Press Release

MAST Student TSA Project Progress Thus Far

Construction and Testing of Architectural Model

Contact: Natasha Konczynski, Senior

Period 7/8

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/5/2009


Systems Engineering II: TSA Architectural Model

SANDY HOOK, NEW JERSEY, MARCH 5, 2009

Natasha Konczynski, a 17-year-old senior at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, has recently been working on an architectural project for her Systems Engineering II class. For her senior project, she chose to compete in the Technology Student Association Architectural Model for the 2008-2009 school year. Natasha is working closely with her teammates Lauren Keiser and Kelly Daniels, and her mentor, who works as an associate at an architectural firm in Pennsylvania. She has contacted him by e-mail and phone with any updates on the project. Close contact with the mentor is advised, even when working in teams of multiple students.

Project Requirements and Expectations

This year the TSA guidelines require participants to design and model a freestanding emergency medical clinic. During the first and second marking periods, brainstorming and developmental work, including drawings, measurements, window, door, and finished room schedules, and foundation, landscape, and roof plans for the actual building, were completed by Natasha, Lauren and Kelly, with the help of their mentors. Now in the third marking period, construction on their model has begun. The final model is required to be on a foam core board no larger than 24”x24” representing the plot of land chosen to place the EMO, in this case the Asbury Park, NJ area.

The group expects their model and final solutions to exhibit a realistic building plan for an emergency medical clinic and accurately depict all of the developmental work that was completed in the first two marking periods. The scaled 3D model will show the landscape design, façade, elevations, doors and windows, and roof construction. Drawings illustrate foundation plans and the function of how the actual emergency medical center might work. For the final design, Natasha has completed cross section drawings, exterior wall section drawings and a roof plan. She has used these drawings to do the exterior work of the model, which was measuring and cutting the walls, and the windows and doors out of the walls, made of 1/8” thick balsa wood. The project is on a 1/8” = 1’ scale. Since cutting out the windows and doors is finished, construction of the roof for the model has recently begun. Each member of the team is in charge of their own part of the project but in the end it will come together as the finished 3D model and presentation boards for potential clients.

Benefits of Project

Working on this project has given the students a chance to experience the workload and discipline of a real world job. Students have deadlines, requirements to fulfill, mentors to work closely with, and clients to please throughout the whole process. When asked about her participation with the TSA project and its benefits, Natasha replied, “This project [The TSA Architectural Model] has given me insight and experience for what college and a career would really be like. There are so many benefits to dealing with this in your senior year of high school. Because of the architectural aspects and research required, I have learned so much about the actual construction of a building from materials to procedures of getting it built. The science and math involved are also so important and I did not realize this until we had to complete mathematical calculations and give scientific explanations for everything we did. You must learn to manage your time and exhaust your effort to succeed. It is much easier said than done, and when you fail it is no excuse to give up. You must fix the problem, avoid future dilemmas and stay on track the whole time.”

Natasha, Lauren, and Kelly have been hard at work the past two marking periods and now in the third marking period they are seeing their work come together during construction. The drawings for the emergency medical clinic have been created and printed and now the scaled model is being built, complete with parking lot, landscaping, removable roof, windows and doors, and finished facade. Although they are nearly finished, the project is not yet complete. Good luck girls!

For more details about the TSA Architectural Model on Sandy Hook, NJ, contact Natasha Konczynski at natattakoncz@aim.com or visit her blog at http://tsaarchnk.blogspot.com/.

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