July 14, 2017
They’ve already had their final review and received their grades. But this summer, some University of Texas at Arlington students have volunteered to continue work on a project they started last semester.
While the project may be small in size (360 square feet and 390 square feet to be exact), it’s a big accomplishment for a group that was learning the tools and processes of construction.
“So, for those who basically didn’t really even have serious power tool experience, to pull off what they did in four months is pretty incredible,” says Brad McCorkle, a UTA architecture lecturer and alumni.
So what did they pull off?
Over the past two semesters, a group of 20 students from the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs designed and built a pair of micro houses as their senior project for “Parallel Construction.”
Parallel Construction is a design/build studio. The fall semester focuses on design and planning. The actual construction takes place over the spring semester.
“It’s kind of interesting. Last fall when we started out, we asked students if they thought they would return in the spring for the construction part, and only about a half of the students in the class thought they would do the whole thing,” says McCorkle. “By the end of the fall, they were already invested enough in the project that everybody returned, except for two students.”