Junior Kristen Ray led the team in what she calls “a summer internship packed into one day,” where college teams, posing as LEED consultants, competed to deliver the best plan to a panel of industry judges.

To prepare for the challenge, Ray led a fall DeCal class that studied the LEED rating system. But the competing teams didn’t receive crucial details, such as building specifications and construction plans, until the morning of the competition.

Despite the hurdles, Cal drafted a 20-page report on time and presented it after staying up all night researching, analyzing and calculating every requirement (competitors were allowed Internet access). The team found ways to meet LEED certification, such as installing solar panels and insulated windows. Though it didn’t place in the top three, the team walked away with a valuable resume builder: expertise in the LEED rating system, a skill that’s now in great demand by the construction industry.

Ray plans to organize another team for next year’s competition. “Berkeley is a natural place for green building design,” she says. “We have the mind power to do well.”

http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/news/view.php?item=138