Curriculum
2023-2024 CURRICULUM & Resources
SCHEDULE
Below is the general schedule that each mentor location will follow this year. Please note that this is subject to change and may vary by mentor location. For current updates throughout the year, please check out the calendar.
FALL SEMESTER
SPRING SEMESTER
RESOURCES
2023-2024 Student Guide
2023-2024 Design Challenges
ACE Houston Project Options:
Memorial Hermann Sugar Land
Request for Proposals
Option 1: State-of-the-Art Medical Office Building
Option 2: Iconic Park & Welcome Space
Option 3: Welcoming Home Away From Home
Additional Project Resources
Software Links
Here are links to a few software packages you may see throughout our mentor program this year. All of these offer a free license option for students, so start exploring!
WEEKLY SESSION AGENDAS & RESOURCES
SPRING 2024 SEMESTER
January 16th/17th: Recap & Project Development
Learning goals:
Recap of what we learned in the Fall semester and a lookahead for Spring semester
Revisit RFP document, rubric, and review some examples projects from past years
Get to know project team members and assign roles for working together
Teams will determine their company name and logo
Teams will have lots of time to work on their projects
January 23rd/24th: Landscape & Civil Design
Learning goals:
Education requirements, career options, and day-in-the-life for landscape architects and civil engineers
Site planning basics, including accessibility and logistical concerns
Top design priorities for landscape architects; how do you start a project?
Different disciplines of civil engineering and design priorities of each
What are utilities? How do they get to a site?
Priorities of sustainable design
January 30th/31st: Modeling & Visualization
Learning goals:
How do architects, engineers, and contractors use technology and modeling to communicate ideas?
Introduction to different types of modeling and visualization techniques used in the industry
How and why do architects build physical models, and what materials and techniques do they use to create them?
Phases of model development from massing models and parti diagrams to BIM, clash detection, and renderings
February 6th/7th: Intro to Structural engineering
Learning goals:
What educational and licensure requirements are there for structural engineers?
What building codes to structural engineers use?
What are the main types of structural components in buildings?
What loads do structural engineers design buildings for and what is a "load path?"
What are the main structural building materials and why are they used in different building types?
What are foundations and how do they work?
How do structural engineers create framing plans and what rules of thumb do they use?
How do structural engineers collaborate with architects and other types of engineers?
February 20th/21st: Skilled trades
Learning goals:
What are some of the skilled trades involved in the construction of a building?
What education requirements/training/licenses are required for various trades?
What does a day-in-the-life look like for someone working in a skilled trade?
Benefits of pursuing a career in this path (jobs available NOW, lucrative, paid training, entrepreneurship, defy traditional desk job)
How do subconsultants collaborate with architects, contractors, and engineers?
What tools or technology resources do skilled trades use?
February 27th/28th: MEP Engineering
Learning goals:
What are the education and licensure requirements for MEP engineers?
What does a day-in-the-life look like for someone in MEP engineering?
How is technology involved with MEP engineering?
What are some methods for cooling/heating a building in Houston?
How does LEED, Passivhaus, or other sustainability rating systems impact MEP design?
What are some strategies for efficient design and sustainable features (ex: what to look for when choosing fixtures)?
How MEP engineers collaborate with architects, contractors, and other engineers?
March 5th/6th: Construction estimating
Learning goals:
How do you determine how much it costs to design and build a project?
How do different materials impact schedule & cost?
What are the major construction phases and what does “critical path” mean?
How do contractors plan out site logistics, and what types of items need to be included in a logistics plan?
March 19th/20th: Interior Architecture
Learning goals:
Education requirements/options for interior architecture & design degrees
Roles of interior architects in a architecture firms/interiors firms + “day-in-the-life”
Path to licensure as an interiors architect
Difference between interior architecture and interior decorator
Accessibility & code requirements
Priorities behind choosing materials, furniture, colors, finishes, etc.
What is wayfinding/signage and when/where is it required
March 26th/27th: Presentation SKills
Learning goals: COMING SOON!
FALL 2023 SEMESTER
October 24th/25th: Welcome to ACE!
Learning goals:
Intro to 2023-2024 ACE Houston: Goals, expectations, and calendar
Meet your mentors and classmates
What is the AEC industry and who works in it?
What is an RFP and where do projects come from?
2023-2024 Student Design Challenges
ACE Houston RFPs
National ACE/CIRT Challenges
October 31st/November 1st: Introduction to plans and Construction Documents (week 1 for Downtown)
Learning goals:
How do different disciplines communicate with one another to ensure projects are built correctly?
What is the difference between a floor plan, elevation, section, and other views?
What types of information can you expect to find in drawings/plans?
How do you use a scale and how to designers draw to scale?
What are the different phases of construction documents?
How can you use these types of plans to help you on your project this year?
November 7th/8th: Client/Owner Perspective
This week, Richard Morris, President & CEO of mStrategic Partners, the program manager for our client, Memorial Hermann Health Systems, joined us to talk healthcare design, his experience working with our client, the history of the Sugar Land campus, and principles of program management. He spoke on both Tuesday and Wednesday evening, so all of our students were able to ask questions. Both video recordings are linked below; Richard's presentation is similar in both, but the question and answer portion at the end varied. Feel free to enjoy both!
Learning goals:
Where do projects come from and how do they get completed?
What are some principles of healthcare campus design?
What is project management and program management?
What are typical design priorities of owners/clients, and what is important to Memorial Hermann Health System?
How do owners choose construction and design teams? How do they work together?
What should we look out for at our site visit this weekend?
November 11th: RFP Site Visit to Memorial Hermann Sugar Land
As any architect, contractor, or engineer knows, it's important to see the site of a future project. It can help provide context for design, explain limitations for site logistics, and guide designers towards the perfect project for a community. That's why on Saturday, November 11th, ACE Houston loaded up on buses and headed down to Memorial Hermann Sugar Land to explore the sites for our projects this year!
During our visit, our students and mentors got the full experience:
We toured the medical office building that is currently under construction -- huge thanks to Jace Pitre and the team with Kitchell Contractors, Inc. for welcoming ACE onto their site and giving us insight into how to build a successful project!
We met with our client to hear about their design priorities, principles of healthcare campus design, and Memorial Hermann's plans for future construction -- special thanks to Mike Hatton with Memorial Hermann Health System for meeting with us and sharing his experience leading construction efforts in the healthcare sector!
We walked the three sites of our design challenges for this year, took pictures, and started to imagine what it would look like to design a new medical office building, a park, and a residential complex for this incredible campus.
ACE Houston had a great day, to say the least, and we can't wait to show the team at Memorial Hermann what we design for them this year! You can view more pictures from our visit by following this link. To share your photos from the visit with other students and volunteers who couldn't attend, please follow this link to upload them (Google login required) or email them to students@acementorhouston.org.
November 14th/15th: Intro to Architecture
Learning goals:
What does the path to becoming an architect look like?
What education requirements/options are there for various architecture degrees and roles?
What different types of roles are there in a typical architecture firm (design, production, construction administration)?
What does a “day-in-the-life” of an architect look like?
What is licensure, why is it important, and how do architects get licensed?
What are some of the first things architects do on a new project?
What is programming and bubble diagramming and why are they important?
November 28th/29th: Introduction to Construction
Learning goals:
What education requirements are there for various construction-related degrees?
What types of certifications or licenses are required to work in construction-related careers?
What are the different types of roles in a typical general contractor and sub-contractor company?
What does a "day-in-the-life" of a construction professional look like?
What does the construction process look like for a typical project?
How do general contractors develop and manage schedules and budgets for projects?
How do contractors communicate and collaborate with designers?
December 5th/6th: Introduction to Engineering
Learning goals:
What different types of engineers work in the AEC industry and what do they do?
What education requirements are there for various engineering-related degrees?
What does licensure looking like for different types of engineers? Why is licensure important? What does the path to licensure look like for engineers?
What are the different types of roles in typical engineering companies?
What does a "day-in-the-life" of an engineer look like?
December 9th: Aia Gingerbread Build-Off
This weekend, our incredible team of gingerbread builders brought home the 1st Place Trophy in the High School Category at the AIA Gingerbread Build-Off at Levy Park! Our team’s creation featured the Art Car Parade driving through the beautiful new Memorial Park Land Bridge. It was a stiff competition with lots of phenomenal entries, and we’re so proud of our high school students for bringing home the top prize!
The icing on top of the gingerbread house? Word got around to our new friends at the Memorial Park Conservancy about our masterpiece honoring their iconic project, and our creation will be on display at their next board meeting. It’s clear that signature projects like their Land Bridge are helping inspire the next generation of architects, contractors, and engineers in the Houston area.
Our 15th year of mentoring in Houston sure is shaping up to be a memorable one. Congratulations to our team of student builders for their hard work and creativity; thank you to our volunteer mentors for making these opportunities possible for our high school students; and huge shout out to AIA Houston and Architecture Center Houston for another fantastic event – we’ll be back next year to defend our title!
December 12th/13th: Fall Deliverable Presentations
This week our students were asked to do a short presentation on what project they are most interested in working on this year, what are of the AEC industry they are interested in taking the lead on, and their initial ideas or inspiration for their projects. We can't wait to see these projects come to life over the spring semester as they prepare for our Student Design Competition on April 13th. Thanks for a great first semester of the 2023-2024 year, our exciting 15th year of mentoring in Houston!
archives
PAST PROJECTS
2021-2022: Pavilion Design Challenge
2020-2021: Treehouse Design Challenge